Valentine's day Archives

Pineberries are the new berries. Try them!

Let’s learn about these new berries!

When you see pineberries at the grocery store you may wonder if you should try these new berries – as they don’t look like your conventional fruit.

Pineberries taste very sweet and they are delicious! You may think they taste a little tart because of their pale color. But don’t get confused with an albino fruit when you see these new berries! The pale color is just one of their characteristcs.

Even though they look like strawberries, they taste different. The rather sweeter side of it comes from the similarity they have from pineapples. Pineberries have a soft bite to it if compared to strawberries, which feels firmer. Their bite also feel soft like pears. But pineberries feel firm like strawberries when you are holding them while rinsing them off or cutting out their stems.

Try pineberries with pancakes! — Chocolate lava pancake

The pineberries get their name because it is a combo of the words pineapple and strawberry. They are a novelty type of strawberry, because they range in color and flavor. They are usually white with red achenes (seeds) but they can turn pink when they grow in sunlight. Berries are harvested when the achenes turn from green to red – that is when you should try them!

Pineberries taste delicious on their own! They are great for kebabs with other fruits, which gives a unique touch. Pineberry is also delicious with hazelzut and chocolate spread – a great way to get the kids to eat them! They are also good with oatmeal or pancakes. You can be creative on how you eat pineberries, they are just another form of berry anyway and go well in so many dishes!

Here is a little bit of history on these newer berries: white-fruited strawberries of Fragaria chiloensis (Chilean strawberry) have been traced back to Chile where the native peoples cultivated them more than a thousand years ago. They were then introduced into Europe around the 1700’s. Only about 20 years ago,

the Netherlands developed the pineberry through crossbreeding the red and white varieties.

Ten years later, pineberries started selling in the U.S. and they are now more popular.

These new berries are delicious with hazelnut spread. Try them! — Pineberries are delicious with hazelnut spread.

Pineberries are high in vitamin A and vitamin C which helps the immune health. They are antioxidants and rich in fiber. This pineapple flavor berry also helps support gut health, weight loss efforts and they may even support healthy blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.

Pineberries are sold most of the year from different regions. Florida growing season runs from November through April and the pineberries from California, from January through September. Other great news about pineberries is that they are non-GMO!

Check out our blog post on how to clean fruits properly so you are ready to try the new berries: pineberries!

Pineberries are the new berries. Try Pineberries in kebabs! — Fruit kebabs with pineberries for Valentine’s day

These last-minute gift ideas will save your valentine’s day!

Lovely Mango will show you how to make easy Valentine’s day gifts.

On Valentine’s day, we like to show appreciation for the ones we love: our teachers, co-workers, friends, and especially family members. But sometimes we realize Valentine’s day is around the corner and we never got a chance to get anything special to give to our valentines. So let’s check out some ideas that will save your Valentine’s day!

Lovely Mango has some ideas to share so you can create a last-minute Valentine’s fruit gift! The first thing we should think about is colors! Valentine’s Day is about love and love reminds us of the color pink and red. So, let’s say you are at home on February 14th and you realize you didn’t get anything to give to your spouse or kids. However, if you have a few delicious, fresh fruits in the kitchen these can definitely save your Valentine’s Day!

Apples, pomegranates, strawberries, and watermelon; are some examples of “fruits of love.”

So now it starts the fun part: you can make different shapes with them. For example, if you have cookie cutters, find a heart shape or your valentine first letter’s name and go from there. Then, it will be a special surprise and they will love how it looks and how special and sweeter it will be to eat the fruits. Here are some examples that Lovely Mango wants to share with you:

All you need for these lovely kabobs are cookie cutters and wood sticks. We used strawberries and grapes. Strawberries are not only red in color, but they also used to represent perfection and love. They still do! And if you have red grapes at home it will look even better! Just cut the strawberries with a heart cookie cutter, and add them to the wooden stick followed by a grape. Repeat this step a few more times. The smaller the cookie cutter the better, so it can fit on the strawberry to cut well.

You can also try making a LOVE boat!

To make a Love Boat, all you need is a bowl with an elongated shape and add a few red color fruits with romantic heart shapes inside! Feel free to add the fruit kabobs as the boat’s paddles.

In order to make slices of watermelon as heart shapes, the watermelon needs to be cut into thinner slices to fit in the cookie cutter. Be creative and make your Valentine’s favorite things using various shapes to make them unique and personal. But you can’t go wrong with a LOVE Boat full of hearts! Try these ideas or use your own creativity to save your Valentine’s day!