Yogurt Fruit Cup

I'm sure you've done your own version of a Yogurt Fruit Cup, well here's mine - and I think you will want to make my version some time, too.

I find that yogurt with added fruit, from the grocery cold case, is way too sweet. If you read the ingredients of most brands, you will find sugar, cane juice, and/or fructose near the top of the list.

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I prefer plain yogurt with fresh fruit mixed in. That's plenty enough flavor. But if you like your yogurt sweet then add your own favorite sweetener. At least you will know how much you are adding. And use any fave vegan yogurt too.

And, often the fruit on the bottom of the yogurt container is cooked, so it's mushy like jam. Or, if it's not cooked, the texture will still be off.

If the only yogurt on sale has fruit on the bottom then I will spoon out the yogurt and toss the too sweet fruit.

There is a lot of cheap and tasty fruit out there to choose from. So keep an eye open for seasonal fruit that hits the bargain bins at your local grocery store, farmers market, or local fruit stand.

It is quick and easy if you use whole fruit that can be mixed into yogurt, like berries and seedless grapes.

Some fruit will not age well when peeled or sliced, turning brown quickly, like banana and apple, so you want to eat a Yogurt Fruit Cup with these right away. In general it best to make just enough of a Yogurt Fruit Cup to eat in one sitting, as other types of fruit may water down yogurt over a few hours.

Start with a banana, as they are usually the cheapest fruit. During cherry season in May and June (at least out here in Los Angeles) I can find them for around a dollar per pound.

For extra crunch add an on-sale apple. We also get mangoes and peaches cheaply at my neighborhood Latin market.

One pound plastic bins of strawberries cost 99.99 cents at the local 99c only Stores. Whole pineapples even make an appearance there.

You can mix and match any favorite fruit you find. Some fruit may come on sale if it has blemishes. Since you are slicing up the fruit, it won't matter - just cut out any damaged segments.

Start you day with a 99 Cent Chef inspired Yogurt Fruit Cup sometime, especially when fresh fruit is on sale and in season.

Ingredients (2 servings)

• 2 small cartons of yogurt - I used plain, unflavored yogurt. You can use any type on sale. 
• 6-10 cherries - seeds removed. Okay to add more or fewer cherries.
• 1 banana - peeled and sliced.
• 1 mango - peeled, seed removed, and sliced.

Directions
Mangoes are a bit messy and tricky to work with. They should be ripe first, with a slight softness and yellow or reddish color, depending on the type of mango.

I like to peel them this way. First I slice into the skin from top to bottom four times. Make sure to slice intersecting at the top and bottom.

Now just peel each segment to remove half of the skin, at the widest half of mango. The mango seed is flat and wide so you want to slice off the most flesh along the seed. The seed will guide your blade, just follow the seed as you slice.

Once one side is stripped of flesh, then peel the other side and repeat, slicing along the length of the seed.

You can keep slicing around the seed to get all the mango flesh. Now just cut the mango flesh into bite sizes.

You know how to peel and slice a banana, I'm sure. Just make sure it is ripe.

Cherries are easy to peel, but can be messy, so make sure to work on a surface that is washable, as cherry juice will stain your clothes or any porous surfaces.

All I do to remove a cherry seed is cut around the middle of a cherry. Grab each half and give it a twist. One half of the cherry will separate off the seed. The other half will need to be sliced around the seed to finish removing it. Once you've done it a few times, it gets easier and quicker to do.
 
Once all the fruit is prepared, time to add the yogurt. I add some yogurt in the bottom of a bowl.

Next add the fruit. And finally I mix in the rest of the yogurt. 

Frozen Plantains - Deal of the Day

Fried and frozen, Ripe Plantain Slices by Tio Jorge is a great Deal of the Day.

Black is truly beautiful for this fruit. Plantains are not like typical bananas because they hold up to cooking without turning to mush. But it takes patience. A typical sweet Plantain must ripen to black before it reaches maximum sweetness. Since they are usually sold green, this may take a couple of weeks until they turn black and are ready to fry. I find them in Latin markets and even regular grocery stores are starting to stock them.

South or Central American, and Cubans serve Fried Bananas like typical Americans do with French fries. Is it a dessert or a side dish? Go to local a Cuban restaurant for Roast Pork or Chicken and it's a sweet side dish along with white rice, black beans and tender starchy yucca.

And if you are looking for cheap$kate Cuban Recipes I have a flotilla-full a click away here, including: a Cuban Sandwich, Black Beans, Roast Pork, Fried Plantains and Tostones, Yucca, Cuban Salad, plus a refreshing Mojito flavored with sugar cane.

Let's get this out of the way, Fried Plantains are greasy. I guess you could roast them for a low fat version, but Latin palates are used to eating them fried in a lot of oil. The ingredient list of this Deal of the Day only mentions banana and vegetable oil and that's okay with me, the less chemical additives the better.

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These Frozen Plantains are cooked, so all you need to do is zap them for 2 to 4 minutes until hot. They are tender and sweet just like they should be. When I cook with them I will brown them more, but this frozen version is close enough.

I got these Fried Plantains at my local 99c only Store in a 10 ounce frozen package. I would guess that the amount equals about two plantains - this is a good deal as a typical Latin market would sell them raw for the same price. So for convenience, they are fine.

So on the 99 Cent Chef's Cheap$kate Scale of 1 to 9, 9 being best, I rate Ripe Plantain Slices by Tio Jorge a a perfect 9 ! If you find these, then pick up a few packages, they are a sweet side that even kids would approve of.

Chia Pudding with Fruit

 1/2 cup Chia seeds, 3 cups soy milk, 4 hours refrigeration, equals creamy Chia Pudding.

I've been seeing a lot of Chia seed mentions around the blogosphere lately, and decided to try a recipe to see what it's all about. I made a simple Chia Pudding with Fruit.

  

They are quite expensive at regular markets, but when I saw small 3 ounce packages in my local 99c only Store  I picked up a package decided to try a recipe with the teeny tiny seeds. The small packages are located by the spices and dried herbs at the store I went to.

Chia seeds are touted as a superfood with health benefits and extra nutritional value. You can read all about that stuff by clicking here. Mainly they are loaded with antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids. Hey, I can use all the help I can get - I'm not getting any younger here.

Chia, native to central and southern Mexico and Guatemala, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, and has been cultivated by the Aztecs and Mayans way back in pre-Columbian times.

Raw Chia Seeds

What's interesting about them is when added to a tasty fluid they swell, absorbing the liquid, becoming similar to a tapioca pudding after setting for about 4 hours. The taste of Chia is fairly neutral, maybe with a slight green tea flavor, so using a rich tasting liquid like almond or soy milk is recommended.

If you think of it like oatmeal, then all you need to do is add some sliced fruit and you have a knock-out dessert or nutritious breakfast.

For my recipe I stirred in sliced strawberries and banana, after the Chia Pudding has set. You can use any fruit you find on sale.

I always find soy milk at the 99c only Stores, and every once in a while almond milk makes an appearance in the cold deli case.

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So hit the produce section of your grocery store or farmers market, and stock up on your favorite fresh fruit to slice and add to my cheap$kate Chia Pudding with Fruit.

Ingredients

• 3 cups soy milk - okay to use regular milk, almond milk or almost any juice. For thicker pudding use 2 or 2 1/2 cups of liquid.
• Raw Chia seeds - 3 ounces or half a cup.
• Fruit - any favorite. I used cheap bananas and strawberries. Add as much as you like. Other fruit to try: pineapple, peach, mango, melon, blueberries, or whatever you can find on sale at the grocery and farmers market. 
• Okay to add teaspoon of any favorite sweetener - optional.

Directions
Add raw Chia seeds to a large bowl. Pour in 2 to 3 cups of soy milk, regular milk, almond milk, or fruit juice.

3 cups of soy milk will make an oatmeal or sour cream consistency. Okay to use about 2 cups of soy milk for a thicker pudding.

Stir seeds into soy milk and set in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours. Stir mixture once every hour as seeds absorb liquid. They clump up some, but easily break apart with a light stir.

When mixture is set, add Chia Pudding to a bowl and add sliced fruit - as much fruit as you like.

Some recipes call for a tablespoon of honey or any favorite sweetener. I find the fruit and soy milk sweet enough for my taste.

For a single serving, add 3 tablespoons of raw Chia seeds and fill up a coffee mug with soy milk or favorite liquid.

Fresh Fruit Salad

Cherries are on sale at my local  Latin market for 99 cents per pound! And, they provid the bulk of sweet and tangy produce as well - just read below all the Spanish words of the abundant frutas on sale.

So, now the time is right for my refreshing Fruit Salad. Of course, any seasonal fruit on sale can go into your own citrus salad. I like to mix up crunchy fruit with the soft and juicy.

My fruit salad is minimalist, just whatever fruit I can find on sale. And I give it a generous squeeze of lemon, or lime, to prolong it's freshness, and to cut the sweetness with a little sour.

I always find bananas priced way below a dollar per pound. If you are making a Fruit Salad ahead of time, then don't add sliced banana until you are ready to serve, they turn brown too quickly, even with a lemon or lime bath.

Apples and oranges frequently come on sale. Apples are easy to slice and dice. Oranges can be a little messy, with a slight bitter pith, that separates the skin from flesh. I like to slice off the peel and pith. You could then slice into each orange wedge to cleanly remove the flesh. I don't go that far.

Cherries take the most work, but are worth the trouble. I slice each cherry around the center seed. Twist the cherry halves and expose the seed. Now, it's easier to pluck the seed out. Have a paper towel handy in case juice gets everywhere!

To bulk up a Fruit Salad, add sliced melon or watermelon. If you are from the South, them add some fresh peaches, nectarines, blackberries and strawberries. Northerners get to add some blueberries and all kinds of apple varieties. If you live in breathtaking Hawai'i, add passion fruit, mango,pineapple, lychee nut, papaya and  slivers of fresh coconut.

Whatever the season, keep an eye out for fresh fruit on sale at your local farmers market or roadside fruit stands, then assemble a cheap$kate Fresh Fruit Salad- your way.

Ingredients (2 servings)

• 1 banana
• 12-20 cherries
• 1 apple
• 1 orange
• 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice - can add more or less to your taste.
• More fruit to add: peach, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, mango, papaya, pineapple, nectarine, plum, melon, watermelon and grapes.

Directions
For apples, just remove the apple core and stem, then chop.

Cherries are sliced all around the center. You then twist the opposite ends of cherry to expose the seed. Now just pry it out with a knife, small spoon or use your fingers.

I slice an orange in half. Then, slice off the skin and pith to expose the orange flesh. Now just slice of the orange into bite-sizes. Remove any seeds if necessary.

For a banana, peel and slice, but only do it just before serving your Fruit Salad. Bananas do not keep long once the peel is off.

Finally, give the fruit a squeeze of lime or lemon juice. I add about a tablespoon. You can add more or less to suit you own taste.