7/29/11: Paint Boston Red with California Strawberries - Giveaway

CONTEST CLOSED:  CONGRATULATIONS GILDA M. who was chosen via Random.org
I was very lucky to attend a Paint Boston Red Party last night held jointly by the California Strawberry Commission and Mommy Niri who is a personal friend of mine.  It was a lovely night of conversation, wonderful food and drink, and learning about Strawberries.  Who could ask for any more on a summer night in July!  And you as my readers benefit also as I have a Giveaway for two wonderful books later in my post.

Here I am with all the bloggers that attended the event and representatives from the California Strawberry Commission.  What a wonderful group of people, so great to meet some of the familiar names I tweet with online and people behind the blogs I follow.  So nice to put a face now with a name/blog name.

Did you know?

Strawberries are an excellent example of a nutritious superfruit. They are nutrient dense but also low in sugar (only 8 grams) and have only 50 calories per serving (1 cup or approximately 8 medium strawberries).
Strawberries are high in potassium (helps control blood pressure and fights stroke) and fiber (helps control weight and relieves constipation).
Only 1 cup of strawberries will give you 160% of your daily needed Vitamin C. Great for a healthy immune system!

Did you also know?

California provides 88% of the US Strawberry crop.

"The coast of California is the best place in the world to grow strawberries. Warm sunny days, cool foggy nights and moderate temperatures combine with sandy soil, creating perfect growing conditions.

More than 500 strawberry growers in five distinct areas of California produce strawberries on more than 36,000 acres. Organic or conventional, many of these family businesses are farmers who have worked the land for generations, and produce the highest-quality fruit under the most stringent regulations in the world.

State-of-the-art, post-harvest techniques separate California from other producers. Once strawberries are picked, they are rushed to a cooling facility where huge fans draw out field heat. When cooled, the strawberries are loaded onto refrigerated trucks for same-day shipment. Keeping the fruit at 32 degrees Fahrenheit during transport helps ensure a quality product for consumers.

California strawberries are available all year long. The statewide fresh production averages 43,000 pounds per acre, per season."

We were lucky enough to have an actual Grower from California come and speak to us.

We were also lucky enough to hear from nutritionist David Grotto, RD, LDN, who is the author of 101 Optimal Life Foods of which we received a signed copy of.  He is also the Spokesperson for the California Strawberry Commission.  He had us do a fun experiment with a Strawberry Twizzler and stacking it up against a real Strawberry.  The Twizzler couldn't hold a candle to the Strawberry despite it's 1 foot length! 

Look at how beautiful this food is!  I absolutely loved the Muddled Strawberry cocktail and will definitely be making that soon!

And who would have thought, Mahi Mahi tacos with strawberries.

And of course dessert!  This was wonderful.

There are so many recipes you could make using Strawberries!  Want to win????  You can win David Grotto's book 101 Optimal Life Foods signed by the author ($16 value) along with a Strawberry Recipes for Everyday book ($16.99 value, shown below).  Note you won't receive the bag as it is too cute and turns in to the little strawberry you see below it.

Want to win both books?  Here is how to enter:

1 entry for each item:

- Comment here on this post as to your favorite way to eat Strawberries (comment section at the bottom).  Note if you are logging in anonymously please include your email so I can contact you. Also if you have problems, just Preview the comment and it should work.  Make sure you see Comment posted.

Additional Entries:
- Subscribe to Evan and Lauren's Cool Blog (and verify the subscription to be valid) and leave a separate comment that you did.
- Subscribe via Google Friend Connect to Evan and Lauren's Cool Blog (on the Right hand side)

- Already a subscriber (thank you) then leave a comment stating you are
- Share this link on your Facebook page and leave a comment here stating you did.
- Follow me on Twitter @galiberti  If you already follow me, just leave a comment here that you are a Follower.
- Tweet this Giveaway (you can do this daily):  I want to win a recipe book prize pack from @galiberti and @castrawberries http://bit.ly/qece7V #Giveaway #castrawberrytour
Contest closes Wednesday, August 17th, 2011.

Winner will be chosen via Random.org and contacted.  I will mail them the books.

What can you do to give Strawberries some love:

EAT THEM!

Like them! www.facebook.com/castrawberries

Follow them! www.twitter.com/castrawberries

Download our free "Strawberries" recipe apps in iTunes or the Android Market.

Check out their videos! www.youtube.com/user/castrawberries

Purchase the new "Strawberry Recipes for Everyday" e-cookbook available at www.fastpencil.com/marketplace

Check out their website at: www.californiastrawberries.com

Disclosure: I received the gift bag shown above along with a second copy of the Recipe Book and David's book to provide this giveaway.  All opinions are my own, as I love Strawberries!!!!