When Great Care thinks of healthy summer treats, fresh fruit plays a major starring role in the season’s biggest recipe blockbusters.
From homemade cherry sherbert and naturally sweet apple butter-carrot cake muffins to grilled peaches with light cream and colorful frozen yogurt bark, the summer options abound.
Especially when eating heart-healthy fruits that can literally save a life.
“Globally, increasing the consumption of fruits and vegetables could save millions of years lost to disability and premature death from heart disease,” reports a recent study presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention | Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health 2017 Scientific Sessions.
According to the American Heart Association, researchers have concluded that population-based interventions to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables could lead to millions more years of healthy life worldwide.
This festive recipe for Frozen Yogurt Bark from the American Heart Association, studded with fruit, is a fun treat for kids and adults alike. “Just note to eat it as soon as pieces are removed from the freezer as it melts in about 15 minutes,” the Association says.
Ingredients
Yield: 8 Servings
1 1/2 cups 2 percent low-fat plain Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp chopped, unsalted almonds
1/2 cup chopped mango
1/4 cup blackberries or raspberries, chopped if large
1/2 cup blueberries
Directions
1. In a medium bowl, add yogurt and honey. Mix together to combine.
2. Line a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Use a spatula or knife to spread the yogurt as thin as possible over the entire bottom of the dish.
3. Add the chopped nuts over the top of the yogurt. Use your fingers to slightly press them into the yogurt. Peel the mango, cutting the slices around the pit. Finely chop the mango, along with the berries, if they are larger than bite-sized and need chopping. Top the yogurt with the fruit—add as much fruit as will fit over the top. Again, slightly press fruit into the yogurt.
4. Cover with plastic wrap or foil and place in the freezer overnight.
5. When ready to serve, lift the parchment paper from the baking dish onto a cutting board. Use your hands to break bark apart into pieces (even by slightly banging the bark onto the cutting board). Serve.
6. Keep remaining pieces wrapped in parchment paper and sealed in a large Ziploc bag in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Quick Tips
Cooking Tip: The same amount of maple syrup or simple syrup can also be used to sweeten the bark in place of honey.
Keep it Healthy: Most fruits can be used for the bark, from pomegranate seeds in the fall to diced peaches in the summer.
Tip: Let your kids come up with more ideas on what to use to top the bark—shredded unsweetened coconut, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, any type of nut, or even a tablespoon of chocolate chips. If desired, mix 1/2 cup chopped fruit into the yogurt before adding the baking dish and then top again with fruit for a different spin on the same concept.
Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins
These yummy Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins from the wholefully.com foodie blog have a secret fruit ingredient that make them moist and delicious, with an added pinch of Vitamin C: apple butter.
“The majority of the sweetness in these muffins comes in the form of creamy, spicy, apple-tastic Musselman’s Apple Butter,” says wholefully.com. “They are low on the added sugar and high on the moisture thanks to the ole A.B. They are dense. Sweet. Moist. And packed full of good-for-you-ingredients like whole wheat flour, walnuts, carrots (duh), and raisins.”
Ingredients
Yield: 12 regular muffins or 24 mini muffins
FOR THE MUFFINS
2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded carrots (about 3 large)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup Musselman’s Apple Butter
1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil
FOR THE FROSTING
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line a muffin tin with paper cups or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, carrots, raisins, and walnuts until well mixed. Set aside.
In a small mixing bowl, combine the apple butter, honey or maple syrup, eggs, vanilla, and butter. Stir until smooth.
3. Add the apple butter mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine. Do not over mix (this results in tough muffins), a few lumps of flour are fine.
4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin cups, filling them 2/3 of the way. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops begin to crack and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
5. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a baking rack.
Make the frosting by combining the cream cheese and honey or maple syrup until smooth. Spread onto cooled muffins.
Happy Summer!
The professionals at Great Care are available to talk with you and your family about all of your home care needs, including respite care. Great Care is a non-medical in-home care agency providing quality and affordable elder care in Fishers, IN and the surrounding areas. Call (888) 240-9101 for more information.
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