Roasting the strawberries in this parfait recipe brings out their natural amazing flavor and creates a luxurious syrup while still maintaining a firm texture. This is a natural snack at it’s best — perfect for young and old alike.
This recipe was gone in litteraly seconds. I had kids and adults with yogurt covered faces and big eyes saying, “more!” Quick, simple, and beyond good.
This recipe was written for Disney’s Spoonful.com.
View more of my recipes and articles for Disney here.
Lately, my kitchen (in the new house) has been a disaster area. Like Bruce Willis filming an action movie in my kitchen kind of disaster. If it’s not flooding, something is either exploding, shorting-out, or simply refuses to work. I’m not kidding. The stove shoots fireballs everytime I turn it on. It’s a miracle I have eybrows and my dog still has a tail.
In hopes to get Bruce out of the kitchen we bought all new appliances. A new dishwasher, oven, microwave, and a stove (thank the Lord). Unfortunately, things went from bad to worse when the installers came to install everything and left without installing a thing. Why? Because the previous owners were major DIY kind of people and decided to trap all applainces by tiling the floor and counter over them. They also felt because of their vast knowledge of plumbing that they could install a kitchen sink by using wooden blocks to hold up the plumbing to the sink. The plumber and I are now good friends.
So, while we are waiting for our new granite counter tops to come in and a complete demo to start, every meal in my awesome kitchen has to be extremely simple or Bruce Willis is going to kill me by shooting fireballs out of my incredibly dangerous gas stove. Thankfully, the weather has been great and when I don’t want to risk catching on fire when I turn on a burner, we grill. One of my favorite sauces for grilled food is this one.
Cinantro Cream Sauce is a delicatly tangy, spicy, and refreshing sauce perfect for meats, fish, and vegetables. Use it spooned over burgers, quesadillas, grilled chicken, corn on the cob, tacos (especially fish tacos), kabobs, blackened salmon, and it’s fantastic over grilled vegetables. I even used it as a plate garnish for hatch chili carnitas on a bed of fresh corn and parmesan polenta (used this recipe as a base: Poblano Carnitas on Goat Cheese Polenta) it was delicious!
Cross your fingers I get a working kitchen soon, please!
Cilantro Cream Sauce makes 1 1/4 cups
Are you ready for this extreamly hard and challenging recipe? Ok, brace yourselves.
Place all ingredients in a food processor or high powered blender.
Process until completely blended.
Serve. Whew, I need a drink.
This sauce is practically good on anything. Like I said, spoon it over burgers (like this lamb burger pictured above), quesadillas, grilled chicken, corn on the cob, tacos (especially fish tacos), kabobs, blackened salmon, and it’s fantastic over grilled vegetables.
Cilantro Cream Sauce makes 1 1/4 cups
1. Place all ingredients in a food processor or high powered blender. Process until completely blended and serve.
Spoon it over burgers, quesadillas, grilled chicken, corn on the cob, tacos (especially fish tacos), kabobs, blackened salmon, and it’s fantastic over grilled vegetables.
A story as old as time, when you have over ripened bananas that are starting to draw fruit flies and you are about to show your house to a potential buyer you make banana muffins or in our case banana nut muffins with Greek yogurt that are sinfully moist. I make this muffin recipe with practically any fresh fruit. It is also perfect to make ahead and use the batter as needed (batter will keep for 5 days in the refrigerator) for fresh delicious muffins every morning.
Another story that is as old as time is Murphy’s Law. When you are supposed to be doing something very important it is almost certain that inconceivable things will happen to slow you down. Case in point, the day I made these muffins I woke up to a house full of fruit flies gunning for my bananas. Something that you do not want in your house when you are trying to sell it. As I’m making these banana nut muffins with Mia to get rid of the fruit flies a half an hour before the house is to be shown, the door bell rings. It’s an energy salesman trying to sell me an energy plan while there is an obvious for sale sign in front of my house.
Just as I was about to slam the door in his face after he would not take “no” for an answer, all hell breaks loose and the smoke detector goes off. This scares the cats, sends them 10 feet into the air and causes them to run for their lives. All this commotion gets the attention of Jack the 70 pound lab who I thought was quietly sleeping. He starts to chase the cats around the house and runs past me and Eduardo the electric salesman while wearing a diaper on his face. Why does he have a diaper on his face? Because for some reason unbeknownst to me the dog has decided to empty Mia’s diaper trash in search of poo filled diapers. Yes, I said that right. Now, I still have Eduardo at the door, when Mia comes in from her room with one of the most terrifying thing in her hands… a permanent marker. This is when Eduardo says, “Is this a bad time?” To which I reply, “No, Eduardo, it’s perfect timing please come in for some tea and cookies.”
It’s now ten minutes before the realtor arrives and I’m stuck with a smoke detector that won’t turn off yet there’s no smoke, a chasing scene out of a Tom and Jerry cartoon, poop filled diapers flung about all over the house, and a once pink and cute vintage inspired child’s kitchen set that is now basically street taged with sharpie. Needless to say I did not hear back from the people that viewed the house that day nor did I buy an energy plan. At least the muffins were good.
Banana Nut Oatmeal Muffins makes 12
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cups and lightly grease the paper cups with cooking spray. Greasing the paper muffin cups is not necessary but helps. In a medium sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Peel the bananas and place them in a large bowl. With a potato masher or fork, mash the bananas until creamy. This is Mia’s favorite part.
In a large bowl with a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars together until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl to make sure everything gets blended. Beat on medium speed until butter, sugars, and eggs are combined.
Next, add vanilla and yogurt and blend until combined. With the blender on low, slowly add the flour mixture and blend until just incorperated. Sorry, this photo just escaped me. Must have been a moment when I was trying to keep Mia’s fingers out of the batter.
Next, fold in the mashed bananas, oatmeal and pecans.
Generously scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups.
Sprinkle the tops of the soon to be muffins with a pinch of oatmeal.
Place in the oven for 18 to 22 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. All ovens are different. I find this recipe is done in 18 minutes but still lacks that golden crisp color. To achieve a golden color and crisp texture on top, place the muffins under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes until golden.
Immediately remove the muffins from the muffin tin. Be careful not to burn your hands, they will be hot. Allow to cool on a cooling rack.
Serve and enjoy!
Banana Nut Oatmeal Muffins makes 12
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cups and lightly grease the paper cups with cooking spray. Greasing the paper muffin cups is not necessary but helps. In a medium sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. Peel the bananas and place them in a large bowl. With a potato masher or fork, mash the bananas until creamy.
3. In a large bowl with a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars together until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl to make sure everything gets blended. Beat on medium speed until butter, sugars, and eggs are combined. Next, add vanilla and yogurt and blend until combined. With the blender on low, slowly add the flour mixture and blend until just incorperated. Next, fold in the mashed bananas, oatmeal and pecans.
4. Generously scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups and sprinkle the tops of the soon to be muffins with a pinch of oatmeal.
5. Place in the oven for 18 to 22 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. All ovens are different. I find this recipe is done in 18 minutes but still lacks that golden crisp color. To achieve a golden color and crisp texture on top, place the muffins under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes until golden. Immediately remove the muffins from the muffin tin. Be careful not to burn your hands, they will be hot. Allow to cool on a cooling rack.
As a mom I sometimes find that snack time is more difficult than a meal time. When I could easily just say, “For the love of everything holy, If you’re hungry just grab a snack bar from the pantry!” — in the back of my mind I still know that even snacks should resemble some nutritional value. Not to say I never grab a bag of Cheddar Goldfish in a hurry because it happens but a fruit and cheese plate on a daily basis can get boring fast. And we all know boring food to a toddler is going to end in a meltdown.
In our house creative toddler food is the answer to a healthy meal and what’s more fun than food on a stick? Seriosly, my child will eat anything on a stick. I do love a state fair corndog once a year and that’s on a stick so I’m not going to argue. So when we started putting fruit on a stick I knew we had something.
These simple frozen yogurt fruit pops are one of Mia’s favorites and allows her to create her own healthy snack with Greek yogurt, fruit, nuts, and of course you have to have sprinkles.
Frozen Yogurt Covered Fruit Pops makes 12 pops
In a bowl, combine yogurt and honey. If you feel like you need to add a little more honey than suggested go right ahead. Mia likes hers tart. Place the bowl in the freezer for 5 minutes to thicken back up.
Slice fruit into large slices that will fit on a stick. Keep strawberries whole.
Prep the desired toppings. Chop nuts and chocolate, toast coconut, pour sprinkles…and place on a plate or in separate bowls.
Insert sticks into fruit.
Dip fruit into yogurt using a spoon to help spread the yogurt over the fruit.
Sprinkle desired topping over the yogurt covered fruit.
Besides eating, this is Mia’s favorite part.
Place the dipped fruit pops on a baking sheet covered with wax paper or parchment paper. Place in the freezer for 2 hours or until the yogurt is frozen.
Remove from the freezer and serve. Store in freezer bags in the freezer. If stored for a day or more they are best served when defrosted for at room temperature for a minute or two.
“yum. yum. yummy. yum.” – Mia
A great healthy snack for kids to make by themselves and perfect for the up and coming hot summer days.
Frozen Yogurt Covered Fruit Pops makes 12 pops
2. Slice fruit into large slices that will fit on a stick. Keep strawberries whole.
3. Prep the desired toppings. Chop nuts and chocolate, toast coconut, pour sprinkles…and place on a plate or in separate bowls. Insert sticks into fruit.
4. Dip fruit into yogurt using a spoon to help spread the yogurt over the fruit. Sprinkle desired topping over the yogurt covered fruit.
5. Place the dipped fruit pops on a baking sheet covered with wax paper or parchment paper. Place in the freezer for 2 hours or until the yogurt is frozen.
6. Remove from the freezer and serve. Store in freezer bags in the freezer. If stored for a day or more they are best served when defrosted for at room temperature for a minute or two.
Have you ever been attacked by a chocolate craving? I mean a full on “must have chocolate or I’m going to run through the streets like a mad zombie person” kind of craving? That was me yesterday after a hectic, yet productive, day complete with an insane workout where I was firmly aware that the medicien ball was out to kill me.
I figured after a day like that I need, no I deserve a thick fudgey chocolate brownie. As I gathered my ingredients it was to my horror to find there wasn’t a single egg in the house or loose neighborhood chicken around to capture. After lamenting my utter sorrow on Facebook and Twitter it was brought to my attention that brownies don’t have to be made with eggs and there are plenty of substitutes.
……………………………………………………………………………….hmmmm………….
{this is the dead silence in my brain waiting for it to click that there are such things as vegans who don’t eat eggs or dairy yet still can make a brownie, a non egg brownie has to be possible} …………….. wait… and there it is.
After a little research and an “Ah-Ha” moment that I can have a barely any fat brownie without any guilt, I got to mixing. I found a recipe for yogurt brownies but realized it still had oil that I now did not want as I was trying to find the ultimate low-fat brownie without using applesauce that produces a cakey batter and still has the need for eggs. Using that recipe and adding a leveling agent (baking soda and flax seeeds to replace the egg) I came up with this delicious rendition of what almost tastes like a real brownie.
Disclaimer: Now let’s get real, here. If you omit the awesome goodness of eggs, butter, and oil are you really going to have a product that tastes exactly like a brownie? No. But by taking all of that out and adding the right amount of Greek yogurt and a few tablespoons of flax seeds you are left with one intensly chocolately fudge brownie and you can still fit into your skinny jeans after.
Low-fat Fudge Brownies makes 9 – 2″x2″ brownies
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a microwave safe bowl, melt 3/4 cup chocolate chips in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir and melt in 30 second intervals, stiring after each time, until melted.
3. Pour yogurt in a large bowl. Add the melted chocolate, sugar, and vanilla to the yogurt and stir to combine.
4. In another bowl, combine flour, ground flax seeds, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the chocolate/yogurt mixture and stir until just combined. Add water and stir until incorperated. Fold in the 1/4 chocolate chips (optional).
5. Line an 8″x8″ oven safe baking dish with parchment paper. If you do not have parchment paper you will have to generously grease the dish with butter to prevent sticking. Pour the batter evenly into the baking dish and place in the oven. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
6. Using the parchment paper as a handle, carefully remove the brownies from the baking dish and allow to cool on a cooling rack. Cut into squares. Best when eaten warm.
Loaded with chocolate but not too sweet, these barely any fat brownies have the rich fudge taste and texture you desire without all of the fat. Skinny jeans rejoice.
Low-fat Fudge Brownies makes 9 – 2″x2″ brownies
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a microwave safe bowl, melt 3/4 cup chocolate chips in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir and melt in 30 second intervals, stiring after each time, until melted.
3. Pour yogurt in a large bowl. Add the melted chocolate, sugar, and vanilla to the yogurt and stir to combine.
4. In another bowl, combine flour, ground flax seeds, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the chocolate/yogurt mixture and stir until just combined. Add water and stir until incorperated. Fold in the 1/4 chocolate chips (optional).
5. Line an 8″x8″ oven safe baking dish with parchment paper. If you do not have parchment paper you will have to generously grease the dish with butter to prevent sticking. Pour the batter evenly into the baking dish and place in the oven. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
6. Using the parchment paper as a handle, carefully remove the brownies from the baking dish and allow to cool on a cooling rack. Cut into squares. Best when eaten warm.
