Yogurt shines at breakfast and holds its own at lunch, when health-minded folks enjoy its low price, easy portability and willingness to play with sweet or spicy. Dinner usually finds it back in the refrigerator unless some creative soul dresses a salad or baked potato with it.
And in dessert? How sweet to ask but yogurt rarely makes an appearance.
What a shame.
Yogurt can be a creamy stand-in for puddings, ice cream and even for its cool cousin (live bacteria-free usually), frozen yogurt. Often we feel that dessert has to be decadent to be delicious. Not true. In fact, after dinner, your family or guests may prefer a light touch.
Get creative:
Pumpkin Parfait
3 cups plain Greek yogurt or regular yogurt, drained
- 1/3 cup brown sugar or honey
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup whipped topping
- 4 Tbsps. chopped pecans
Mix yogurt, sugar, pumpkin and cinnamon.
Assemble in 4 wine or parfait glasses: First, whipped topping then nuts then pumpkin mix then repeat, dividing evenly.
Refrigerate for 4 hours.
The above recipe is moderate in calories and robust with probiotics, protein, calcium and vitamin A.
Other ideas:
- Layer berries with chunks of angel food cake and plain Greek yogurt sweetened with pomegranate or other juice.
- Mix thick yogurt with a little cream cheese and vanilla and spoon over slices of pound cake. Top with grilled nectarines or peaches.
- Mix Greek yogurt with unsweetened cocoa and sugar to taste. Layer with Nutella and low-fat whipped topping.
Granted, not all these creations are low-calorie. But they offer some nutrients which are actually good for us. Most chocolate cakes and cheesecakes clog our arteries and increase inflammation, not to mention guilt. We need a finite amount of calories in our increasingly sedentary lives; empty calories are not the way to go.
Reward your guests with yogurt desserts.