This summer, Bord Bia is encouraging shoppers to ‘Celebrate Strawberry Season’ and to enjoy tasty strawberries as a snack or in a delicious summer-fresh dish.

Locally grown strawberries are naturally sweet which makes them the ideal healthy alternative snack for all ages.

Just seven strawberries (80g) count for one of your ‘Five a Day’, contain as little as 20 calories and are packed with fibre.

Strawberries are versatile and can be enjoyed in many different ways: as a healthy breakfast topping with oats or yoghurt, chopped up in a salad for lunch, in school lunchboxes, or in place of sugary alternatives for a healthy dessert.

Bord Bia has created a range of tasty recipes and mealtime inspirations which are available at bordbia.ie/strawberries

Here are three simple recipes to get you started!

Strawberry and spinach salad with balsamic poppy-seed dressing

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

For the croutons:

120g leftover bread or crusts, cut into 1cm cubes

2 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil

2 tsp dried basil

Salt and black pepper

For the dressing:

4 tbsp balsamic vinegar

3 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil

1 1/2 tbsp poppy seeds

1 1/2 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

Salt and black pepper

For the salad:

300g fresh spinach

400g strawberries, washed, de-stemmed and quartered

4 scallions, thinly sliced

100g goat’s cheese, crumbled (optional)

For the croutons, preheat the oven to 190C. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper. In a large bowl, drizzle the olive oil over the pieces of bread, then evenly sprinkle with the basil and some salt and pepper. Toss gently until well combined, then spread the bread out in a single layer on the prepared baking tray.

Bake for around 15 minutes until golden, turning once halfway through cooking in order to brown all sides of the croutons. Check them often to be sure that they do not burn. Allow to cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together all of the dressing ingredients until well combined. (Alternatively, shake together in a jar with a tight-fitting lid.) Season to taste.

Place the spinach in a large serving bowl. Add the strawberries and scallions. Drizzle about half of the dressing over the salad and toss to coat the leaves.

Top with the croutons and goat’s cheese, if desired. Serve immediately, with the remaining dressing in a jug on the side.

Note: this recipe uses goat’s cheese but the salad works equally as well with buffalo mozzarella, feta or blue cheese.

Strawberry muffins

Ingredients

Serves 12

280g strawberries, hulled and chopped

100g plain flour

60g butter, melted

280g plain Greek yoghurt

170g honey

60ml milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp salt

120g wholewheat flour

Preheat the oven to 190C. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper liners.

Place the chopped strawberries in a bowl and toss gently with 30g of the plain flour. Set aside. Place the melted butter in a large bowl and add the Greek yoghurt, honey, milk, vanilla and eggs. Whisk together until well combined.

Add the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Whisk until well combined. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the remaining plain flour and the whole wheat flour. Mix until almost combined.

Fold in the strawberries until just combined. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin wells.

Bake for 16-18 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for five minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.

Three-ingredient strawberry ‘ice cream’

Ingredients

Serves 4

20 strawberries, hulled and chopped

2 bananas, sliced

1 tsp vanilla extract

In a sealable freezer bag, combine three-quarters of the chopped strawberries with the banana slices.

Seal and place in the freezer for 3-4 hours. Place the remaining chopped strawberries in the fridge.

Transfer the frozen fruit to the bowl of a food processor. Whizz for five minutes or until creamy. Stir in the vanilla extract and reserved strawberries.

Serve immediately as soft-serve ice cream, or freeze in an airtight container for 2-3 hours. Allow to sit at room temperature for 2-3 minutes before scooping and serving.