Fruit & Yogurt Parfait Cupcakes

After-school snacks were an essential part of my childhood. I always wanted Little Debbie and Pop-Tarts, but my mom wouldn't allow it. One time she even bough unfrosted Pop-tarts and told me that's how they're made now so I would like them less. (In case you’re curious, the frosting really does make a big difference. Don’t ever buy unfrosted Pop-Tarts.)

So most of the time I ended up with yogurt or fruit. Woe is me, I know. But I tell you what, if the yogurt I ate looked like these fruit and yogurt parfait cupcakes, I would have totally chosen them over Oatmeal Creme Pies or Nutty Bars.

Another fun note about this snack is you can make them ahead of time and keep them in the freezer so they're always available.

While we’re on the topic school, I wanted to share a little story with you all about something that happened recently to me. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m going back to school and taking the prerequisite classes in order to get accepted into a dietetics program. I’ve already screwed up once and taken the wrong chemistry class, a waste of time  and money and honestly it still makes me sick to think about.

But when I tried to sign up for the correct chemistry class this semester, I got an error  message. Apparently, I needed to take a college-level Algebra course before I could take the chemistry course. This was upsetting because it was going to set me back even more.

So I told the advisor there has to be some other way. She said the only other way is for me to take the math Accuplacer test and score well enough to test out of it. But she said it’s very hard and no one ever does. That didn’t stop me. I signed up for the test and committed myself to studying. It was hard. Very hard. I mean, seriously, when is the last time you used SOH CAH TOA and secant and cosine?

This week I took the test, and three hours later, I tested out of the math class and was able to sign up for chemistry! I really want to tell that advisor just how wrong she was.

The point of this story is don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t achieve your dream. They don’t know what you’re capable of.

Fruit & Yogurt Parfait Cupcakes

Yield: Makes about 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup granola
• 2 Tablesooons peanut butter
• 1 Tablesoon honey
• 2 cups Greek yogurt, any flavor
• 1 cup assorted berries
• Whipped cream, if desired

Directions

1. Add silicone baking cup to every cavity in muffin tin (if you don't have silicone, paper will do)
2. Mix together granola, peanut butter, and honey. Add spoonful of mixture to each cup and press down firmly.
3. Add enough yogurt on top of granola base so it comes to top of cup. 
4. Place several berries or desire fruit on top and freeze for minimum of 3 hours. It's best to freeze at least 8 hours.
5. Remove from freezer and add whipped cream if desired before serving.

Recipe adapted from Salty Canary