You know that thing where toddlers eat exactly one third of whatever fruit you give them? No matter what size portion you offer, or how much they claimed to have wanted it five minutes ago? I don’t know what that’s about (torture, maybe?), but I do know how to solve it: yogurt bark.
The deal with food in my house is you don’t have to clean your plate, and you don’t have to eat something you don’t want to. This is not because I am the chillest parent ever. It’s because I have my own history with food rules and restrictions, which eventually led me to intuitive eating — which completely changed my life. In general, I think that approach has saved both my daughter and me from a lot of mealtime stress.
But it’s done nothing for the fruit. The fruit has remained abandoned on the plate every time. And because I’m the one who publicly disavowed the clean-plate club, I’m also the one who’s been forced to deal with those cast-off berries and chunks of banana. But what do I do with all this fruit? One day I opened Instagram, and, like an algorithmic miracle, the answer appeared:
Ta-da!
I’ve been making yogurt bark for over a year now — at least twice a week — and it’s going well for everyone. It takes about 60 seconds, and it has saved me from barrels of food waste. All you need is a scrap of parchment paper, a scoop of yogurt, and the fruit your kid left mashed up on their breakfast plate. Here’s how to make it in five easy steps…
1. Chop up your abandoned fruit.
2. Smear yogurt onto parchment paper. (I find that thick Greek yogurt works the best, especially with bulkier chunks of fruit. But you can use any old yogurt to make bark.
3-4. Plop fruit bits onto yogurt.
5. Microwave the nut butter or chocolate of your choice for 30 seconds, then drizzle it over the yogurt. Then stick it in the freezer.
6. Cut the frozen yogurt into bark pieces.
Now behold as your child’s breakfast rejects become the thrilling frozen snack they can’t believe you “cooked” for them. There’s something about freezing a room-temperature food that makes it 10 times more exciting.
Congratulations, you have saved yourself the torment of tossing out yet another perfectly good chunk of banana.
Any other good tricks for using up any kinds of leftovers? I am ALL EARS!
PS: A five-ingredient dinner for chilly nights, and three great store-bought dinner-party starters, so you can just open and serve.
(Photos by Yossy Arefi for Cup of Jo.)
