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Summer’s Ending, Make Frozen Yogurt
It’s already the middle of September, and the Pumpkin Spice Latte is already back at Starbucks. I guess that means summer is wrapping up, huh? Well it hasn’t completely started cooling down yet, so I think we can get away with one more batch of frozen yogurt before switching pumpkin-and-apple-flavor-everything.
This weekend has been the most productive couple of days… There was the first home football game of the season, a complete shut out by our boys! My suitemates switched up roommates, (lots of heavy furniture moving involved) and now I have a wonderful new roomie! The Price is Right Live show was a fun and different way to start a Saturday night, but I sadly walked away empty handed. Then there was my first strength training workout, my first James Bond movie (a homework assignment- I would rather be watching old episodes of Grey’s Anatomy) and a ridiculous amount of homework plus some other fun stuff here and there. I wasn’t ready for this Monday morning alarm clock but here I am, hair curled and all, ready to share a super-healthy-super-sweet-summer-dessert : )
You will need:
1 1/2 Cups Vanilla non-fat Greek Yogurt
1 Cup fresh strawberries, diced
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 chocolate bar, broken into pieces
6 graham crackers, broken not crushed
*An ice cream maker
1. Heat diced strawberries, water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until they start to soften. Drain and refrigerate until cool.
2. Once the strawberries are cold, stir in the greek yogurt.
3. Pour yogurt mixture into the ice cream maker and allow to mix together in the machine for 20 minutes.
4. By hand, mix in the graham cracker and chocolate pieces; place the whole bowl in the freezer for at least 60 minutes before serving.
If you like greek frozen yogurt, you may also want to try: Peach n’ Pecan Greek Frozen Yogurt
Now we can welcome autumn. Onto all things cinnamon & spice :)
Pin this recipe here! 
College Life Round 2 Begins
I am once again back to living dorm-style, which means dorm room workouts and recipes are coming! Yesterday my parents drove me and all my belongings one state over to my new home sweet home for the next 9 months. It was quite a workout hauling heavy bins up stairs, but unpacking and decorating was actually fun and my new room is ready for the year! My roommate and I have a little “Kitchen-area” complete with a coffee pot and baking goods…Pictures to come : )
Until then, I will share a fun, healthy, summery dessert I made my last night at home: Peach n’ Pecan Greek Frozen Yogurt!
I was inspired by the recipe from Chocolate & Carrots, because I love frozen yogurt and it sounded too yummy to pass up.
(It does require an ice cream maker!)
I made this on my last night at home before leaving for school. I knew it was my last day in my (read: my parents) kitchen with all the ingredients at my disposal. Plus I wanted to make something extra special for my parents before they sent me to college! I think this was a hit, they are both peach fans and this was such a good summer treat without the fat and calories of ice cream.
The only fat in this dessert comes from the Pecans which combined with the greek yogurt makes this quite a protein-packed dessert! (Good, we would need our muscles for lifting my heavy boxes the next day!)
Ingredients:
Pecan & Cinnamon mixture
2 Cups non-fat Vanilla Greek Yogurt
5 ripe peaches, peeled and diced
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar or sugar-substitute
1 cup Pecans
1 Tbs Cinnamon
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1 Tbs Agave Nectar
1. Start my cooking the diced peaches and water in a medium sauce pan over medium heat until they are cooked and soft, about 8 minutes.
2. Remove from heat; add sugar and stir. Allow to cool in the freezer.
3. Once peaches are cool, combine the peach mixture and greek yogurt in the ice cream maker and set to mix for 25 minutes.
4. While the yogurt is mixing, blend the pecans and cinnamon in a food processor until crumby. Add in the vanilla and agave nectar until a doughy-ball forms. Then, shape the pecan mixture into mini-sized dough balls. Once the yogurt is done blending in the ice cream maker, turn off and add in the pecan bites. Stir in gently with a spatula, cover the ice cream maker bowl and freeze until ready to eat!
*I recommend removing the bowl from the freezer about 15 minutes before you are ready to serve to allow it to thaw a little bit, making it easier to scoop out.
The pecan bites are like a nutty cookie dough and the cinnamon combined with the peach flavor is so yummy!
Pin this Here! 
Sunday Sundae and The Pig’s Trough
I have some alarming news: health nuts eat dessert too. And it isn’t always sugar-free non-fat soy protein jello either.
Sometimes, I splurge on an indulgence. My weakness? Ice Cream. A favorite I inherited from my dad and grandpa. I can turn down a doughnut anyday; I’ll say “no thank you” to cake, cookies and candy. But ice cream? The obvious answer is DUH!
I’ve been to Dairy Queen, Cold Stone and Thrify’s exactly zero times this summer…that is a first. So since my summer vacation is ending in less than a week, we planned a trip to Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour where the story of the pig and the trough begins:
Farrell’s is an adorably-themed restaurant with an old fashioned ice cream parlour and many one-of-a-kind desserts that come with not just a spoon but a song and dance too. There’s this thing called the “Pig’s Trough” and for whatever reason, my dad thought that sounded enticing.
Oink Oink!
That is TWO banana splits: 2 bananas, 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream stacked with strawberry sauce, 2 scoops of chocolate ice cream with pineapple sauce, and 2 scoops of strawberry ice cream with chocolate sauce. Don’t forget the can of whipped cream, almonds and cherries. When you order a trough, you are accepting a challenge: finish the entire pig’s trough and receive a prized blue ribbon. Not to mention the HILARIOUS song the entire staff sang, an ice cream version of I Like Big Butts (“I like pig’s trough and I cannot lie”). My father, I am proud to say, found his inner swine and devoured that ice cream trough :)
The Proud Pig
My mom and I were not attracted to anything on the menu that compared it’s customer to a farm animal. Look at what I found though!
When I saw the title “Mocha Nut” I knew I wouldn’t find anything else more perfect for me. Coffee ice cream, Mocha Almond Fudge ice cream, and Butter Pecan ice cream. It’s like I designed it myself! Aside from the whip cream and cherry which I promptly plopped off, I finished the whole thing. Sadly this earned me no ribbon though..
I’d rather be a Nut than a Pig!
My family had a great time at this cute restuarant, though I can’t say we’d come back often – this was a rare splurge but totally worth it. (How many times do you come away from a restarant with a ribbon for finishing dessert?!) We had made small efforts through out the week to offset this huge diet deviation. This was our lunch AND dinner for the day, after a week of skipping desserts and adding in extra evening walks. I don’t feel too guilty about the indulgence but we are definitely back on oatmeal, smoothies and salads today ;)
Ice Cream Trifecta
