Over the past few years, I’ve enjoyed fruit smoothies (with Kale and/or Spinach) for breakfast every weekday morning. Well… I may not have enjoyed every one but most of the time they are pretty good. It’s a great way to knock out a few servings of fresh fruits and vegetables without having to do a lot of work. Although I can always get the ingredients at Trader Joe’s or Publix or anytime I want, there’s nothing like being able to use ingredients fresh from the field.
I always look forward to mid spring because it’s strawberry time in Tennessee. There’s nothing better than strawberries right from the field. I don’t know why, but they are so much better than the berries that are shipped in from Florida, California or Mexico. Early crops have been available for a few weeks now, but this week was the first chance Kendra and I have had to go to a pick your own strawberry field.
Today we visited Bradley Kountry Acres in Cottontown. They are located about 20 miles north of where we live so it was a little bit of a drive, but it was fun to go on a mini road trip and take a drive through the country. Since it’s still early in the season, it wasn’t terribly busy but there was still a fare amount of pickers out there. I had lots of fun since my secret dream is to grown and eat my own food. It was extremely difficult not to pull and berries off the plants and stuff them into my mouth but I was able to resist. It didn’t really take us long to fill our bucket up but the whole bucket was only $7. Well worth it.
If you aren’t aware already, there’s a great website called PickYourOwn.org that helps you locate local farms or orchards that allow you to come and pick your own fruits and vegetables. There is where we discovered Bradley Kountry Acres. I’ve also used it in the past to find Apple Orchards, Berry Farms and Pumpkin Patches. Please check it out!