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Throwback Thursday – Blog Post Style
This morning I loved waking up to Instagram posts of baby pictures, parents’ wedding pictures, embarrassing elementary poses. It must be Thursday! (side note: does it constitute a “throwback” if it happened less than a month ago…?)
After over 2 years of blogging, I have an archive of 250 blog posts. Most of which are bound to go unnoticed by new-to-the-blog readers, and lay under the radar in the giant info-overload that is the internet. Instead of leaving them in the cobwebs, I wanted to pull some back into the frontlines for a second life. Starting this week, I’m bringing #TBT to SLMC! Thursday’s will now include a favorite forgotten workout, recipe, or recap post. :)
This was originally posted on September 17, 2012 during the first few weeks of sophomore year (when the blog was still a baby, awww…). Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty of NEW goodies to share in the coming days too. In the meantime….THIS FROZEN YOGURT. Omg.
Enjoy!
SUMMER’S ENDING, MAKE FROZEN YOGURT
(September 2012)
“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 *could substitute 1/4 cup with stevia
1 dark 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.”
:)
Frozen Yogurt vs. Ice Cream
Froyo – my favorite post-race treat. ;) Ever since self-serve frozen yogurt joints started springing up all over the place, my friends and I love to stop in during movie nights or shopping trips. It helps that they boast non-fat flavors and plenty of healthy fruit toppings. As an ice cream lover, it seems like a healthier choice over a pint of Ben n’ Jerry’s, right?!
Since ice cream is made with heavy cream, it’s unavoidably a fattening dessert. There’s really no getting around it, although most companies are making lower-fat and lower-sugar varieties which definitely reduce calories and fat.
Already, frozen yogurt is less fattening because many flavors use a non-fat yogurt base. (Be careful – not all do! Anything with ‘Peanut Butter’ or ‘Cheesecake’ is probably a dead giveaway that it is not non-fat. Look at the labels.)
Some Surprising Truths:
I compared 1 cup of soft-serve Golden Vanilla frozen yogurt to 1 cup of Ben n’ Jerry’s Vanilla ice cream. One point for froyo as is clocks in at about half the calories – 240cals vs 460.
Frozen yogurt contained 75% MORE sodium though! It contained 130mg, or 5% of our daily value. I didn’t expect yogurt to have a significant amount of sodium.
The two were equal in carbohydrate content, 46 grams.
Frozen yogurt, fat-free or not, is still very high in sugar. 1 cup holds 35 grams of sugar, compared to ice cream’s 40.
While ice cream has significantly more fat, it really is just about moderation. I don’t think frozen yogurt is drastically more healthy than ice cream, if you know portion control!
(Well….anything’s gotta be better for you than this right?)
Remember the story of the pig and the trough?
Your toppings can really make or break the nutrition value of your cup! When in doubt, pile on the fruit ;) Sliced almonds, pecans, pretzels, dark chocolate chips or carob chips are also great.
Your best bet? Make your own! Try Peaches n’ Pecan Greek Frozen Yogurt or Strawberry S’mores Greek Frozen Yogurt at home!
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!
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