It's Better on Top

When I was growing up, I used to love that Fruit on the Bottom yogurt sold in big convenience packs at the grocery store. My mom would buy a few containers of it a week and no sooner had she returned from the store than I would be set with my spoon, ready to push through the watery plain yogurt down into the gloppy "fruit" pooled at the bottom. I wouldn't even bother swirling it as was intended; I was fine with a spoonful or two of the sweet stuff before discarding the mostly full container in the trash (carefully hidden from my parents beneath a sheet of paper towel or two). The berry varieties were my favorite, but as I got older my palate started rejecting those little pots of sugar in favor of slightly more nuanced flavors and textures. Right now, nothing beats a spoonful of thick and tart Greek-strained yogurt. There is no denying, however that sweet berries and yogurt are a fine combination, but it is also one that can be easily put together at home sans the sugary jam (and to far greater results).

This *barely* counts as a recipe and so I won't even pretend to write one, but it's my latest obsession and one I thought worth sharing. Equally delicious as breakfast or dessert, this simple parfait makes great use of that thick, (overpriced) Greek-strained yogurt that seems to be everywhere right now. I'm a fan of the Fage (pronounced Fa-yeh!) brand yogurt, which is creamy and just a little bit tart. I scoop this into a wine glass and top with fresh blackberries, raspberries, unsweetened shredded coconut, and sliced almonds. A sprinkle of vanilla extract (I used my homemade kind--stay-tuned for more on that) and generous drizzles of amber Agave syrup finish off this perfect treat.

Now I've never really been a "fruits are enough for dessert" kind of girl--I tend to be drawn more to the molten-decadent-bruleed-a la mode-with a cherry on top kinds of treats--but this combo is so good that it somehow manages to sate my incorrigible sweet tooth with a kind of edible "there, there now."

And yes, it's good for you too! Thanks to Jamie Lee Curtis, we all already know about the benefits of yogurt in balancing the flora and fauna of the digestive track. The real goody in this treat is the Agave syrup. For those of you who haven't tried it (I'm a super recent convert still in possession of my first bottle), it tastes like a sweet cross between honey and maple syrup. It's slightly less viscose than honey and blends easily with liquids (even cold ones!). Though lacking the depth of raw honey, the sweetness and texture is great. And the best part (for those of you who, like me, are prone to finicky blood-sugar levels) is that the high-fructose content keep it a low-GI sweetener; so no blood sugar spikes and crashes to worry about.

I encourage you to give this combo a shot, or go ahead and try the yogurt with other fruits or berries, (and maybe toss in some ground flax seeds for added fiber). You'll never go back to those supermarket convenience packs again!

xoxo

A

P.S. I got a new camera. Can you tell?