Apple Pie Parfait

STILL on the breakfast theme!

I'm so very sorry (actually, I'm completely and totally NOT) but I can't help it! Breakfast has always been one of my favorite meals of the day, with dinner following close behind. I'm also a huge fan of the whole before-bed snack, but the popcorn I put in the microwave can't really count as a recipe.

So you all get breakfast.

All day, every day.

Don't worry, though. I have some biscuits, salads, and snacks coming up! There has been a bit of change around here within the past week, too. It's one that I'm still adapting to: the new layout of the blog. Now it feels a bit more spacious, almost, when I look at it now. I tried to make it a bit cleaner, and overall have a more straightforward and simple look.
Kind of matching that overall goal of simplicity is this recipe today. Just like the last one, I feel a little bad even calling it a recipe? Only four ingredients make up this delicious parfait, which basically tastes like an apple pie in a cup. I mean, don't get me wrong-- if you gave me a piece of apple pie, put it in a cup, and gave it to me, I would eat it for breakfast, too. But... that doesn't exactly match the goals of a healthy lifestyle, does it?

(Maybe sometimes.)

This is a great way to pack in some calcium and protein, along with satisfying a sweet tooth. I suppose that you could also use this as a type of healthy dessert, because it's just that good. You have creamy yogurt, sweet graham cracker, and tender apples all topped with some aromatic cinnamon. It's a home run as far as breakfast goes.



Um, YUM!
 

Crustless Apple Pie Parfait
Serves 1     

Ingredients:

• 6 oz fat free vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 medium apple, your choice (I love Gala)
• 1tsp graham cracker crumbs
• 1/8tsp cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Cut the apple into small cubes, then stick in the microwave and cook on full power for 1 minute.
2. Combine graham cracker crumbs and cinnamon.
3. To build parfait, layer 1/2 the yogurt with 1/2 the apple cubes; repeat with remaining yogurt and apples, then top with cinnamon-graham mixture.

Nutritional Information:
Sodium: 113mg
Total Fat: 0g
      Saturated: 0g
      Trans: 0g
Protein: 3g
Sugar: 32g
Calories: 172
Bonus: 27%DV of Calcium!

Greek Orange Parfait

Sometimes, the simple things in life are the best.

When I was a kid, I would order a "cheeseburger, no burger, just the cheese and buns" at fast food places when we traveled. This led to a lot of confusion on the part of the makers, who more often than not ended up just giving me the cheeseburger (Which, of course, I wouldn't touch, meaning that my parents had to sneakily peel off the beef, pickles, or whatever else the joint put on there before I could see it). But I loved that "no-burger" burger, because it was simple. The cheese and the bun were like perfect partners, each distinct and flawless (at least, to my little kid mind!).

Around times like this, with Thanksgiving and the holidays coming up, I'm taken back to the idea of appreciating simple things. I feel like we all lead such busy lives that the little things sometimes get overlooked and forgotten. The snow (even if I complain about it here in CO!). How amazing is the snow, right? Or warm socks after a cold walk, a sharpened colored pencil, a letter in the mail. The fact that I have a roof over my head, the opportunity for an education, and a family that loves me are such simple things, but so meaningful. I am so very blessed. And so very privileged. 

 

I tried to go along with the mood of simplicity today, just because it seems fitting for the post. I like simple things, and cooking isn't excluded from that. This is a super easy "recipe"-- if you can even call it that. All you need is your favorite nonfat Greek yogurt and a Cara-Cara orange (which have a darker interior; other oranges would also work). Not only that, but it is much healthier and lacking the saturated fat and empty calories of my "no-burger" burger days.

The bright, natural sweetness of the orange pairs wonderfully with creamy, slightly tangy Greek yogurt in this parfait. I used 8oz nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt and cut up pieces of a whole Cara-cara orange. I threw on a totally optional touch of cinnamon, too. Since all you do is just layer the yogurt with the orange segments, I see no need for directions in this recipe (and, coincidentally, the wide variability in the nutritional information for different yogurt brands means that any nutritional information provided would probably be unrepresentative). Instead, just throw this guy together and enjoy the wonderful flavors of simplicity, put into a tiny little parfait cup.