Blueberry-Honey Parfait

For some strange reason I've always been a morning person.  I frequently wake up a few minutes before my alarm clock goes off, and I've never been one to sleep into the afternoon.  In short, the rooster is afraid of ME!!!  This comes in handy on mornings like these where I am deep in the midst of finals week, and after an extremely frustrating evening, finished little to no work last night.

So here I bring to you a second study snack (actually it's more of a study breakfast) that I think those Harvard doctors I insulted yesterday would be a little more fond of: the blueberry-honey parfait.  Yogurt is a secret sugar trap, and often contains just as much as a candy bar.  A CANDY BAR!!! I know, I know, you thought it was so good for you and now your world is crashing down in SHAMBLES around your feet.

BUT WAIT, if candy bars make you fat, and yoplait is always advertising that yogurt makes you skinny, wouldn't that be false advertising??

I'm not even going to bother getting into how flawed the study yoplait used was (seriously. flawed.), but basically that has to do with how sugar is metabolized by your body.  As I'm sure you know, your body needs energy to run, and this energy comes from sugar.  It doesn't matter what you eat (protein, fat, etc) in the end, your body converts everything to sugar before it uses it for energy.  When you eat sugar that is already...well....sugar (like in a candy bar), your body can only use exactly the amount it needs at that exact moment at a time. All the rest is converted to fat and stored for those cold winter months while you're hibernating.  I don't know about you, but I don't want a hibernation layer, I'm all set wearing big winter coats instead to stay warm.  If you eat sugar and protein together (like yogurt), the protein helps your body to slowwww dowwwwn how quickly it breaks down the sugar, so you have more time to use it, so you end up using  more of the sugar you just ate for energy, and less of it can become fat.

Long story short: less sugar=less fat; sugar+protein= less fat than sugar alone

Greek yogurt has more protein than regular yogurt, so in this recipe I used it plain (without added sugar), and added just enough honey for my taste buds.  Completely aside from the health factor, I absolutely love the flavor honey lends to the tanginess of plain yogurt.  Combine this with blueberries, granola, and a big steaming cup of coffee, and I think we have a perfect breakfast.




Blueberry-Honey Parfait
1 tbsp Honey
1 C plain greek yogurt
1/2 C fresh blueberries
1/4 C plain granola

1) Cover the bottom of a parfait glass with honey, then top with greek yogurt
2) Spread blueberries evenly across top, and sprinkle with granola