Bowl of cherries

I often like to buy cherries in bulk. They are in season right now, so it's the perfect time to stock up the freezer. Cherries are great in place of ice for smoothies. You could also try out your own homemade cherry pie, use them as garnish on a summer drink, serve them over ice cream, or just have a cup of cherries with a handful of almonds for a healthy snack.

In order to freeze cherries, you will need to pit them, rinse clean, pat dry and lay out on a parchment covered pan so that they aren't touching. Place in the freezer until just frozen, then transfer to a freezer safe baggie. Very similar to freezing strawberries!

Many people do not know about the cherry pitter. It's so easy to use. I have the OXO Good Grips cherry/olive pitter, which has a small splash guard. Simply pull off the stem, place the cherry upright in the pitter, and push the pit out into a garbage bowl. Yes, it's a bit time consuming when you need a bunch, but fresh ripe cherries are amazingly tasty. If you plan to keep them in the fridge for more than a day or so, save the pitting until closer to needing them. Once cherries are pitted and washed, they rot faster, as is the case with most fruits.

Cherries also have many amazing health benefits! They contain high levels of antioxidants and many vitamins. My neighbor friend recently shared about his battle with gout, and after many years of searching for relief, heard from a friend that cherries helped their gout. So my neighbor friend tried it. He started eating cherries daily for a week, and said the severe pain and swelling/fluid on his knee disappeared. He says he's been eating cherries daily for the better part of the last 3 years!!! And if he misses a day, he can tell by the reaction in his knee! That's amazing to me!

So add some variety to your fruit selection next time you go to the store, buy some fresh cherries!