Fruit and Yogurt Parfait

In the previous granola post, I mentioned McDonald’s fruit and yogurt parfait.  Well, I have been eating my homemade fruit and yogurt parfait’s this week like there’s no tomorrow.  Eek, I almost launched into some political statements, but this is a food blog so I’d better keep things on a positive note.  But, if politics starts making you think about eating to relieve the stress, this parfait will leave you feeling happy that you made a healthy choice instead of caving in to the temptation of chips or cookies or yes, even chocolate.

You can use any flavor of yogurt in this parfait.  I have often used vanilla yogurt, but today I tried Yoplait’s pina colada.  Now THAT was definitely a right choice!  It made everything taste divine (sounds like something Anne of Green Gables would say).

I used the granola in my previous post for the granola in this parfait.  So, so perfect. Oh, and by the way, you don’t have to put it in a parfait glass.  Believe it or not, you can actually put this in a bowl.  No one will know unless you tell them.  As a matter of fact, right after I got through photographing this beautiful creation, I turned the glass upside down and dumped everything into a regular old white Corelle cereal bowl.  Don’t tell the parfait police.  Since I am being so daring, I’ll even admit that I put this parfait together in a plastic cup and ate it with a plastic spoon on my way to work twice this week; but only at stop lights and in the parking lot, and not while I was talking on my cell phone or driving.

What would you call this if it is in a bowl?  And what makes a parfait a parfait?  Are there rules?  Do I really care?

Fruit and Yogurt Parfait

All fruit ingredients are an approximation

• 1/4 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed (no fresh blueberries?–use frozen blueberries.  Just put them in a little strainer and run warm tap water over them.  I do this all the time in broad daylight.)
• 1/2 banana; slice crosswise, then halve the slices
• 4 whole strawberries, cut into small bite-sized pieces
• 1 6-oz. carton of your favorite yogurt
• granola–don’t know how much.  I forgot to measure.  I’ll bet that you can figure it out, though.

Layer half of each ingredient in a glass or bowl: blueberries, bananas, strawberries, yogurt, granola.  Repeat with other half of ingredients.