Strawberry Mocha Morning Yogurt Parfait
This breakfast is tall and sweet. I’ll keep its description short and sweet: an unlikely yet delectable combination of the decadent flavors of sinful chocolate pudding and mocha Greek yogurt, paired with light and crunchy Special K cereal and fresh strawberries, makes for a satisfying breakfast that provides all the flavor of a dessert without being overly unhealthy.
Strawberry Mocha Morning Yogurt Parfait
Serves 1
Ingredients:
- 1 container Dannon Light and Fit Caramel Macciato flavored Greek yogurt
- 1 single serving container chocolate pudding (I used chocolate fudge-milk chocolate flavor)
- 1 serving Special K with Red Berries cereal
- 6-8 small strawberries
- Directions:
Slice and dice strawberries.
In a tall glass, layer yogurt, pudding, cereal, and strawberries.
Bon appetit!
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Yogurt Parfaits: A Healthy Back to School Meal
Yogurt Parfaits: A Healthy Back to School Meal
With the back to school season in full swing, finding the time and motivation to prepare healthy meals can begin to fall by the wayside. It’s hard to come up with a sensible, quick and healthy meal that both tastes good and can be prepared in the hectic mornings before school. But if you let yourself get a little creative and experiment with new, interesting ingredients and incorporate your favorite flavors, you may find healthy food a little less mundane. Here are three easy recipes for fun yogurt parfaits that will brighten your day! Throw one together in a few minutes in the morning and call it breakfast. Alternately, prep the ingredients and take it to school for a refreshing midday meal. Just keep the crunchy stuff in separate containers from the creamy stuff, and mix it all together when you’re ready for it! See? Healthy food can be convenient.
There are tons of possibilities when it comes to yogurt parfaits. Feel free to stray from my recipe suggestions and try them with granola, Grape-Nuts, frozen yogurt, fruit crumble layered with yogurt…the possibilities are endless. Or, if you need some inspiration, here are three kid-friendly, yummy recipes anyone can enjoy, to get you started.
Loopy Tropical Parfait
Go fruity as a toucan for this flavorful and exciting breakfast parfait featuring Kellogg’s Froot Loops cereal.
Ingredients:
- one container Yoplait Greek 100 yogurt, Tropical Fruit flavor (includes pineapple, mango, and passionfruit)
- one serving Kellogg’s Froot Loops cereal
- one medium-large red plum
- 4-6 strawberries
- 1 tbs sweetened flaked coconut
Directions:
Prep the fruit: slice plum and remove pit. Remove stems and leaves from strawberries, and slice them, then halve the slices if desired.
Layer cereal, fruit and yogurt in a bowl. Top with coconut.
Awesome Apple Crisp Creation
Be awesome all day with this healthy allusion to apple crisp made with tart Greek yogurt, sweet pudding, real apple chunks, graham cracker pieces, nuts and cranberries that’s packed with nutrients as well as deliciousness! (This one I took to school in reusable, portable containers.)
Ingredients:
- one container Chobani plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- one container Snack Pack brand Apple Pie A La Mode flavor pudding
- 1/2 large Gala apple
- 2 Honey Mead brand Honey flavor graham crackers
- handful mixed nuts of choice (I used an Emerald brand Natural Walnuts and Almonds 100 calorie pack)
- 1-2 tbs dried cranberries
Directions:
Break graham crackers into bite-sized pieces. Chop apple into chunks. Now, combine all ingredients in desired serving bowl. Mix well so yogurt and pudding are blended together. Then, enjoy! (Note: if taking along to school, place apples in separate container from graham crackers and nuts so ingredients stay fresh. Mix together when ready to enjoy!)
Boston Cream Pie Parfait
Dig into decadent dreamland with this chocolatey concoction featuring Yoplait’s new Boston Cream Pie Greek yogurt and Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes cereal!
Ingredients:
- one container Yoplait Greek 100 yogurt, Boston Cream Pie flavor
- one serving Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes cereal
- 1/2 banana
- 2 tbs dried cranberries
- 10-15 semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 tbs chocolate nut butter (I used chocolate hazelnut butter)
Directions:
Use a spoon to paint the lower insides of a tall glass with graceful lines of chocolate hazelnut butter (or other chocolate nut butter.) Slice 1/2 banana thinly. Then, layer cereal, yogurt, banana, cranberries, and chocolate chips in glass.
What other yogurt parfait ideas can you dream up?
The Return of Donut!
Remember the toothsome tale of donut? If you didn’t read this post, here’s the gist of it: donut used to be unhealthy and full of fat and sugar, but he changed his ways and transformed into a delicious strawberry donut muffin!
Unfortunately, because his fab new form was so enticing, Donut was devoured by his gym buddies. And that was the end of Donut…
…Or was it?
Today, Donut has been reborn in an innovative incarnation no one could have predicted – a donut cheesecake!
You see, in the dessert underworld he encountered some of his old friends who had long ago been lost to gluttonous donut consumers: white-haired, old fashioned Glazed Donut, the eccentric Rainbow Sprinkle donut, and sassy little Cream Puff with a twist: the tang of Greek yogurt cheesecake now penetrated her sweet, creamy innards.
Summoning the power of deliciousness and the strength of strawberry filling, Donut and his friends chanted an ancient incantation. They were magically combined into one mighty Superdonut, a Donut Cake. In this new form they collectively resolved to return to earth and terrorize all who had once threatened them with a deadly bite.
But there’s nothing to be afraid of, really. This Strawberries ‘n’ Cream Donut Cheesecake is much healthier than your typical donut, or cheesecake, or deep-fried, sugary, fatty dessert in general. Made with whole wheat pastry flour and Truvia baking blend, it is lower in sugar and higher in fiber than traditional desserts. The yogurt cheesecake is low in fat and high in protein and calcium.
Instead of using saccharine strawberry jam for the filling, this time I used real, fresh strawberries, baked into something of a compote (you may wish to pre-cook the strawberries into a compote if you want it more of a sauce; mine ended up with a chunky, though still yummy texture.) To top it all off, the donut cake is drizzled with a generous river of Truvia glaze and sprinkled with rainbow nonpareils to help you eat your daily colors! 🙂
Don’t miss the scrumptious comeback of Donut and the gang: make this Strawberries and Cream Donut Cheesecake today!
Click here for the full recipe.
Donut variety image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Variety_of_doughnuts_with_cinnamon_roll.jpg
Back-to-School Breakfast: Mediterr-Asian Tofu Scramble Freezer Wraps
As soon as we discovered Amy’s frozen foods, my mom and I were both hooked: the wide selection of microwaveable vegetarian foods from a variety of cultural backgrounds, each of them tasty and many catering to specific health concerns, was the answer to our prayers as our lives were only becoming busier and busier. Whenever we’re at the market, we often stop by the frozen section to stock up on these healthy, edible convenience foods. I always like to get new products I haven’t yet tried. My mom’s approach has been to choose one or two go-to Amy’s products, so even when she isn’t at the market I can always guess what she’d want: the Breakfast Scramble Wrap, a loaded tofu scramble that brightens up her morning – or evening – with a healthy dose of Tabasco on the side.
(image source: http://www.examiner.com/review/amy-s-tofu-scramble-meals-wraps-a-superb-way-to-start-each-morning)
We try to always have at least one of these in the freezer, stowed away for that busy moment when one of us needs to just grab something for a quick meal before rushing off to school or some other chore. The problem is determining when is the right time to use up the reserve scramble wrap. Is this 15 minutes before choir practice emergency enough? Or does mom need it more for tomorrow morning in between taking me and my brother to school? Sometimes I ask, but every once in a while I will simply pop the wrap in the microwave on the sly and plan to get another one in the freezer before anyone notices – the convenience of an instant, nutrition-packed and delicious meal is just too hard to resist!
Last weekend, noticing we had no breakfast scrambles left in the freezer, I was faced with a choice: I could re-stock with the same old thing again… or I could go DIY and make something new and different! I went with the latter option – and that’s what I’m here to tell you about today.
These tofu scramble wraps are a delicious compact meal that can be warmed up in minutes. They’re great for busy mornings or evenings, and since the recipe makes eight individual wraps there won’t be any bickering over who gets that one Amy’s wrap lurking in the freezer! Besides the convenience factor, the recipe also makes for a delicious taste experience that is a fusion of Asian and Mediterranean flavors, harmoniously mingling inside a hearty, whole wheat pita wrap.
If you choose a vegan pita and vegan hummus, this recipe can easily be made vegan-friendly! Furthermore, it is much lower in calories than the Amy’s Breakfast Scramble Wrap, and low in sodium compared to many of the frozen foods you’ll find at the market. Feel free to play around and change up the sauce I used (soy sauce) or use fresh veggies instead of frozen, or mix up the types of vegetables. That’s the great thing about making your own frozen wraps: the ingredients are up to you. So set aside some time this weekend to save yourself time and stress during the week, with these Mediterr-Asian Tofu Scramble Freezer Wraps!
True Healthy Me 