My Yogurt Craze

First I fell in love with Starbucks Black Cherry Parfait.  I couldn't afford to buy one every day, so I started making them at home with a recipe I found online.  Tweaked it slightly to my personal taste.  I  found using greek yogurt really adds a wonderful flavor, but regular works fine too.  I use a coffee filter and in 8 hours there is 1 cup of whey drained from yogurt.  Right now I throw it away, but feel a bit guilty about it.  I'll have to find a use for it.

Black Cherry Yogurt Parfait

4 cups (32 ounces) reduced-fat plain yogurt
1 cup frozen pitted dark sweet cherries, thawed and quartered
1/2 cup 100% cherry juice
2 T honey
1 1/2 cups of granola

Line a strainer with four layers of cheesecloth or one coffee filter and place over a bowl. Place yogurt in prepared strainer; cover yogurt with edges of cheesecloth. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.  Quarter cherries before they thaw for ease of cutting.

Remove yogurt from cheesecloth and discard liquid from bowl. Place yogurt in a small bowl; stir in the cherries and cherry juice. Cover and refrigerate until serving. It will keep in the refrigerator for the week. Before serving add 1/4 cup of granola to yogurt. Yield: 3 cups. 6 Servings.

With fall being here I got a craving for something maple, cinnamon and apple.  I thought the combination would make a great parfait and it did!

Maple Apple Cinnamon Yogurt Parfait

4 cups (32 ounces) reduced-fat plain yogurt
1 diced apple
1/2 cup 100% apple juice
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp maple extract
1 1/2 cups of granola

Line a strainer with four layers of cheesecloth or one coffee filter and place over a bowl. Place yogurt in prepared strainer; cover yogurt with edges of cheesecloth. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Remove yogurt from cheesecloth and discard liquid from bowl. Place yogurt in a small bowl; stir in apples, apple juice, maple syrup, cinnamon and extract. Cover and refrigerate until serving. It will keep in the refrigerator for the week. Before serving add 1/4 cup of granola to yogurt. Yield: 3 cups. 6 Servings.

Both are absolutely delicious and make a great start to ones day.