Pinterest Propaganda or Why I Should Use Common Sense

Don't you just love Pinterest? It is a perfect storm of pretty pictures and clever ideas. Posting little thumbnails of other peoples' creativity gets me all warm and fuzzy inside. Occasionally, I even actually do the activity/recipe/design posted in that adorable little picture, though not nearly as often as I just repin it and give all of my followers a little insight into who I am. Look at this adorable outfit that I have no idea where to get it and I don't actually look like the gorgeous model wearing it. Truthfully, you can usually find me at home wearing stretched out yoga pants and my husband's old tee shirt. Say it with me guys, hot.

Damn Pinterest Strawberries.

Tonight I put my post where my mouth is and tested out a Pinterest recipe. Has anyone else been captivated by this picture floating around Pinterest lately? And the oh so tempting caption to go along with it? Tastes just like candy! So easy! Dried in the oven! Did we mention candy and easy?!? Now this should have been where common sense came into play. Listen up pinners, this photo has in fact been photoshopped. That's right. Go ahead and take a moment to collect yourselves. Let me back up a little. This is a pin attached to a simple recipe for dehydrating strawberries in your home oven. The directions are this simple: heat in the oven for three hours at 210 degrees and voila! Chewy little rubies from strawberry heaven.

My Dead Strawberries.

Here is my final outcome and I won't even bother editing the picture as I want you to know what an utter disaster this recipe truly is. I followed the instructions to a tee and the end result were wilted, gray bitter balls of misery sweating in their own rancid berry blood. Turns out, my Dad was right. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. This recipe is the Enron of all recipes (is it a few years too late to be referencing Enron?). My point is, there is some a-hole out there on Pinterest using his fancy Photoshop to dupe you into ruining your perfectly plump fresh strawberries. Don't fall for it!