The end of summer is a bummer for many reasons. School starts, days are shorter and colder, and the fresh fruit selection at the market gets slimmer and more ripe. You can’t turn back the calendar, but fret not; there are plenty of things to do with overly ripe fruit. Here are a few fruitful ideas that make the best of ripe fruit using simple and easy mixes and recipes.
Smoothie Thinking
You’ve probably heard the saying, “When life gives you Lemons, make lemonade.†The same applies with strawberries, bananas, mangos, and other fruits and berries. If they seem too squishy to serve, toss them into a blender and create tasty fruit smoothies that are delicious and nutritious. Pick up smoothie mixes from Concord Foods in Banana, Chocolate Banana, Strawberry
, Orange, Mango and Pineapple. Add the powdered mix from the packet along with fruit and ice, add juice, milk or yogurt as desired, and blend on high for about a minute for a perfectly sweetened smoothie.
Glazed Over
Those huge priced-for-quick-sale baskets full of strawberries at Vons seemed liked like a great deal, but then you realize you would have to consume 10 bowls full strawberries and cream, enough to dwarf those stacks of cereal bowls that equal one bowl of Total cereal (remember those commercials?) . So rather than go on a strawberry binge, make a pie. Concord Foods Glaze for Strawberries makes making a simple fruit pie quick and easy. Buy a pre-baked pie crust, fill it with fruit, and spoon the glaze on top. Let it set in the fridge, and it’s ready
to serve in an hour. Decorate it with whipped cream. The glazes are also great for strawberry shortcake, cheesecakes, and ice cream.
Yeah for Muffin Tops
It happens to all of us. We think we picked the best carton of blueberries, and in a couple of days, we’ve got fuzzy berries in the batch. Before good blueberries go bad, throw them into a muffin mix. Whip up melt-in-your-mouth muffins with Concord Foods Blueberry Muffin Mix. The easy-to-make recipe requires one cup of blueberries, an egg and milk. In less than 15 minutes you will have warm and delicious baked blueberry treats. You can also adjust the recipe according to the directions on the box to make blueberry pancakes.
Let’s Taco ‘Bout It
Before your avocados and tomatoes go south, liven them up with Concord Foods Guacamole Mix and Salsa Seasoning Mix. The simple guac mix requires two avocados, mashed and blended with the mix of spices. Chill the mixture for 10 minutes for a zesty guac dip. The salsa mix requires blending with one pound of diced plum Roma tomatoes and ¼ cup diced red onion. Add the seasoning mix and cover and chill for 30 minute for a flavorful salsa. Add chopped mangos, peaches, pineapples oranges and papaya for a fruit salsa.
You can find a variety of the Concord Food smoothie mixes, glazes, muffin mixes and guacamole and salsa seasoning packets at your local grocery store, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Ralphs, Target, and Walmart Super Centers.
