Apple Pie Parfait

Today’s breakfast treat was a fairly healthy Apple Pie Partfait.

1. thin layer of grape nuts
2. 3/4″ layer of plain yogurt
3. thin layer of grape nuts
4. generous 3/4″ layer of apple pie filling
5. thin layer of grape nuts
6. 3/4″ thick layer of plain yogurt
7. sprinkling of finely crushed ginger snap cookies

The result was eight thumbs around around the breakfast table. The fresh yogurt is deliciously creamy without the fat. The grape nuts are a very satisfying crunch without the fat of a crust.

Backstory

This meal was spawned between then tensions of desire for an apple pie and knowing that my grandmothers genes are mostly why I have elevated cholesterol. I wanted apple pie, but I didn’t want the calories or saturated fats in a delicious butter crust. I’ve tried a number of more healthy crusts. I can get a decent but not great one.

I had a surplus of apples from a nearby tree. I often compost them because my kids carry home more than they eat. This pile was enough that I peeled and sliced ’em up. I added 1/3 c. of white and a 1/3 c. of brown sugar and left them to macerate. Jen saw them and asked my intentions. I declared I had none. Yet. I hadn’t committed to making a pie, but I was meandering down that road.

Failing to commit, I decided to make pie filling and let the matter rest until morning. Meanwhile, my batch of yogurt was incubating. I cooked my apple slices in a large pan until soft. I added the rest of the contents of my apple pie filling recipe, with a 1/4 c of Instant Clear Jel. Voila, pie filling! Amazing stuff, that Clear Jel. (I buy Clear Jel online. The only place I can find it locally is in 50# bags.)

Hours later, with a bowl of warm apple pie filling cooling nearby, we chatted about breakfast. Pie filling plus oatmeal. Or creamy wheat. Or…fresh yogurt?  Et tu, parfait!