I recently overheard a woman about my age telling her friend to limit her fruit intake to no more than 1/4 cup per meal. “We all really need to cut WAY back on sugar,” she advised. Sugar? I thought. Is that how we’re referring to fruit these days? To be honest, it didn’t surprise me. Low-carb diets, from ketogenic to Atkins have long warned of the pitfalls of fruit, messages that seem to have seeped into the collective consciousness and been misinterpreted as fact. The truth is that the fruit in this Wild Blueberry Yogurt Parfait is sky-high in good nutrition, not to mention ridiculously delicious.
The Facts on Fruit
Let’s start the fact that fruit isn’t sugar. Fruit is unprocessed and fiber-rich (something most of us could use more of) with a veritable vitamin pill of nutrients and antioxidants. Sugar, on the other hand, is a highly processed food with no nutrient value that gets quickly absorbed into the body to cause a blood sugar spike. This is why the most recent US Dietary Guidelines suggest we fill half of our plates with fruits and vegetables and scale back on added sugar. Indeed, it’s recommended that adults eat between 1 1/2 and 2 cups of fruit each day (yet only 18 percent of the population meets the two-cup recommendation).
Beautiful Blueberry Yogurt Parfait
This all brings me to today’s recipe, which is filled with fruit. Better still, it’s filled with wild blueberries which are low in calories, loaded with antioxidants, and meet a quarter of daily needs for fiber in a single cup. Berries in general are notably high in powerful polyphenols, which is why it’s a surprise to me that they make up just 10 percent of fruit consumption.
Crunchy Maple Seed Brittle
Wild Blueberry Parfaits are a simple fruit-on-the-bottom affair that gets jacked up with a crown of Maple Seed Brittle. The topping is a snap to make and should come with a warning label: highly addictive. The good news is, you’ll have plenty of leftover brittle to nosh on AND it’s good for you…little more than seeds and pecans bound with an egg white and a touch sweetness. When used to top yogurt and wild blueberries, it’s a mega-nutritious parfait that is just as suitable for breakfast as it is for dessert.
If you like this Wild Blueberry Yogurt Parfait, you might like:
Yogurt Sundae with Melted Raspberries
Easy Eton Mess with Yogurt Whipped Cream
Wild Blueberry Parfaits with Maple Seed Brittle
A simple yogurt and fruit parfait elevated with a crunchy brittle made of quinoa, seeds, and pecans. With very little added sugar and all the nutritious upsides of wild blueberries, it's as suitable for breakfast as it is for dessert.
Ingredients
Maple Seed Brittle
- 1 egg white
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ cup pecans
- ½ cup uncooked quinoa
- ¼ cup raw pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)
- ¼ cup raw, shelled sunflower seeds
- 2 tablespoons shelled hemp seeds (also called hemp hearts or hulled hemp seeds)
Yogurt Parfaits
- 2 cups frozen wild blueberries
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups plain Greek yogurt, non-fat, lowfat, or whole milk
- Maple syrup for added sweetness
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
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In a medium bowl, vigorously whisk together the egg white, honey, maple syrup, salt, and cardamom until blended.
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Chop the pecans into small pieces and add to the bowl along with the quinoa, pepitas, sunflower seeds, and hemp seeds. Stir well.
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Dump onto the baking sheet and spread into one layer, like a large, thin granola bar. It will be about the size of an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper.
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Bake until browned all over, about 23 minutes.
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Let cool until you can snap the brittle apart, about 20 minutes. Break into 1 to 2-bite pieces. Makes about 25 pieces.
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Divide the wild blueberries into four 8-ounce jars or glasses. Divide the vanilla among the jars. Microwave on high for 1 minute and 15 seconds (alternatively warm gently in a pan on the stove). Top the wild blueberries with the yogurt, dividing it evenly. Crumble 1 to 2 pieces of Maple Seed Brittle on top.
