As a proud California Strawberries Ambassador, I had the pleasure of traveling to Oxnard, California to meet the fourth generational family farmers who own Terry Farms.
If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed that I was lucky enough to trade in the cold and snow for palm trees and sunshine this past weekend.
As a proud California Strawberries Ambassador, I was invited to attend a fun and informative farm tour along with several other bloggers from throughout the country.
Strawberries have always been one of my favorite fruits and now that I have children of my own, we eat more berries than ever before. As far as my toddler is concerned, strawberries are candy! “Nature’s candy” as I like to say.
We were hosted by fourth generation Californian farmers, Edgar and Will Terry of Terry Farms.It’s really too bad they couldn’t find a nicer looker farmer to tour us around….
A few fun facts about California Strawberry Farmers:
- There are more than 400 strawberry farmers in California, many who are multi-generational family farmers.
- Some of the most progressive and environmentally conscious farmers in the state, strawberry farmers have invested more than $13 million dollars in research and sustainable farming practices.
- California’s strawberry farmers use less than one percent of California’s cropland, but create nearly 10% of all California’s farm-related jobs.
BTW – see that guy in the middle? That’s Kevin of Closet Cooking. I am mildly obsessed with his blog and have been for some time. Meeting him in person was a dream come true!
He even photo bombed my picture! #Winning.
The photo above was taken during breakfast from the roof top of our hotel. After the never-ending Michigan winter, I couldn’t stop staring out the window.
Fortunately, I was busy chatting with these two beauties: Anne from fAnnetastic Food and Monica from Run Eat Repeat. These girls are seriously inspiring! Anne is a Registered Dietitian who has her own private practice and Monica ran in over 20 races last year! I ran for about 5 minutes today and it was purely to avoid my children getting frostbite from being out on a walk too long…
Can we discuss the food for a moment? As you know, I have more of a savory tooth than a sweet tooth so I was blown away by the creative ways in which strawberries were prepared for our trip. The strawberry gazpacho on the top left was the bees knees and don’t get me started on the kobe beef sliders with strawberry ketchup. There was peanut butter and strawberry jam on the slider! Worth it.
Fortunately, we got plenty of walking in during the day and were able to feast on as many strawberries as we could pick. In case you’re wondering, strawberries are loaded in health benefits:
- Superfruit: 8 strawberries contain more vitamin C than an orange. Low in sugar, with only about 50 calories, strawberries are a great source of fiber, folate and potassium.
- To your health: Nutrients and phytochemicals in strawberries help maintain a healthy heart, boost memory and may lower the risk of developing some types of cancer.
- Stay smart with strawberries: According to a recent study, eating strawberries more than twice a week appears to delay cognitive aging by up to 2.5 years!
- Good for your heart: Potassium found in strawberries can help control blood pressure and fight strokes. Plus, antioxidants, fiber and phytochemicals in strawberries have been shown to reduce total cholesterol levels.
- Dynamite for diabetics: The American Diabetes Association (ADA) identified berries, including strawberries, as one of the top 10 superfoods for a diabetes meal plan.
Anne and I couldn’t get enough of them! And you better believe we weren’t going to leave California without taking a #StrawberrySelfie.
It was hard saying goodbye to beautiful California but I had so much fun learning more about the hard working farmers that feed us nutritious food every single day. Thank you again to the California Strawberry Commission for sponsoring my trip!
What is your favorite way to eat strawberries?? I would love to hear from you.
No fork required.
Disclaimer: I am a proud California Strawberries Ambassador. Thank you for supporting the brands that make The Lemon Bowl possible. As always, all thoughts are 100% my own.
I AM SO JEALOUS!!! I have a Pinterest board devoted to everything strawberry just for Trevor. He is a fiend – sometimes he just sits and scrolls and tells me what he wants me to make. Criminal that I live in CA and didn’t get to go. Waaaaa. What a fun trip!
Oh man my son is obsessed too!! I swear he could eat entire containers in one setting!! I hope I get to see you the next time I’m in Cali!
Sounds like a dreamy trip! I can’t wait until good strawberries start appearing in my local supermarkets!
Tell me about it!! Hopefully soon!
Great post Liz! We loved having you! I’m glad I got to meet your lovely self in person!
Jodi
I used your California Starbucks this morning and thought of you!! Thanks for a fabulous trip I’ll never forget!
California strawberries really are second to none. It’s one of the things I miss most about living there! What a fun experience this looks like it was – thanks for sharing, Liz!
They really were so good and juicy!! I want them now!
Frolicking through the strawberry fields with the sum beaming down sounds so good right now! As I look out at the rainy northwest! :(
Oh tell me about it!! I came home to snow. :(
All of these pictures are so beautiful and so vibrant! It sounds like it was such a fantastic trip..looks it too. I want all that food..right now. My son loves berries too! I call them candy as well, and he easily eats an entire container in a day if I let him… I don’t blame him at all! So glad you got to see some sunshine!
P.S. Ever since I was scrolling on FB and saw your beach pictures over the weekend, my son was sitting next to me, and everyday since, he keeps asking me if we can go to the beach. Like begging. Im about to bundle him up and give in! ;)
longest.comment.ever.
Oh my goodness I love that he requested beach days!!! You must take him!!!! That’s so cute. :) xoxo
I was following along on Instagram and it looks like you had a great time. I would be in heaven with all those strawberries! They are my absolute favorite food and I love them in both sweet and savory dishes.
Aww thanks for following along!! It was so fab!
What a fun trip! Love all of the photos!
The whole time I was there I kept thinking about how lucky you are (and smart) to live in California!
What a fun experience. I would have been in heaven on that strawberry farm. :)
It was pretty fantastic – I feel so lucky to have been invited!
It looks as though you had a fantastic trip, Liz! Hope I wish I could have joined you.
The whole time I kept saying I wish you were there!! I’m just going to have to show up on your doorstep soon. :)
So much strawberry fun! Looks like a great group, and a great trip. Love your #StrawberrySelfie. :)
I wanted to eat allofthestrawberries!!! xo
And now I’m dreaming of beaches and strawberries instead of snow and wind! Looks like you had a fabulous time! Love me some strawberries!
Thank you so much! It was great to escape!!
I am so jealous! I love Cali, strawberries and that beautiful farm tour! Looks like such a wonderful time!
I hope the spring weather hits us soon!!
Wow, your photos are breathtaking!! Love them! So glad you had fun!!!
Thank you so much Julie!! The scenery was easy to photograph!!
Sounds like a fabulous trip!
Thanks for following along Christine!!
gah! so jealous! looks like a great trip. 100% making sure i can come to the next one!
I’m so bummed I wasn’t able to meet you Lindsay!! We must make it a goal in 2014!!
Looks like you had a great time in California eating strawberries. When you posted the tour guide pic on instagram I remember thinking he is good looking.
hahah – He was so nice and extremely knowledgable and passionate about farming. I promise I paid attention. :)
I love California strawberries. My friends at work are actually EXTREMELY particular that Oxnard strawberries are the best since we only live a few minutes away. I thought they were just being silly until people kept advertising the strawberries they put on cakes and brought to work were from Oxnard. Very cool and very beautiful photos :)
No way!! I’m so jealous you live in such a beautiful part of the country!!! They were so juicy!!
What a trip! Looks like you all had an amazing time. I prefer eating strawberries plain, really. But they are so good in salads or as strawberry short cake. Oh man this is making me want summer, like now!
Tell me about it!! It was so hard coming home to snow!!
Oh so jealous! What a fun group, and strawberries fresh from the plant are so amazing. We used to grow them when I was younger and those berries are still the best I ever had!
There is nothing better than a freshly picked strawberry!!! Thank you for reading!