strawberry season is here.

the markets are ibiza dance-club crowded with this tummy-pleasing summer berry; one of my favorite foods since days of the spoon-fed pureé.

i invariably have to buy an extra basket for the car ride home; there’s no such thing as me and self-control when it comes to fresh, in-season, strawberries.

i feel a duty to provide so much more for my strawberries, than just the meager rinse and pop straight in to my mouth..{sometimes even forgoing the wash i’m so lazy and impatient.}

 pinterest, and its vortex of photo inspiration, feeds my moral obligation to commission something grander than just a chew and swallow for said, sweet berry.

for a moment i was inspired to go healthy with this pretty smoothie; i’m such a sucker for anything pink, and then for a split second, with the coercion of gorgeous photography, i talked myself into making this elegant tart.

such lofty aspirations were quickly abandoned upon reading the recipe. directions such as “roll the dough into a short, fat sausage circumference,” let me know to return back to my pay grade of opening up “capri suns” and checker-boarding pre-cut salami and mozzarella for super bowl parties.

but the white {ok–half-white}, tee-rash, hillbilly in me pounced on this strawberry pretzel salad like a hoarder ambushes the costco aisles.

it’s got everything good in life:

sugar =✓

butter = ✓

cool whip = ✓

strawberry flavored gelatin = ✓

“frozen” strawberries in “SYRUP” = ✓✓

and salty pretzles!!=✓

it’s like christmas in june!

instead of new, white jeans, i can just get diabetes.

luckily, for my pancreas, just as i was about to run out to buy my “gelatin,” this article on using strawberry tops to flavor your water popped up.

a strawberry recipe where the only other ingredient i needed was water!?!?

move over christmas, it’s my fucking birthday!

it couldn’t be easier: chop off the tops of your strawberries..eat the berry, and put the rest in your water bottle.

fill it up with water, let it chill for an hour or so…and voila: delicious strawberry, flavored water.

better than any lemon, cucumber, mint stuff i’ve used before, and best of all it’s actually getting me to drink the water i’m so awful at consuming.

a thumb’s up indeed.

even hunkiest was impressed with my “cooking”.

the strawberries stay fresh for a couple of days as long as you keep them refrigerated…

lemme know if you try it.

happy hydration m’loves!