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 :)

Guilt-free Yogurt Cheesecake Cups with Raspberry Sauce

Indulge yourself in this rich, creamy and lush cheesecake cup made with Greek yogurt and raspberry sauce. 

Less calories and no guilt!

Who doesn't love cheesecake? So heavenly rich and deliciously creamy. And  I know: full of fat and loaded with calories...That's what you are thinking, right?
I would not want you to already give up on your New Year's resolution of losing some extra pounds, to fit your skinny jeans and look amazing in your bikini by this summer. But you don't have to break your diet to enjoy an amazing dessert.
To keep your diet on track, all you need is to find the right recipes and a better way to prepare your favorite dishes by using natural and healthy ingredients. And remember, a little more exercise never hurts!
I made these cheesecake cups using "Simply 100" Chobani Greek yogurt. I love this yogurt. It's velvety and rich, made with natural ingredients, no artificial sweeteners, zero fat and only 100 calories in one cup. Amazing, right?

And here is some simple math for you: I used 3 cups (16 oz) of Chobani vanilla yogurt to make 12 cheesecake cups. As you can see in the first picture down here, this is a total of 300 calories (0 fat calories), or 25 calories per serving (only from the yogurt). Regular cream cheese (second picture) has 80 calories (70 fat calories) in two tablespoons. So, if I had used 16 oz of cream cheese in my recipe, I would have ended up with a total 1200 calories (1050 fat calories), which is 100 calories per cup. Wow!! Four times as much.

I'm sure now I've convinced you to try this recipe for a great cheesecake that can fit your healthy lifestyle.

Ingredients: 12 cups

• 5.3 oz (150 gr) of graham crackers, one package with 9 crackers
• 2 oz (57 gr) of unsalted butter (half stick)
• 3 cups of Chobani Greek yogurt vanilla or plain, 5.3 oz (150 gr) each
• 3/4 cup (150 gr) of sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (2 if you use plain yogurt)
• 3 tablespoons of corn starch

For the raspberry sauce:

• 1 1/2 cups of (frozen) raspberries, crushed
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• 2 teaspoons of cornstarch
• fresh raspberries for decoration (12 or 36 if you use one or three per cup)

Preparation time: 20 minutes to prepare, 30 minutes to bake, 4 hour to refrigerate
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350º F (175º C). Crumble the graham crackers and melt the butter. Mix the two ingredients together.

2. Press the mixture onto the bottom of 12 silicone muffin cups, or paper lined regular cups. Place in the refrigerator until the filling is ready.

3. Blend together the yogurt with the sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and corn starch until smooth.

4. Fill the cups evenly with the yogurt mixture and bake for 30 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside to cool down for about one hour. Refrigerate several hours (or overnight) before serving. 

Note: if you used a silicone pan, be careful when you remove the cups from the mold, or the bottom crust might come apart. Run a thin-bladed knife around the edges if necessary. I suggest to refrigerate first, and then remove from the mold.

5. For the sauce: puree the raspberries in a blender. Combine the pureed raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, and a couple of tablespoons of water in a pan. Cook over medium heat until it's slightly thickened. It should take about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it cool.

Remove the cheesecake from the refrigerator about 30 to 60 minutes before eating, top the cups with the sauce and fresh raspberries right before serving.

Enjoy!

 

Butter-free Yogurt Cake with Chocolate Chips and Walnuts

Soft, fluffy, chocolaty, and nutty. So good that it's hard to believe it doesn't have butter. 

And it will only take 45 minutes of your time. 

This is the easiest cake ever. Really!!! One of those recipes where you can just combine all the ingredients, pour them in an oven pan, and bake. The clean up is also super fast too. All the measurements in the recipe are made using the empty yogurt cup. In only 45 minutes you will have a delicious cake, soft and fluffy, filled with chocolate chips and walnuts. Great for a wholesome breakfast, or a fun mid-morning snack or afternoon tea.
And did I mention that there is no butter in this recipe?!? Simply perfect!
Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:  to make a 9 in cake - serving 8-10

• 1 vanilla yogurt cup (mine was 6 oz)
• 3 cups* of all purpose flour
• 1 cup* of sugar
• 1/2 cup * of vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup* of walnuts, chopped
• 1 cup* of semi-sweet chocolate chips

cup*= Use the empty yogurt cup!!

Preparation time:10 minutes plus 35 minutes for baking

Directions:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, flour, sugar, oil, eggs, baking powder, almond extract and salt.  Mix well.

Step 2: Stir in the walnuts chopped in small pieces and the chocolate chip.

Step 3: Pour the batter in a 9 in oven pan with removable sides if you have it. I covered the bottom with parchment paper. Or you can also grease with butter and flour.

Step 4: Bake for about 35 minutes until golden on top. Test with a toothpick in the middle to see if the cake is completely cooked.