Delish: Fresh Strawberry Frozen Yogurt Sundaes

"Strawberries are the angels of the earth, innocent and sweet with green leafy wings reaching heavenward."
-Terri Guillemets

I come from a long line of dessert addicts.

Growing up, dinner every night was followed by some sort of sugary sweet treat. At our house it was chocolate brownie pudding, layer cakes and molasses ginger bread. At my Grandma's is was homemade rhubarb pie, mint nanaimo bars and scottish shortbread. At my Grandmother Nette's it was ice cream sundaes, popcorn cake and triple chocolate cookies. Needless to say, as an adult with an ever slowing metabolism, I find I am engaged in a constant internal battle... to dessert or not to dessert?

Thankfully, (for me and my waistline) summer offers so many healthy and delicious dessert options. There is a huge selection of fruit that is readily available, and relatively inexpensive. I just love to wander around the farmers market looking at all the fresh fruits until something wonderful catches my eye... it's so liberating after a winter of routine apples and bananas or five dollar raspberries.

On Sunday we went to the market to pick up a bunch of fresh fruit and vegetables and I was shocked to find a huge selection of amazing looking berries, and they were so cheap! In addition to a bunch of other yummy produce, we bought a big tray of strawberries, and I'm so glad we did because they are heavenly! We have eaten the entire tray between the two of us in under two days! It's crazy! Even my usually fruit opposed husband can't get enough... The key: Frozen Yogurt Sundaes!

We both love ice cream in all its forms... I mean, we had a portable Marble Slab instead of a cake at our wedding! Unfortunately, ice cream is not the healthiest dessert choice even if it is covered in fresh fruit. Lucky for us, Vanilla Frozen Yogurt by Foothills Creamery is delicious and healthy, and with only 2.8% milk fat, compared to the over 10% in regular ice cream, you can enjoy dessert guilt free all summer long!

Here is the recipe (if you can even really call it that...) for the tasty Strawberry Frozen Yogurt Sundaes we've been loving, but you can easily customize it using your favorite toppings and a bit of imagination.

Fresh Strawberry Frozen Yogurt Sundaes

1/2 cup Foothills Creamery Vanilla Frozen Yogurt
1/2 cup fresh organic strawberries, washed
2 tbsp almonds, sliced
Optional:
Unsweetened coconut
Dark chocolate shavings or curls

-Heat oven to 350 degrees and move oven rack to middle position
-On a baking pan, spread out the almonds in a single layer and bake for 10 - 15 minutes, or until the slivers are golden, but not dark brown. Toss almonds every 5 minutes, and watch for the last few minutes of baking, as they can turn dark in seconds
-Cool almonds for 10 - 15 minutes
-Trim caps off of the strawberries and cut into thin slices
-Optional: Using a grater, shave dark chocolate into shavings or curls
-Remove frozen yogurt from the freezer and scoop out a 1/2 serving into a bowl. Top with sliced strawberries and toasted almonds. Add coconut and dark chocolate if desired.
-Bon Appetite


Not only is fresh fruit a delicious and low calorie treat, but it's also full of vitamins, helps digestion, protects against illness and full of antioxidants! Canada's Food Guide recommends 5 servings of fruit a day, and this is a pretty sweet way to get at least one of them!

So go ahead, and have dessert... it's good for you!


Photo Credit: Snooth.com