Category: Dairy

Mixed Berry Frozen Yogurt Bark

The 4th of July holiday weekend is just around the corner and have I got the coolest (pun intended) recipe for you! Creamy, crunchy, sweet, tart, and incredibly refreshing frozen yogurt bark, and it’s red, white and blue too!

If you’ve missed out the frozen yogurt bark trend, it’s a new, fun way to enjoy your favorite yogurt. Forget banana ice cream, frozen Greek yogurt confections are what’s hot! I love that there are endless possibilities – from the yogurt base, to the assorted toppings, there is SO much you can do.

With my patriotic spirit in mind, I went with a mix of berries and added granola for crunch. You can use fresh or frozen, which makes this super easy, and store-bought or homemade granola – so basically, this bark practically makes itself. And with a full summer ahead, we all love those types of recipes! Especially when they’re healthy, refreshing, and cold (have you BEEN outside lately?!).

These recipes aren’t just fun for me, they’re actually a necessity. You see, I don’t tolerate the heat very well (which is why, while I love my family in Florida, I would NEVER move there) and from what I hear, NYC is in for a HOT summer. If I could haul around a freezer of ice chips on my back, I probably would, but I have to settle for light and cold foods instead. I HATE cooking in the summer and with a baby coming soon (aaahhh!!), I hate it even more. Any tips for surviving the heat this season? I’m all ears.

In the meantime, it’s going to be lots of yogurt and fruit for me, which is great, because that’s exactly what I’m craving. I love Norman’s line of thick, creamy Greek yogurts but my favorite of all time is their guava yogurt. I can literally eat it for breakfast, lunch and ice cream. Oh wait, is ice cream not a meal? It is for this overheated pregnant mama ok?!?!?!?!

So, if you’re like me and you like to indulge in yogurt and imagine it’s ice cream, give this no-guilt mixed berry yogurt bark a try! It’s guaranteed to cool you off, if only for a few minutes, until your next venture outdoors.

Good luck with the summer heat you guys, and remember to stay hydrated! Oh, and of course, Happy Independence Day! Enjoy the holiday weekend :)

This post was sponsored by Norman’s. All opinions are my own. 

Related Recipes:

4th of July tartufo
4th of July chocolate-dipped kettle chip stars
blueberry frozen yogurt bites
terra stix white chocolate bark
blueberry sweet potato granola salad with  yogurt dressing

Post a Comment

Torah Cannoli

Holy Cannoli! Someones gonna have to bring me a slice of humble pie because I’m on a bit of a high from how cute these Torah Cannoli are! (by the way that’s not a typo – the plural form of cannoli is cannoli…a little Wikipedia for you!)

I always say, food is my passion but my kids are my priority. I love being a mom and I don’t ever want being a foodie, blogger, chef, or whatever it is I am, get in the way of that. SO while I try to come up with fun and sophisticated holiday dishes, I also do my best to tap into my inner child and do something fun for the kiddos too.

In the past, I’ve made Torah franks in blanks like these (photo by Tzivi Brick Jakubovic), but this year, I wanted to do something fun with my daughter’s class in honor of her 8th birthday, which is just a few short weeks before Shavuot. One night when I couldn’t sleep (I have terrible insomnia these days), these cannoli torah’s hit me and I was only too excited to make them! I used a cream cheese mousse filling instead of the more sophisticated classic ricotta filling to make it more kid friendly, and the kids went gaga!

They all took turns prepping the recipe – whipping up the cream cheese and heavy cream, folding the mixture together, and giving out the ingredients for everyone to make their own. They “glued” the cannoli wafers with marshmallow fluff and we made a few Ziploc piping bags of filling so they could all pipe their own. Needless to say, the most fun was dipping the Torah’s in the assorted toppings.

Some of the kids wrapped up their Torah Cannoli to take home, but most of them couldn’t wait it out and gobbled it down on the spot. One kid said it was the best thing she ever tasted! I knew I had a winner, I just didn’t know if it was blog-worthy so I figured I’d skip on posting. Until, I was making my rosewater cheesecake mousse parfaits at a cooking demo recently, and I decided to show the audience the Torah cannoli idea with some of the leftover cheesecake mousse. After an audible “wow” from the audience (the best sound EVER when you’re giving a demo), I decided it was too good not to share with you all too.

I love to check things off my bucket list and making things like homemade goat cheese ice cream or a sophisticated dish like brie marsala pizza gives me a huge sense of satisfaction, but seriously, nothing, and I mean nothing, makes me more proud or excited, than coming up with something fun and original that my kids absolutely love!

So kiddies, this ones for you! And that classic citrus-zest-spiked filling is my little touch for the adults too :)

If you want to skip on the filling, fill it with your favorite mousse or plain-old whipped cream. The important thing is to have some fun, for the kids, and for you too! Happy Shavuot y’all!

Related Posts:

Shavuot paper napkin roses
passion fruit cream horns
rosewater cheesecake mousse parfaits
halva and ricotta stuffed figs

Post a Comment

Please NOTE: This post contains affiliate links which means that a small percentage of every purchase made through the links above goes to help support the BIB blog!

Three-Cheese Rollatini Rose Pie

Ever since I was little, my mom’s been making the same Shavuot menu each year. It includes her amazing lasagna, homemade potato and cheese blintzes, French onion soup and an array of store-bought cheesecakes. For the second day meal, she switches up the lasagna for eggplant rollatini, or what she likes to call, rollantini.

I probably pack on about 10 lbs. in those two days, but it’s always worth every bite. Until the weather gets hotter, my skirts are a tad too tight around the middle, and I’m cursing out that creamy slice of cheesecake.

Which is why, when I started cooking up my own Shavuot meals, I decided to come up with healthier variations of some of my favorites. That’s when my spaghetti squash baked ziti, cheesy stuffed mini peppers and pasta-free spinach manicotti were born.

Some time later, I added my cheesy zoodle marinara, broccoli parmesan poppers, portobello pizza and roasted eggplant parmesan. I barely even miss the pasta anymore (ok, maybe just this).

I skip the heavy French onion soup, and go for a lighter chilled strawberry rhubarb soup and simple sides like summer tomato feta salad, pesto baked salmon, and eggplant chips with whipped feta. I might have a small bite of cheesecake, but my skirts still fit after the meal and everyone’s happy!

Which is why THIS happened! I may be expecting baby #5 this summer, but I’ve been packing on the pounds like I’m about to go into hibernation! I’ve got to ease up on my carb intake, so, I did what I always do when I’m looking for pasta alternatives, I go for zucchini. If I’m not eating cheesy zoodle marinara (an absolute staple in my kitchen), I go for a riff on my spinach lasagna roll-ups, made with zucchini strips. This time, I decided to turn those rolls upside down, and add in yellow squash and eggplant, for a pretty rose garden look. Shavuot, after all, is known as “the feast of the roses”, so how very apropos.

Vegetable ribbon pies and rose spiral apple desserts are all the rage right now, so I was more than happy to follow the trend with a savory holiday-worthy version.

Of course there are lots of variations that you can do with this dish – from adding spinach to the filling, using carrots for rolling, or baking it all into a pie crust. But I just love that this is gluten free and no-carb, so why mess with perfection, am I right?

With all my lighter spins on heavy pasta dishes, I’ve come to realize that a lot of what we eat is all in our heads. When I started subbing zoodles in for my spaghetti, a funny thing happened. I didn’t miss anything! I was full, satiated and most importantly, I felt like I had actually eaten pasta! It made me realize that we really have the ability to trick our brains into thinking we are eating something else – if only we can create the same taste, similar texture and mouthfeel, you barely notice the difference. The scale however, definitely does.

So, I’m hoping I’ve inspired you to lighten up your holiday meals, even if only with one dish. If I were you, I’d make it this one!

Do you have any other tricks to lightening up your favorite pasta dishes? I’d love to hear! Share them with me in the comments below!



This post was sponsored by Natural & Kosher Cheese. Follow them on FacebookTwitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Google+, or via their Blog

Related Recipes:

spinach lasagna roll-ups
cheesy zoodle (zucchini noodle) marinara
roasted eggplant parmesan
cheesy stuffed mini peppers

Post a Comment

Please NOTE: This post contains affiliate links which means that a small percentage of every purchase made through the links above goes to help support the BIB blog!

Parmesan Roasted Almonds

Somebody pinch me. Is Pesach really in less than a month? Ahhhhhhhhh

That’s not to say I’m making Pesach this year, because I plan to avoid that catastrophic monster of a gluten free cookfest for as long as I can. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind helping in the kitchen at all, in fact, I enjoy coming up with original dishes as a result of our strict Passover restrictions. But the thought of actually hosting meal after meal for eight days straight is not exactly appealing to me.


So, I’ll be helping out in my mom’s kitchen this year. And I plan to do a lot of spiralizing. We’ll be eating plenty of zoodles and sweet potato rice – a healthier alternative to the overused spud.

Meals are not that much of an issue – we always have my mom’s Passover gefilte fish, mason jars filled with pickled cucumber salad, beet “vinaigrette”, ratatouille and mock chopped liver. There are also the traditional Pesach dishes like scrambled hard boiled eggs, orange chicken and sweet nut omelettes. But snacks? other than bananas and the occasional piece of dark chocolate, we’re out of options.

Last year, I made these sugared almonds, but as my palate has taken a turn for the savory, I came up with an even tastier version, minus the sugar. Parmesan roasted almonds are completely addictive, and they make the most amazing croutons over lettuce! If you make your own mayo, a Passover Caesar salad can now be on the menu, without losing out on the crunchy crouton goodness.

Making these croutons the other day was an admission that Pesach is coming, whether we like it or not. But it was also a realization that it can be oh. so. delicious.

More fun and innovative Passover recipes recipes are coming your way soon, so stay tuned!



This post was sponsored by Natural & Kosher Cheese. Follow them on FacebookTwitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Google+, or via their Blog

Related Recipes:

gluten free broccoli parmesan poppers
gluten free roasted eggplant parmesan
gluten free pesto zucchini fries
pesto baked salmon

Post a Comment

Spinach Pappardelle with Feta
& a Fried Poached Egg

I’m pretty proud of myself. You see, usually when I make lists, it’s just to get stuff off my head and onto a piece of paper. But every since I made my 2016 Foodie Resolution List, I’ve actually been making my through it!

Case in point: fried poached eggs. Well lookie here! Amazingly crisp and perfectly runny eggs dripping their way down some silky pappardelle pasta with bright green spinach. Perfection on a plate.

I’ve also mastered soft pretzels, fresh pita, caramel and I’ve got kataifi waiting in my freezer. That’s almost 5 out of a 9 and it’s only February! This is going to be one productive year in the BIB kitchen. Are you excited?

Now a foodie confession. It’s hard to admit but I was never one for feta cheese. Just something about the texture was off to me, so Greek salad was never on the menu.

But then Natural & Kosher cheese sent me their new brined feta and lo and behold, I loved the stuff! I also realized that if you grate it, the texture is so light and appealing, and when you add it to hot pasta, it’s salty goodness melts into the sauce. So there! I kinda like feta now!

It’s hard not like to cheese when it’s coated in egg yolk, crispy breadcrumbs and delicious sauteed spinach. This recipe really brings together all of my favorite things. Papardelle pasta being one of them.

I’m really not one for heavy pasta dishes like spaghetti bolognese or even baked ziti. Give me some linguini with olive oil and a poached egg and I’m set. With pasta being so heavy, it really keeps things light, instead of the thick tomato sauces that are commonly used. And can you imagine this with zoodles? OMG delish. I’m definitely going to give it a try.

Speaking of zoodles, my dieting hasn’t been going too well these days. I think it’s the winter blues. With all the freezing weather and snow, I’ve been craving comfort food. Like pasta. And carbs. Lots and lots of carbs.

The funny thing is I met someone in the store yesterday who looked at me with her mouth hanging open, saying I had lost so much weight. I wondered when was the last time she saw me because I’ve more or less been the same weight for a while now (which is very far from skinny). I guess it was the awesome coat I was wearing, that always seems to make me look skinnier than I am. Don’t you just love those wardrobe pieces? I took the compliment happily and then went on to the bakery aisle where I snatched up a crusty baguette. Oh carbs how I love thee.

But now, NOW that I sorta like feta, I’ve got to order me some Greek salad. Summer is just a couple of months away. And no matter how skinny said coat makes me look, it’s going to be making it’s way the back of my closet come June. I think it’s time to chuck the pappardelle and bring out my spiralizer.

But wait, first Purim. Some hamantaschen. And then. OK??


This post was sponsored by Natural & Kosher Cheese. Follow them on FacebookTwitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Google+, or via their Blog

Related Recipes:

spinach rotini pasta
pasta-free spinach manicotti
spaghetti squash with sauteed spinach and mushrooms
roasted eggplant parmesan with feta
summer tomato feta salad

Post a Comment