As a mom of two teenage boys, I spend a lot of time getting meals and snacks on the table. Josh turns 18 next week, and he has a fuel tank (AKA stomach) that’s impossible to top off. Simon, 14, has never had as big an appetite, but lately, he seems to be catching up to his big brother. Soccer season has kicked off for both boys, and Simon definitely has the golf bug; after school, he’s gotten in the habit of hitting (fake) golf balls around the back yard!
Once his homework is done ….
… Simon hits the back yard “links.” Then, it’s snack time! My goal when serving smart snacks is to pack as many good quality calories into each ravenous bite. Fruit, whole grains, and calcium-rich ingredients are always top of mind. Nine to 18-year olds need 1,300 milligrams of calcium each day — that’s more calcium than any other age group — because during the tween and teen years, bones are growing rapidly.
Cooked apples, warmed red grapes, crunchy whole grain cereal, low-fat vanilla yogurt, and pure maple syrup come together quickly for this super-nutritious snack. You can also serve these snack parfaits for breakfast.
- Serves: 2
- Serving size: 1 parfait
- Calories: 320
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated fat: 2.5g
- Carbohydrates: 57g
- Sodium: 100mg
- Fiber: 6g
- Protein: 7g
- 1 tablespoon buttery spread or butter
- 1 large apple, cut into ¾-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
- ½ cup red grapes, halved (I used Muscato grapes)
- ½ tablespoon pure maple syrup
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch nutmeg
- Pinch kosher salt
- ½ cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
- ⅔ cup whole grain granola cereal (I used KIND Healthy Grains Gluten-Free Granola)
- Place buttery spread in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the apples and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 10 minutes. Stir in the grapes, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until warmed through, 2 minutes.
- To create the parfaits, place a generous ¼ cup of the apple mixture in the bottom of two parfait glasses (or any other pretty glass). Top each with 2 tablespoons yogurt and 3 tablespoons cereal. Repeat with the remaining apple mixture, yogurt, and cereal. You can build these parfaits while the apple mixture is warm, or you can cool it slightly first.
Even teens can be picky eaters. If that’s the case in your household, be sure to serve our parfaits in attractive glasses. The back story behind these glasses will make you laugh: I found them on the side of the road in my neighbors trash. As they say, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure!”
I found Muscato grapes at Whole Foods, but any variety of grape would work wonders in this recipe.
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