Yogurt and Fresh Fruit Parfait - Clean Eating Dessert Ideas

If you've got a craving for something sweet, this fruit filled parfait is a great way to satisfy a sweet tooth and it's also very filling. I eat this a lot at home and sometimes I will eat it for breakfast, other times I treat it like a dessert after dinner. If you pile on the fruit and top with peanut butter or any kind of nuts, it ends up being a pretty stout, substantial snack or meal.

The best part about this healthy parfait recipe is that it only takes a couple of minutes to whip together, and it's also easily modified for dietary preferences. There are also lots of different ways to make it taste completely different; you can add whatever fruit you like, and you can top this with all kinds of good tasting stuff. Be sure to check out some of the ideas listed below.

Ingredients:
Plain yogurt 
Berries (blueberries and raspberries are shown but you can top with any kind you like)
Nuts or nut butter (peanut butter is shown but literally any will do)
Raw honey

How to:
Mix 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of honey into the yogurt (roughly 1/2 to 1 1/2 cup, depending on how hungry you are), top with fruit of your choice (1-2 cups of fruit). Top with a tablespoon or two of peanut butter.

Mix it up: Try these different variations to keep things interesting
Get creative with fruit; pretty much any kind of berry will taste great, as will bananas, mangos, peaches, papaya, etc
Try different spices; cinnamon, vanilla, maple, etc
Add different healthy fats; different nuts or nut butters (I am obsessed with cashews and walnuts), chia seeds, hemp seeds, clean-ingredient dark chocolate 

Do we eat dairy? Is yogurt healthy? 
Whether something is "healthy" or not has become this raucous, often heated discussion online. Dairy is definitely one of those things that has research and boisterous advocates for both  sides; eating lots of it and cutting it out completely. Yogurt is dairy, which we eat sparingly in our house (because there are healthier things; more nutrient dense, less-debated and research-murky, that you can fill up on). We stopped eating yogurt for a few years but have started eating it again recently, initially as a sort of trial and error experiment, seeking out the probiotic benefit. What works for one person may not work for another; truly, something different works for each of us (something far too many online health forums tend to look over in their debates). Dairy (in moderation and from clean/minimally processed sources) doesn't seem to bother either one of us, so it's an indulgence of sorts, for us. We highly recommend a predominately plant based (not necessarily vegan, vegetarian OR even omnivore, only predominately plant based). Again, something different works for everyone.

Don't like the taste of plain yogurt?
Like with any packaged foods, you are going to want to read the ingredients label on what you buy. All yogurts are not created equal, so do your best to find one that has as few ingredients as possible - preferably ones you recognize. We didn't like the taste of plain yogurt initially when we first made the switch but after a short while the hyper flavored, sugar loaded, or more processed yogurts didn't taste good at all. When we first started eating it, I would add in raw honey to make it taste more sweet. Gradually my tastebuds needed less and less of the honey to make it taste so sour (though I usually still add some because along with some fruit, it makes it delicious). If you're trying to switch to a plain yogurt, I would recommend trying the same; adding honey and fruit, and giving it some time for your tastebuds to adjust. 

Clean eating tastes awesome
It's crazy how if you give it a little time, the cleaner stuff actually tastes so much better- I realize this may sound like a typical "health nut" thing to say but seriously, it's true and it makes eating well so much easier because you really begin to prefer it to the alternative. If you're brand new to clean eating, you've got to trust me on this one - it's something you can look forward to; it makes life easier. Read more about how to make the transition from a processed diet to a real-food diet; how to detox your tastebuds.

Via : https://boutder.blogspot.com