I love to make homemade dressings. To me, there is nothing better than fresh ingredients blended to make the perfect salad dressing. My friends at Barlean’s challenged me to create a recipe using their organic flax oil. Since we are nearing the end of Florida strawberry season; I felt the need to share my recipe for strawberry balsamic dressing. A few weeks before I had my baby, my son and I went strawberry picking for the first time. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and I was happy my son, Ryder, is starting to get to the age where he can participate in stuff like this! Now, I’ll preface, I did learn and get to pick a few strawberries when I went on a media trip back in January with the Florida Strawberry Growers Association. I always loving learning more about where our food comes from and it was the perfect last trip before my family expanded.

I actually made this recipe for my family and friends a week before my second baby was born. Everyone raved and the best part is that I snuck in flax oil into the recipe. No one had any idea that it was even there! Let’s talk a little bit about Barlean’s Organic flax oil; it’s the most abundant source of plant-based Omega-3 and sourced from North American seeds only. Barlean’s products are USDA Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, Gluten free & Kosher so I can feel good feeding it to my family and friends.

Let’s talk a little bit about how to make this dressing. It’s actually easier then it sounds. First, you’ll chop the fresh strawberries. I’ve never tried this recipe with frozen berries, but I’m sure it would work just thaw them first. Place the strawberries in a saucepan and sprinkle with sugar and balsamic vinegar. Bring it to a quick boil for 5 minutes and then remove the berries from the heat and let sit for at least 15 minutes to cool. You’ll need a blender for the next step… I place the balsamic berry mixture into a blender and add in a little honey and my favorite strawberry preserves. Time to puree the mixture. This is where the magic happens… I stream in two tablespoons of the flax oil while the blender is on. The dressing needs an oil and the flax oil is perfect since you can’t taste it. Once the dressing is done I place it in a salad dressing shaker (I like the OXO salad shaker the best) and refrigerate it for at least an hour. Pour it on your salad and enjoy! It last in the refrigerator for at least a week.

If you want to know what is in your salad dressing, I challenge you to start making your own. You’ll find you will never want to go back to the store-bought stuff again!