Sweet Tooth

My son loves sweet food! And to be honest, I love it myself. And because a lot of sugar is not good for us, I am always searching for some new healthy alternatives to satisfy our sweet tooth!

Today I would like to share two recipes I came up with last fall - Granola, Yogurt, Berry Parfait and Baked Apples Stuffed with Honey and Granola. They each make a great snack or desert! My son liked them, and even my husband did (who is not a big fan of sweet food). They both are very easy to prepare and take minimum ingredients.

Baked Apples Stuffed with Honey.

You will need: 
- 8 apples (I use Braeburn or Gala apples) cored and stem removed.
- 1 cup granola (I use Cascadian Farm Organic Cinnamon Raisin Granola)
- 1/2 tsp. honey (for each apple) 
- 8 drops lemon juice
- 8 paper muffin cups
- Aluminum foil 

 What to do:
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Place each apple in the muffin cup,
- Place all 8 apples in a small baking dish covered with aluminum foil.
- Add a drop of lemon juice and honey into each cored apple.
- Sprinkle enough granola into each apple to fill them up.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes.
- Let cool approximately 10-15 min. before serving.

 Makes 8 servings (1 apple each).

You can add some more honey on top when you serve the apples.

Granola, Yogurt, Berry Parfait.

You will need:

- 4 whiskey glasses

- Vanilla Greek yogurt (I use Chobani Vanilla Non-Fat Greek Yogurt)

- 2 cups your favorite granola

- 2 cups fresh berries (I use blueberries usually)

- 4 tsp. honey

What to do:

- Line up 4 whiskey glasses.

- Spoon 2 teaspoons of Greek yogurt into each glass and smooth surface.

- Spoon 2 teaspoons of granola over the top of yogurt and smooth surface.

- Spoon 2 teaspoons of fruit over the top of granola and smooth surface.

- Repeat the process so you have two layers, adding a bit of honey here and there, to taste.

Makes 4 servings.

Now I would like to tell you about the ingredients I picked. In both recipes I used granola and honey. There are a lot of benefits of both of these products. 

Granola is an extremely popular breakfast and snack food with a wealth of health benefits, including its ability to lower cholesterol, regulate digestion, aid in weight loss attempts, improve your heart health, increase energy, prevent anemia and promote proper organ function. Intake of granola also helps to lower blood pressure, increase cognitive activity, improve skin quality, build stronger bones, manage diabetes, stimulate new tissue and hormonal growth, and even prevent cancer (!) The long list of health benefits commonly attributed to granola is mainly due to its content of vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients, including, but not limited to, dietary fibers, sodium, potassium, zinc, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, vitamin-E, vitamin-C, niacin, vitamin E, iron, and thiamin.

(Info taken from https://www.organicfacts.net/)

Honey has been used by countless cultures all around the world over the past 2,500 years. While the numerous health benefits of honey have made it an important element of traditional medicines such as Ayurvedic treatments, scientists are also researching the benefits of honey in relation to modern medicine, particularly in the healing of wounds. According to the National Honey Board, honey contains “small amounts of a wide array of vitamins and minerals, including niacin, riboflavin, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and zinc.” Thus, using honey instead of sugar provides more nutrients for its calories.

The main thing to remember when it comes to honey is that not all honey is created equal. The antibacterial activity in some honeys is 100 times more potent than in others, while processed refined honey will lack many of these beneficial properties altogether. Your average domestic “Grade A” type honey found in the grocery store is likely highly processed. So, to make sure you take all the benefits out of the product, find out how to verify the purity of honey.

Have a great day and enjoy!