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

Delish: Spinach Ravioli Lasagna

"The trouble with eating Italian food is that five or six days later you're hungry again."
-George Miller

I love Sunday! It is easily my favorite day of the week. I look forward to relaxing, spending time with family and getting ready for the upcoming week.

Our Sunday's always include family dinner, and normally that means a big meal my mom makes over at my parents house. This week though, my sister and her boyfriend were is Vegas, so we decided to give my mom a break, and had her and my dad to our place for dinner instead!

When I mentioned to my dad that I would be doing dinner this week, he started telling me about something he had seen on the Food Network that he thought I might like... Vegetarian Lasagna made with cheese ravioli in place of lasagna noodles. It sounded so delicious, I decided to try it out.

After a bit of searching on line, I just couldn't find a recipe I was completely in love with, so I decided to make it up. I've made a ton of lasagna over the years, so I basically just substituted the ravioli into it. It turned out great! It was gooey and cheesy and had just the right amount of spinach a spice.

Yum. I could have eaten my weight in this stuff!

Below is the recipe for what I ended up with, but you could easily use your favorite lasagna recipe as a starting point as well.

Spinach and Cheese Ravioli Lasagna

1 package chopped frozen spinach
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups dry cottage cheese
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large "family package" cheese ravioli
2 jars spicy red pepper tomato sauce
2 cups grated mozzarella or Italian blend cheese
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

-Bring a large pot of water to a boil for pasta.
-Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and move oven rack to middle of oven.
-Defrost the spinach for 10 minutes in the microwave.
-While spinach is defrosting, heat a skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and the garlic. Saute garlic in oil 1 minute, then sprinkle spinach into the garlic oil and heat through.
-Cook ravioli to al dente, 5 to 6 minutes in salted water and drain pasta well.
-In a baking dish, ladle just enough sauce in the bottom of dish to lightly coat it. Arrange a layer of pasta to cover. Top the pasta with a layer of the spinach, then cottage cheese. Thinly cover with more sauce then top liberally with grated mozzarella cheese. Repeat these layers 3 times, then top your lasagna with the remaining sauce and some grated mozzarella and cheddar cheese.
-Place into a preheated 425 degree F oven until cheese browns and sauce bubbles, 10 minutes.
-Let stand a few minutes to set before serving.
-Enjoy!

This dish is as easy and quick to make as it delicious! It only took about 15 minutes to prep and then 10 minutes in the oven. It would be great for a quick weeknight meal.

It's such a simple change to everyday lasagna, but I promise you won't be disappointed!


Photo credit: allyou.com