Fruit Yogurt Parfait - Guitl Free Dessert

Know What You Eat: If you eat fruit on an empty stomach, it will play a major role to detoxify your system, supplying you with a great deal of energy for weight loss and other life activities. There is no such thing as some fruits, like orange and lemon are acidic, because all fruits become alkaline in our body, according to Dr. Herbert Shelton who did research on this matter. If you have mastered the correct way of eating fruits, you have the Secret of beauty, longevity, health, energy, happiness and normal weight.

APPLE: An apple a day keeps the doctor away? Although an apple has a low vitamin C content, it has antioxidants & flavonoids which enhances the activity of vitamin C thereby helping to lower the risks of colon cancer, heart attack & stroke.

STRAWBERRY: Protective Fruit.. Strawberries have the highest total antioxidant power among major fruits & protect the body from cancer-causing, blood vessel-clogging free radicals.

ORANGE : Sweetest medicine. Taking 2-4 oranges a day may help keep colds away, lower cholesterol, prevent & dissolve kidney stones as well as lessens the risk of colon cancer.

So....What are you waiting for, jump on, make this guilt free dessert, and take control over your health.

Preparation & Assembling time: 10 mins
Serves 2

Ingredients

1 cup nonfat yogurt

2 Tbsp honey or acc. to taste

1 pinch salt1 pinch black pepper powder

1 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest, plus 1/2 tablespoon juice

1 piece fresh ginger (about 1 inches)

2 C diced fruits cut into 

1/2-inch cubes(papaya,apple,strawberries,orange,blackberries,banana,mango)

1 Tbsp cup chopped fresh mint, plus sprigs for garnish

1/2 cup granola or 1 honey-n-oats cereal bar cut into small pieces

1/4 cup nuts (almond, raisins,walnut)

Method: 

1. In a small bowl combine yogurt, 2 tablespoons honey, and zest; whisk it & set aside.

2. Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the ginger (no need to peel) into a small bowl. 

3.Squeeze ginger through a fine-meshed sieve or strainer placed over a medium bowl to get a total of 1/2 tablespoon ginger juice. Discard pulp. To the bowl with the juice, add lemon juice; whisk to combine. Add all the fruits and toss gently to coat.

To serve: Spoon half the fruit and juices among 2 tall glasses or bowls. Sprinkle chopped mint over the fruit. Top with half the yogurt mixture and half the granola. Layer with the remaining fruit, yogurt, and granola.

4. Garnish with mint sprigs and lemon or orange zest....Enjoy this as whole some breakfast or as a guilt free snack !!

Event Participation

This dish goes to Show me your Breakfast event hosted by Divya Vikram.

Recipes for the rest of us - Fruits, event hosted by Kamalika.

This goes to EFM June Breakfast series hosted by Srish.

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Healthy Granola Cereal with magic seeds

Know what you Eat : Studies show that eating chia seed slows down how fast our bodies convert carbohydrate calories into simple sugars.The chia seeds may have great benefits for diabetics so they are considered as magic seeds. Eating the seeds helps dieters by making them feel fuller faster so they will be less hungry. Oats an excellent source of iron, dietary fiber and thiamin. They also contain antioxidants that are believed to protect the circulatory system from diseases such as arteriosclerosis, which affects the arterial blood vessel.


Cooking Time : 20-30 mins
Preparation Time : 5 mins
Serves : 4 to 6

Ingredients

Extra thick rolled Oats - 2 cups
Almonds - 3/4 cup (Crush or pound them)
Grated Coconut - 3/4 cup
Chia(magic) seeds - 1/2 cup
Wheat Germ - 1/4 cup (You can use wheat rava with small pieces of broken wheat & bran)
White Sesame(Til) seeds - 1/4 cup
Raisins - 1/2 cup
Brown sugar - 1/4 cup (If not using brown sugar, substitute it with honey)
Honey - 1/4 cup (Increase this if you want the granola to be sweeter)
Oil - 1/4 cup
Cinnamon - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Water - 1 tbsp

I love granola but the store bought ones are too sweet, so i thought of making them at home as you can control the amount of sugar and add the ingredients you want and like. You just can put it in the oven, stir once in while and get on to your other things and a healthy breakfast will be ready in a few minutes. Now let us get on to the recipe.

Method

1) Preheat oven to 35o degrees F.
2) Crush or pound the almonds with a thick bottom pan or hammer, rolling them in a paper towel and putting them in a ziploc bag.
3) Combine all of the above ingredients except the raisins and bake till the oats slightly browns and the rest of ingredients are crunchy.
4) Remove and add the raisins and serve with milk and fruits of your choice.
5) During the bake time keep stirring and keep a close watch so that it doesn't get overcooked.
6) Do not forget to crush the almonds as smaller kids will have harder time to chew and eat them.
7) You can mix and match any ingredients, add baked sweetened banana chips, cranberries, apricots, dried apples, walnuts, cashew, dates, Peanuts etc. Don't add the dry fruits when baking but combine after baking.
8) With the addition of chia seeds, this keeps you filled up for hours.

Event Participation

1) This dish is our contribution to Srivalli's Mithai Mela hosted by Cooking 4 all Seasons.
2) This dish is our contribution to WYF Quick Meals event hosted by EC.
3) This also goes to Show me your Breakfast event hosted by Divya Vikram.
4) This also goes to Original Recipe Monthly Round up event hosted by Lorie.

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