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You are here: Home / Entrees / Savory Mediterranean Yogurt Parfait

Savory Mediterranean Yogurt Parfait

September 9, 2015 by Jenna Braddock

Savory Mediterranean Yogurt Parfait is a unique twist on a yogurt parfait, perfect for an easy lunch. Olives, cucumber, parsley, sun dried tomatoes and garlic bring together the flavors of the Mediterranean in this healthy and delicious dish. 

Savory Mediterranean Yogurt Parfait - A unique twist on a yogurt parfait, perfect for an easy lunch. Olives, cucumber, parsley, sun dried tomatoes and garlic bring together the flavors of the Mediterranean in this healthy and delicious dish. #MakeHealthyEasy via @JBraddockRD http://JennaBraddock.com

I received free samples of California Ripe Olives mentioned in this post. By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by California Ripe Olives and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.

I love yogurt.  In fact, all of Team Braddock loves and eats yogurt, almost daily. It’s filling, protein rich, got the whole probiotic thing happening, and it’s super tasty.

But some days, I don’t really want sweet yogurt. In fact, I often like having Greek yogurt with my lunch and prefer a more savory version when I do. But let’s be honest, plain Greek yogurt is just a little too lip-puckering sour sometimes. I need something else going on in there to make it more enjoyable. Anybody with me?

Today I’ve got a great savory yogurt parfait recipe that will knock your socks off. It brings together many wonderful flavors of the Mediterranean like olives, parsley, sun dried tomatoes, and garlic for an all in one meal that is satisfying, full of deliciousness and nourishing.

The magic ingredient in this parfait, I think, are the California ripe olives. I L-O-V-E black olives as do my boys. {Unfortunately Coach is just not there with us, but I hope and pray one day he will.} I think some of my earliest food memories actually involve olives, and maybe bologna, but we won’t talk about that part.

Savory Mediterranean Yogurt Parfait - A unique twist on a yogurt parfait, perfect for an easy lunch. Olives, cucumber, parsley, sun dried tomatoes and garlic bring together the flavors of the Mediterranean in this healthy and delicious dish. #MakeHealthyEasy via @JBraddockRD http://JennaBraddock.com

Why do I love olives so much? Well, I love how they taste. I love their texture. And I love that you can do this with them:

Savory Mediterranean Yogurt Parfait - A unique twist on a yogurt parfait, perfect for an easy lunch. Olives, cucumber, parsley, sun dried tomatoes and garlic bring together the flavors of the Mediterranean in this healthy and delicious dish. #MakeHealthyEasy via @JBraddockRD http://JennaBraddock.com

Although now I can only fit them on my pinky finger. Bummer.

Seriously though, olives are super good for you. They are an essential ingredient in the Mediterranean diet, a way of eating than has proven health benefits. They are also loaded with nutrition like heart healthy monounsaturated fat, vitamin E (0.25 mg), iron (0.49 mg), vitamin A (60 IU), and fiber (0.5 g). They are also pretty low in calories. You can enjoy 4 olives for only 25 calories!

I love eating them as a snack. I pack them for my kids’ lunches too. {See my Healthy School Lunch Ideas} But this parfait idea just takes them to a whole new place! Mixed with all these great flavors and textures, you get a really unique dish.

Savory Mediterranean Yogurt Parfait - A unique twist on a yogurt parfait, perfect for an easy lunch. Olives, cucumber, parsley, sun dried tomatoes and garlic bring together the flavors of the Mediterranean in this healthy and delicious dish. #MakeHealthyEasy via @JBraddockRD http://JennaBraddock.com

I had this for lunch one day this week and it was truly fun to eat. Both my boys tried it too and surprisingly liked it. I think it was the olives that sold ’em!

This is actually a pretty easy lunch to make up. Cook up quinoa on the weekend as well as dice up your cucumber. Then you can literally throw this together in about 5 minutes. Make as many layers of you like of the quinoa, yogurt and olives. While I only picture one quinoa layer here, when I make them again, I will do 2 layers of each with plenty of olives in between each layer.

Savory Mediterranean Yogurt Parfait
 
Print
Prep time
10 mins
Cook time
5 mins
Total time
15 mins
 
Author: Jenna Braddock, RD
Recipe type: Lunch
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 2 cups cooked quinoa
  • 1 cup finely diced cucumber
  • ½ cup loosely packed sun dried tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons minced, fresh parsley
  • pinch of salt
  • 3 cups plain low fat Greek yogurt
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 cup sliced California Black Ripe Olives
  • ¼ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
  1. Combine quinoa, cucumber, sun dried tomatoes, red wine vinegar, parsley, and salt. Mix well and set aside.
  2. In a separate bowl, mix yogurt with minced garlic.
  3. In a tall round goblet or parfait cup, layer about ⅓ cup yogurt then 2 tablespoons of sliced black olives and then ½ cup quinoa mixture. Repeat with another ⅓ cup of yogurt. Then top with 2 more tablespoons of black olives. Lastly, sprinkle top with a tablespoon of chopped walnuts.
  4. Refrigerate if not eating right away.
Notes
I used plain sun dried tomatoes but you can use the kind stored in oil. Just drain off some of the oil before chopping.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: ¼ recipe Calories: 342 Fat: 13 Saturated fat: 3 Trans fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 36 Sugar: 8 Sodium: 600 Fiber: 5 Protein: 23 Cholesterol: 26
3.5.3208

So what do you think? Can you give a savory yogurt parfait a try? I definitely think you should.

Make sure you check out the other Recipe Reduxer black olive recipes below.

To enjoying the flavors of the Mediterranean in your own kitchen,

Jenna

[inlinkz_linkup id=552441 mode=1]

Filed Under: Entrees, Vegetarian Tagged With: gluten free, healthy, Recipes, tomato

About Jenna Braddock

Jenna Braddock is a Registered Dietitian, wife to a football coach, and mom to 2 little boys. She is all about ways to make healthy living easier through realistic strategies and doable, delicious recipes. Stick around for food, fun, fitness, football, and family by subscribing to email updates from MHE.

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Comments

  1. Deanna Segrave-Daly says

    September 10, 2015 at 5:57 am

    This is SO clever! I like my yogurt savory at times too – I think I’ll try this with farro (admittedly not a huge quinoa fan – shocker as a dietitian I know 🙂

    • Jenna Braddock says

      September 10, 2015 at 6:36 am

      That sounds awesome too Deanna! I appreciate your honesty about quinoa. I could bathe in the stuff, but I don’t think that’s normal…

      • Rachel @ Delicious Balance says

        September 10, 2015 at 5:21 pm

        Lol! I am a quinoa-lover too! I do love me some farro, though! This is such a fun twist on a yogurt parfait!

  2. rebecca says

    September 10, 2015 at 10:29 am

    What a fun idea! I can’t wait to try this w/ my 2nd can of black olives!

  3. Rachael@AvocadoADayNutrition says

    September 12, 2015 at 7:11 pm

    Savory parfait! This is so smart! Love this idea for a packable snack 🙂

    • Jenna Braddock says

      September 12, 2015 at 9:00 pm

      Thank you Rachel!

  4. Dana says

    September 15, 2015 at 7:22 pm

    Such a clever idea! I think I prefer savory yogurt to sweet, so will definitely have to make this!

  5. Jessica @ Nutritioulicious says

    October 8, 2015 at 12:39 pm

    What a fun idea to make a savory parfait using quinoa. Congrats on the win – so well deserved! And it was great to see you in Nashville 🙂

  6. Serena says

    October 26, 2015 at 11:43 am

    Congrats on winning the contest! Just posted this on our ReDux FB page!

Trackbacks

  1. The Recipe Redux » Blog Archive » Winners Announced: California Ripe Olives Sponsored Contest says:
    October 8, 2015 at 1:03 pm

    […] Prize: Savory Mediterranean Yogurt Parfait via Jenna @ Make Healthy […]

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Welcome to MHE! I'm Jenna, a registered dietitian nutritionist, mom to 2 boys, and wife to a high school football coach. I'm all about ways to make healthy living easier through realistic strategies and doable, delicious recipes. Stick around for food, fun, fitness, football, and family.

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