Vessy's day » yogurt

Yogurt raspberry pops

Vessy — Fri, 09 Sep 2016 10:26:34 +0000

These yogurt raspberry pops are a great way to have a healthy summer snack! These are made of Greek yogurt, fresh raspberries and sweetened with honey. You could use other sweetener of your choice – agave, coconut sugar, maple syrup – these are all great healthy choices of sweetener. I really love the taste of yogurt & honey, but when there are also raspberries involved, then I can’t resist it! It’s like the perfect trio!
Although it’s September already, I refuse to accept that summer is almost over. Nights & mornings are definitely getting chillier, smell of cinnamon begins to tempt me and those pumpkins on the market do look appealing, but there is no way I would let summer go easily. I am still having my coffee on ice in the mornings and I would probably have it that way till first signs of winter, saying “we have a few more sunny days left”. But when it comes to ice-cream, I am not one of those gals, that cuts ice-cream off the menu, just because it’s not summer. We have ice-cream in the freezer all year long and we love it, especially if it’s healthy homemade chocolate one (my personal favorite). My husband really likes all fruit ice-creams and dessert. If I ask him to choose between a chocolate dessert and a fruit one, he will choose the fruit /i-n-s-a-n-e, right?/.
So, go enjoy a delicious, healthy fruit pop and have a lovely and extra sunny September! Don’t let summer go…. yet.

Ingredients for the raspberry sauce:
120 grams (4 oz) raspberries (fresh or frozen)
2 tablespoons honey (more or less, to taste)
For the yogurt base:
400 grams (14 oz) Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon honey (more or less to taste)
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract (optional)
For decoration:
2-3 tablespoons homemade coconut granola

Place raspberries and honey in a small pot. Cook over medium-high heat until raspberries soften and begin to release their juices (about 5-7 minutes). Remove from the heat, pure with a hand-held blender and strain through a fine mesh. Discard the seeds and set aside the raspberry pure.
In the meantime combine Greek yogurt, honey and coconut extract in a bowl. Stir to combine.
Once raspberry pure is at room temperature you can assemble the pops. Pour 2-3 teaspoons of yogurt into each ice-pop and place in the freezer for about 15 minutes. Remove from the freezer and pour a couple of teaspoons of the raspberry puree. Put back in the freezer for 15 minutes. Repeat these steps until your pops mods are all full. Once you add the last layer, sprinkle a little bit of your favorite granola on top. Freeze completely.
***If you don’t have the time to make layered pops, just combine raspberry puree & yogurt, then full your pops with the mixture and freeze until hard.

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Yogurt salad

Vessy — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 13:06:31 +0000

This recipe is inspired by those beautiful pickles, you’ll see below in the photos.
I photographed some of Mama’s delicious jars a couple of months ago and since the opened jar of pickles was right here I decided to make our favorite yogurt salad. It’s pretty simple actually, but so delicious. Just make sure to get your hands on a good quality Greek yogurt – that’s the most popular name around English speaking countries (I don’t know why), but around here we call it drained yogurt, cause most of its water has been drained and what’s left is thick and creamy full fat yogurt.

Ingredients:
400 grams (14 oz) drained yogurt (or thick and creamy yogurt, or so called Greek yogurt)
2 teaspoons mayonnaise
200 grams (7 oz) pickles, finely chopped or shredded
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons walnuts, finely chopped
1 tea spoon fresh dill, chopped finely
Salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a medium size bowl, stir and season with salt and pepper.
Add more or less walnuts, olive oil, garlic – just adjust the quantities of ingredients according to your taste.

Roasted eggplant sandwich

Vessy — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 09:28:26 +0000

This vegetarian sandwich is all you need during the summer. It is fresh, delicious and light, but yet, you won’t feel hungry after. My husband is a big fan of meat, practically he doesn’t sit on the table without meat or salami, but this sandwich was so yummy, that he didn’t ask for any add-ons to it (from the meat family). This is kind of a sign that it’s good and rich and I hope you will love it too.

For the sandwich:
1 large roasted eggplant (see notes below)
A handful of arugula
Olive oil
Bread
Basil yogurt dressing:
3 table spoons low fat yogurt
3 tea spoons low fat mayo
1 teaspoon powdered garlic
1 table spoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Dry basil
Dry oregano
Salt and pepper

How to make the roasted eggplant:
The easiest way to roast an eggplant is to wash and put on a tray, lined with parchment paper. Don’t peel or clean it, just wash it and use it as it is with the stem and skin. Heat your oven to 180C (fan-forced) or 350F (fan-forced) and bake for about 30 minutes. You will know th eggplant is ready when you press with your finger and it is soft. Sometimes the eggplant skin brakes, this is also a sign the eggplant is ready. Remove from oven, let it cool a bit so you can work with it. Peel it and it’s ready.
You can roast a few extra eggplants and make this delicious eggplant with tomato sauce meal for your dinner on the next day. Keep extra eggplants in the fridge.
Prepare the dressing for the sandwich: Add all ingredients in a medium bowl and puree finely with hand-held blender or in a food processor.Season with salt, pepper, basil and oregano to your taste.
Sprinkle a little bit of the dressing on all pieces of bread you are using for the sandwich. Arrange one layer of the roasted eggplant and top with arugula. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle a little bit of olive oil on top. Cover sandwich with the second half of the bread. Serve immediately.