Summer Sweets
With summer in full swing, grocery stores are packed with some of the best produce you'll find all year. Eating those fruits and veggies in season provide the maximum benefit in nutrition and taste compared to imported or canned goods.
You might be surprised how valuable a single serving of certain summer fruits are, for example:
-1 cup of strawberries has 3 grams of fibre and more Vitamin C and iron than an orange;
-1 medium wedge of cantaloupe has about half your recommended daily dose of Vitamin A;
-most dark berries are excellent sources of antioxidants and anti-cancer phytochemicals, while containing less than 100 calories per serving.
(Read up more on other favorite fruits and vegetables here)
One of our family favorites is a fruit and yogurt dessert-style dish. I love it because I can sneak dairy and fruit in under the radar and everyone thinks it's a treat.
Cut up a quantity of mixed fruits into bite-size pieces. I choose by category, for example: one part stone fruit (nectarine, pear, plum, etc.), one part exotic fruit (mango, banana, etc.), and one part berry. I always use soft textured and intensely flavored varieties, but rarely citrus because it does not go as well with yogurt.
In a separate bowl measure ½ to ¾ cup per person of lowfat plain yogurt (I never use nonfat; it's too tasteless), or less if you want it to be more like fruit salad. Add ¼ to ½ tsp per serving of vanilla sugar or use vanilla extract and sugar/Splenda, to taste. Whisk this together until smooth and creamy. If available you can use vanilla-flavored yogurt instead, although I find it often too sweet.
You might be surprised how valuable a single serving of certain summer fruits are, for example:
-1 cup of strawberries has 3 grams of fibre and more Vitamin C and iron than an orange;
-1 medium wedge of cantaloupe has about half your recommended daily dose of Vitamin A;
-most dark berries are excellent sources of antioxidants and anti-cancer phytochemicals, while containing less than 100 calories per serving.
(Read up more on other favorite fruits and vegetables here)
One of our family favorites is a fruit and yogurt dessert-style dish. I love it because I can sneak dairy and fruit in under the radar and everyone thinks it's a treat.
Cut up a quantity of mixed fruits into bite-size pieces. I choose by category, for example: one part stone fruit (nectarine, pear, plum, etc.), one part exotic fruit (mango, banana, etc.), and one part berry. I always use soft textured and intensely flavored varieties, but rarely citrus because it does not go as well with yogurt.
In a separate bowl measure ½ to ¾ cup per person of lowfat plain yogurt (I never use nonfat; it's too tasteless), or less if you want it to be more like fruit salad. Add ¼ to ½ tsp per serving of vanilla sugar or use vanilla extract and sugar/Splenda, to taste. Whisk this together until smooth and creamy. If available you can use vanilla-flavored yogurt instead, although I find it often too sweet.
Toss the yogurt together with the fruit and dust with a little cinnamon sugar on top right before serving. You can really dress this up by spooning it into martini glasses or glass bowls and garnishing with mint leaves, biscotti, or chocolate mint sticks.
For a more decadent version (and wildly popular in my home!), use full-fat yogurt and substitute up to half with real whipped cream.
Mamaluv is a ChickAdvisor writer and mother of 3. She strives to satisfy her sweet tooth with fruit and other healthy alternatives whenever she can, but isn't one to snub a good piece of cake.
Read Mamaluv's blog!
For a more decadent version (and wildly popular in my home!), use full-fat yogurt and substitute up to half with real whipped cream.
Mamaluv is a ChickAdvisor writer and mother of 3. She strives to satisfy her sweet tooth with fruit and other healthy alternatives whenever she can, but isn't one to snub a good piece of cake.
Read Mamaluv's blog!
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