Each month the Cambridge in Motion team sends a flyer with fun facts and a family newsletter to celebrate the Mass Farm to School partnership. We hope your family enjoys the fun and learning opportunities within! This month we are learning about Strawberries! Enjoy the fun resources, recipes, lessons and activities that keep your family exploring and thriving! Follow us on twitter @CambMotion Fun Strawberry Facts! _____________________________________________ It takes 30 days for each strawberry to grow fully, from flower to fruit. The average strawberry has 200 seeds! Technically speaking, berries should have seeds on the inside and they don’t come from a single ovary, so strawberries are really in a group all their own! Stop and smell the strawberries! Considered members of the rose family, they give off a sweet fragrance as they grow on bushes! Because they are a perennial plant, strawberries will grow back year after year. The month of June was known to many Native American tribes as the “Strawberry Moon” as it was the month when most strawberries began to ripen.

June Harvest of the Month Video!

Watch our Cambridge in Motion monthly video series featuring the Harvest of the Month (foods that are grown locally to New England)! You'll watch our public health nutritionist bring to life some fun facts, make a quick snack, and give a nutrition or cooking tip! Watch the Video

Keep Learning About Strawberries!

(1) Strawberry Activities K-2: This is a set of activities provided as an introduction to learning about strawberries! Children will be inspired and want to learn more about how a strawberry gets from the farms into our homes. Use for the classroom or at home! (2) Try Mindful Eating with Strawberries: This edible schoolyard video & activity plan walks you through one exercise in mindful eating, using a strawberry! (3) Strawberry Lessons to Get Kids Hooked: Try these preschool lessons from "Grow it, Try it, Like it" to introduce strawberries in a fun way (activities, taste tests, books, recipes, and at-home opportunities are included!).

Joke of the Month Q: What do you call strawberries playing guitar? A: A jam session!

Powerful Anthocyanins

Berries are among the top sources of vitamins, minerals, and disease-fighting nutrients. Many of their benefits are attributable to anthocyanins (compounds that give many fruits and vegetables their red, purple, and blue colors). These powerful compounds may help prevent heart disease and cancer and boost cognitive function! Learn more about anthocyanins from this BBC Good Food article. Frozen berries are just as healthy as fresh ones! Because fresh berries tend to be expensive and go bad quickly, having frozen berries on hand can be much more convenient and make less food waste. Try buying produce when it's "in season" making it abundant and less expensive. Berries are in-season for New England during the summer months of June, July and August. Enjoy more fresh berries in the summer and go for more frozen ones in the fall, winter, and spring.

Food Waste Tip! Are you ready to get creative with food and waste less? Try these websites for delicious and crafty ways to use up all those rubbery carrots and wilty greens rather than throwing them away!  Food Waste Feast: How to cook creatively and stop throwing away perfectly good food. Search by ingredient or category and find recipes for the foods you have on hand! Save the Food: Give scraps and that "past-its-prime" food a new (and delicious) second life! Learn how to cook with everything from cilantro stems to that overripe avocado on the counter. Plus find food storage tips, food prep and planning tips and more!

Delicious Recipes! These Strawberry Oatmeal Bars are an amazing dessert filled with good-for-you stuff! Try this Tangy Strawberry Barbecue Sauce next time you grill chicken! Try Strawberry Cucumber Tabbouleh as a delicious side to any protein! Try these easy homemade Strawberry & Yogurt Popsicles that will please everyone! This Strawberry Banana Chia Pudding will delight as a dessert this month! Step aside tomatoes, this Strawberry Gazpacho is your next favorite summer soup! Try this Grilled Chicken Cutlet with Strawberry Salsa for a fresh take on dinner tonight! Try this ridiculously easy 2-ingredient Strawberry Sorbet for a light dessert everyone will devour! Children's Book Spotlight The Very Berry Counting Book Written by Jerry Pallotta Illustrated by Joy Newton A board book for children 0-3 years in which children can learn to count from one to 10 i  a berry appetizing way! I Love Strawberries! Written by Shannon Anderson Illustrated by Jaclyn Sinquett (Grades 1-2) "Jolie LOVES strawberries - and she’s on an unstoppable (and hilarious) mission to grow her own food from seedling to table in this colorful introduction to the joy of growing."

Click Here to download the Harvest of the Month Family Newsletter

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