Fourth of July Popsicles Made with Fresh Berries and Greek Yogurt

Celebrate this Fourth of July with these super healthy and cute popsicles made with only three ingredients:
fresh organic blueberries, strawberries and vanilla Greek yogurt. No added sugar or food coloring. 

And, ready to be amazed?? One of these popsicles is only 40 calories. Simply perfect :)

Sweeten up your Forth of July party with these American flag-inspired, patriotic popsicles, made with fresh, organic strawberries, blueberries and vanilla flavored Greek yogurt.
The best part of this recipe: no food coloring is necessary for your red, white and blue. And NO added sugar, just the natural sweetness of the fruit (and well ... what's in the yogurt!). In addition to the fruit, I used one of those 100-calories cup of Greek yogurt. I added the caloric value of the fruit and came up with a total of 160 calories for four servings. Sooooo.... each popsicle is only about 40 calories! Not bad, right?! I say, not bad at all :)

As you can see in my video here, this recipe is quite easy. All  you need is 3 ingredients. 10 minutes of your time, a food processor and pop molds. That's all!

I used a squeeze bottle to pour the yogurt into the molds, to limit spillage on the sides. You can also use a small spoon. If you like perfection, make sure to clean any drops before you move to the next layer. But don't go crazy trying to make precise lines. I really think that homemade dessert doesn't have to look perfect... just wholesome and delicious!!

You can also have fun with this recipe, and change it up a little. Add honey for extra sweetness. Use lemon flavor or plain yogurt. Add some lemon juice for a citrusy twist.
No matter what you do, you won't feel guilty when your kids will ask for one (or more!!) of these popsicles. After all, they are only fruit and yogurt in a frozen and colorful form.
So why make them only for this holiday weekend, when it's a perfect, fresh treat all summer long?!?
Enjoy :)




Ingredients: to make 4 popsicles of about 1/3 cup (80 ml) each      PRINTABLE RECIPE

5.5 oz (155 gr) of (organic) strawberries

1.5 oz (40 gr) of (organic) blueberries

1 cup = 5.3 oz (150 gr) of vanilla Greek yogurt

Preparation time: 10 minutes to prepare, plus 5 hours (or more) in the freezer
Directions:
1. Puree' the strawberries in a food processor or blender. If you'd like, you can add a bit of lemon juice and sugar (or honey) to make it sweeter. If your strawberries are sweet as mine, no need to add anything.

2. Using a small spoon, baking syringe or squeeze bottle, add about one tablespoon of Greek yogurt in each pop mold. Place about 7 or 8 blueberries in each, depending on the size of your mold. With a stick or the back of a spoon, distribute and push the blueberries down into the yogurt.
To make the layers look perfect (they don't have to be!!), you should try not to spill yogurt on the side of the mold. You can also clean the sides if you wish before you move to the next step.

3. Pour a layer of pureed strawberries on top.  Add a layer of  vanilla yogurt, and finish up with one more layer of strawberries. You can decide how many red and white stripes you want based on the size of your popsicle mold.

4. With the ingredients in my list, I made 4 popsicles. Close with the top, or place a stick in the middle. And place in the freezer until frozen. I suggest a minimum of five hours, or more.

5. Run the popsicle molds under warm water to remove from the mold. Careful not too pull too hard on the stick, or it might come off. I suggest to leave the popsicles in the mold until ready to eat!

 Happy Forth of July :)

Fresh and Healthy Couscous Salad

So healthy, fresh, light, and easy to make:
couscous salad with organic tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh mozzarella cheese and your favorite olives

Perfect for these hot summer days!

I prepared this couscous salad on Sunday, for our day at the beach. It was a great hit! So wholesome and delicious. A great combination of fresh flavors. I'm  one hundred percent sure that this will become one of your favorite summer recipe too. 

This couscous salad is quite versatile. It's perfect for a picnic on the sand, a barbecue at the park, your next party ... or you can simply enjoy it after a long day at work, or pack it for lunch the next day.

Did I mention it's fresh, healthy and delicious?!? Because it's fresh, healthy, delicious AND super easy and fast to prepare. Only few ingredients are required to make this salad. Make sure to use good quality, tasteful products, tough. I bought all my ingredients at Trader Joe's, As you might guess ... one of my favorite store :) Check out my video, and you will see how easy this recipe is!

Wait, there is more! You can prepare this salad ahead of time too. Just refrigerate it, especially if the weather is warm, and if you are not planning to eat it in the next hour or so.  I just love recipes that work around my schedule :)

Ingredients: serving 4 people:

• 8 oz (225 gr) of Israeli pearl couscous (I used Trader Joe's) 
  
• 2 organic tomatoes
• 2 small (Persian) cucumbers, or one medium cucumber
• 8 oz (225 gr) of fresh mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup of pitted green olives (or your favorite) 
• salt to taste
• oregano 
• about 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Directions:
1. Bring about three cups (700 ml) of water to a boil. Add one tablespoon of olive oil, and salt to taste. Simmer the couscous for about 12 minutes. If you are using a different couscous than what I have, make sure to check the directions on the box on the best way to cook it.

2. Cut the tomatoes, cucumbers and mozzarella cheese in small cubes. Combine these ingredients in a large bowl. Season with salt and drizzle with about 3 tablespoons of olive oil.

 3. Add the olives, sliced.

4. When the couscous is ready, drain and run under cold water to stop from overcooking.

5. Add to the bowl, mix well and sprinkle with oregano.

Serve immediately, at room temperature or refrigerate for up to a day.

Buon Appetito!

Rice Krispies Treats with Peanut Butter and Chunks of Snickers

Crunchy, gooey, chocolaty, and nutty rice krispies treats with peanut butter and chunks of Snickers bars

Anytime is a great time for a rice krispies treat if it's this delicious!

Are you planning a last minute party or a simple get together with lots of kids? Here is the perfect recipe for you.
As you know, all kids like rice krispies treats. And when you add a little something special, like creamy peanut butter, and yummy chocolate bars, then everyone will love them too. I promise!
This recipe takes less than 15 minutes from start to finish. And the only baking required is a couple of minutes in the microwave. That's all! Just perfect for hot summer days.
What's better, making rice krispies is so easy that your kids might want to help out, or prepare these themselves. Anybody can do it, really!

Here are a few words of advise: use an extra large bowl (as you see in my pictures), to avoid cleaning up gooey and sticky stuff off the bottom of your microwave. If you have never seen what happens to marshmallows in the microwave ... they grow and grow, just for a few seconds. But that's enough to mess up your oven.
Also, measure and prepare all the ingredients before you start with the recipe. You need to quickly mix all the ingredients and shape the mixture into the muffin tins, when the marshmallow mixture is still warm. Once it cools off, it will harden and turn into an unmanageable large sweet lump :)
Check out my video too:

Ingredients: to make 24 round bars

• 1 bag ( 10 oz, 280 gr) of mini marshmallows
• 2 oz (65 gr) of unsalted butter  
• 1/2 cup (150 gr) of peanut butter
• 6 cups (180 gr) of rice krispies cereal
• 1 cup (about 120 gr) of chopped Snickers bar (or 3Musketeers or similar)* 

*I used 16 mini bars

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Directions:

1. Cut the Snickers bars in pieces and measure all the other ingredients, so that everything is ready.
In a large bowl, add the marshmallows, butter and peanut butter. Make sure the bowl is much larger that the content because the marshmallows will inflate in the microwave.

2. Microwave for one minute on high. Mix with a spoon, and microwave for an additional minute.

3. Quickly mix in the rice krispies cereal and the chocolate bars

4. Spoon the mixture into 24 regular size muffin cups. I used silicone cups. If you are using regular cups, please grease with butter or spray.

5. Press down the mixture in the cups with the back of a spoon (or your fingers!) to pack the rice krispies.

Let them cool down for a couple of minutes,  remove from the mold and ...

Enjoy :)

Grilled Lobster Tail with White Wine Risotto

This Father's Day, turn your meal into a super special gourmet dinner with these

delectable and flavorful grilled lobster tails, served with a creamy and buttery white wine risotto

He deserves it!

Lobster tails from LobsterAnywhere.com - Thank you  so much Lobster Anywhere for the amazing products :)

With Father's Day less then a week away, I know you have been wondering how to impress your dad (or your husband) with something special. Here is the perfect recipe that will show him how much you love him.
Cooking lobster tails is fast and quite simple. There are several (all very easy) methods to cook lobsters: boiling, steaming, broiling or grilling. I chose grilling, because I think it brings out the delicate flavor of the seafood. And there's really nothing better than grilled lobster on a sunny summer day, with a fine glass of chilled white wine :)
No matter how you choose to cook your lobster, here is the secret not to ruin this scrumptious seafood: do NOT overcook it. You need to keep a close look at the cooking time, based on size of your lobster. You don't want to leave it on the grill or in boiling water for too long, because (just like steak) it will turn chewy and rubbery. A big no-no.
So, just in case you didn't hear me the first time: do NOT OVERCOOK your lobster!!! You can always cook it a little longer later if necessary... but you can't turn back time :)

Here is the cooking time suggestion that I followed, from LobsterAnywhere.com:
6-8 minutes for a 6-7 oz (170-200 gr) lobster tail
8-10 minutes for 8-10 oz (225-280 gr) lobster tail
10-12 minutes for 16-20 oz (450-560 gr) lobster tail

Lobster Anywhere is where I got my lobster tails. This company offers overnight delivery of live or frozen, top quality lobsters from Maine, among other delicious seafood and products.
Their service is amazing: I got an email confirmation of the delivery, and the food arrived when expected, in a perfect package. All the directions that I needed on how to better handle the seafood, was right on top of the box. And what's amazing, the seafood was perfectly frozen ...  much better than a drive home from my grocery store three miles away, in this California warm weather.
To defrost, I placed my lobster tails in a bowl in the refrigerator, overnight. Once thawed, the only thing that I needed to do, was rinse them under running water. So easy and oh-so delicious.
You should check  out www.LobsterAnywhere.com

And here is the video of my recipe:

Ingredients: serving 2

• 2 extra large lobster tails (about 10 oz), fully defrosted
• 4 tablespoons (55 gr) of butter
• 2 garlic cloves
• parsley
• salt

For the risotto:

• one onion, chopped
• one tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of butter (divided)
• 1 cup (180 gr) of arborio rice
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) of dry white wine

Preparation time: about 45  minutes
Directions:
1. Preheat the grill at medium-high temperature while you prepare the risotto.
In a saucepan, saute' the chopped onion with one tablespoon of butter and one tablespoon of olive oil. Cook over medium heat until the onion is softer and translucent. It should take about 4 to 5 minutes.

2. Add the rice into the pan, and mix. Cook for about one minute.  Add the white wine to the rice, and cook while stirring for a couple of minutes, until most of the alcohol has evaporated. Salt to taste (about one teaspoon of salt should work)

3. Add 1/2 cup at a time, and stirring every few minutes. Add more water (half cup at a time) when necessary. The risotto should be fully cooked in about 20 minutes. When the rice is cooked al dente, add the remaining tablespoon of butter, mix and cover the pan and remove from the stove. Wait a couple of minutes, or until the lobster tails are ready.

4. While the rice cook, prepare the lobster tails. Don't forget to stir and add water to the risotto!
In a small saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter with the garlic crushed or minced (for a more garlicky flavor). It should take about one minute over medium heat.

5. Wash the fully defrosted lobster tail under water. Using scissor, cut the lobster tail top shell, lengthwise, down the middle. Gently pry the meat off the shells, and lay it on top of it. Help yourself with a fork if necessary.

6. Brush the lobster meat with some of the garlic infused butter over the lobster meat and season with salt. Place the lobster tails meat side up on the grill. Cover and grill for about 8-10 minutes at about 400 degrees F. You don't need to open and do anything until the end of the 8 minutes.
Do not overcook or the lobster meat will become rubbery. The lobster is ready when the shell turns red, and the meat is opaque in color and firm to the touch. Brush with more melted butter.

7. Serve on a plate with the rice on the side. Sprinkle all with freshly chopped Italian parsley.

Enjoy :)