Mainely Dish: Yogurt Fruit Parfait
— By Alex Gayton, Assistant EFNEP Coordinator & Social Media Coordinator, Expanded Food Nutrition and Education Program (EFNEP), University of Maine Cooperative Extension
Visit EFNEP’s recipe website for the Yogurt Fruit Parfait recipe and recipe video.
A yogurt fruit parfait is a perfect low-effort, nutritious breakfast or snack when you just don’t have time for meal prepping. Being a mom means my mornings are a little hectic getting everyone ready to leave the house for the day. Honestly, I am a person who needs to eat breakfast and then have a morning snack before lunch because I am inevitably hungry again. Parfaits are a snack I forget about and think I should start making more often, especially because I can prep them the night before or portion the ingredients out for the week in containers so they are easy to grab and go! My parfaits might not have pretty layers like pictured, but I can add the yogurt and fruit ahead of time and then bring a bag of granola with me in my lunch bag to add to the parfait when I’m ready to eat it so the granola doesn’t get soggy.
If you are looking to make alterations to this recipe to meet your health needs or personal preferences, here are a few tips that may help:
- Yogurt
- Trying to decrease added sugar? Choose a plain yogurt instead of a flavored one.
- Aiming to decrease saturated fat? Choose a non-fat or low-fat yogurt instead of a whole-fat yogurt.
- Fruit
- Looking to decrease added sugar? Choose fresh or frozen fruit, or canned fruit that is in 100% juice. If you have canned fruit that is in a light or heavy syrup, drain and rinse the fruit so the syrup isn’t consumed.
- Granola or cereal
- Wanting to decrease added sugar? Look at the nutrition facts label (FDA) and choose one that is lower in added sugar or choose an option that says less than 5% daily value added sugar.
- Increase fiber (FDA)- find an option high in fiber, 10% daily value or higher would be considered a high source of fiber. Fiber helps keep you fuller for longer and is good for your digestive system.