Fall is HERE, and with it came buckets of fresh beautiful plums growing in our backyard. Cute cozy sweaters, steaming cups of tea and fall fruit? Sign me up! But truly, the end of summer indulgences coupled with kids going back to school and cooler weather always prompts me to want to hit the reset button on my health.
It’s not that I’m unhealthy in the summer (far from it), but a change of seasons, especially the change to fall, somehow makes me re-evaluate my routine.
There has been a lot of hype around gut health lately, and deservedly so. It’s easy to take our guts for granted and not pay as much attention as we should to how we feed our gut! I remember the moment when I learned that up to 70% of our immune system is located in our gut: it was such an ah-ha moment. Of course, I always knew that nutrition was important, but that statistic really hit home.
Our guts are home to millions of bacteria (there are approximately 10 times more bacterial cells in and on our bodies than human cells to put it into context) which help maintain our health through a complex and delicate system. They don’t call it a ‘gut feeling’ for nothing! And I know that as a busy mom, I NEED to feel my best to keep up with my very active two sweet boys!
I partnered with Activia [1] this month to test out a new version of their probiotic plain yogurt that has just launched, Activia Pure. Made from 100% natural ingredients (skim milk, cream, skim milk powder, active probiotic culture [2]B.L. Regularis and active bacterial cultures), it offers a simple way to include probiotics in your everyday diet. As a Registered Dietitian, I’m a big fan of plain yogurt, but many people find it too bitter and acidic. I love that this yogurt offers an unsweetened plain version that tastes more delicate, rich and creamy without the added sugar (it’s available in individual 100g containers and the larger 650g container).
Since I have a bit of a plum overload situation I thought that I would create a fall-inspired yogurt granola parfait. Roasting plums brings out the natural sweetness in the fruit, and topped with a crunchy, nutty, not-too-sweet cardamom honey granola, this parfait is nutritious, beautiful AND delicious!
Mornings start super early at our house, and having something like this ready to go in advance sets us up for a somewhat less stressful morning!
Note, this may make more granola than you need for the parfaits. We’ve never had a complaint in our house!
Roasted Plum Yogurt Parfait with Honey Cardamom Granola
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 25 fresh Italian plums, cut in half and pitted
- 3 Tbsp. honey
- 2 c. large flake oats
- ¼ c. hemp seeds
- ½ c. shredded coconut (optional)
- ½ c. roughly chopped pecans
- ½ c. roughly chopped almonds
- 1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
- 2 tsp. ground cardamom
- ¼ tsp. sea salt
- 1/4 c. vegetable oil
- 1/3 c. honey or maple syrup
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 650g container Activia Pure Unsweetened yogurt
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Place the plums cut-side down on a parchment lined baking sheet and drizzle the 3 tablespoons of honey over the plums. Bake until the plums are slightly shrivelled and soft, approximately 25 minutes. Remove from the oven to cool. You can puree the cooled plums with an immersion blender in a tall container if you prefer a less chunky fruit layer.
- Reduce the oven to 300F. Combine the oats, hemp seeds, coconut, pecans, almonds, cinnamon, cardamom and sea salt in a large bowl. In a small bowl combine the oil, honey or maple syrup and vanilla and whisk together. Pour it on top of the oat mixture and stir to combine. Spread the mixture evenly on a large parchment lined baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally, until the granola is lightly browned, around 30 minutes. Remove from the oven to cool.
- To assemble the parfaits, layer the Activia Pure yogurt with the roasted plums and top with a scoop of granola.
This post was sponsored by Activia, all opinions are my own.