Yogurt Bark for Everything
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.)
Comments
95 commentsKelsey, you are such an inspiration! After years of disordered eating and a torturous relationship with my body and food, and terrified of passing on generational dieting to my own future kids, I found support and healing at an incredible outpatient eating disorder treatment centre. I am happy to report that life is a hell of a lot better now that I finally have food freedom :) I resonate so much with your story. I now have a 13 month old daughter who eats with gusto and delight. We are very thoughtful about the way we talk about food and bodies in our house, but I wondered if you have any resources for raising intuitive eaters? I’m currently reading Child of Mine by Ellyn Satter, which is fantastic, but wondered about other resources you’ve come across? Thanks in advance :)
First of all, I’m so happy for you! What you’ve done is no easy feat, so BRAVA. I’m incredibly touched by your words, and I totally resonate with your comment myself! Having a child makes you look at these things from a new vantage point. Satter’s work is a great resource, and I would also HIGHLY recommend reading Virginia Sole-Smith’s work on this topic — her newsletter, her social platform, and in particular, her most recent book, FAT TALK. It gets into this from every angle, in a really deep and helpful way (it’s also a great read). Whenever I’m looking for a new resource myself, Virginia is usually my first stop!
Since bananas are the only leftovers, they’ll end up as pancakes. Berries and grapes do not last long in our house.
Ooooh, I love this! Ideally, how long are we freezing for?
This is one of those blog recipe/stories i actually want to read. Clearly this writer a hands on mother who understand the beautiful whimsy and adorably illogical thought process of young minds. My preschooler’s love language is actors of service. When he is upset he wants me to do things that show I care. In those big moments, I start offering things and he loves the power of saying no and having a sense control. So now, after I empathize and offer emotional support and hug and kiss, I start offering the most ridiculous stuff. Would you like me to make you an onion? Do you need a cup of coffee? How about some mustard on your cookie. He will always say no, but it gets him off whatever track he’s stuck in. After about five wrong things I offer something he would like, say a story or a puzzle and he happily says yes. Little kids brains are just the most fun.
This is so cute! I’m going to try it :)
This is delightful! My kid would totally call my bluff though and the next thing you know I’d be serving coffee onion salad! 😂
Fellow parent of young children and leftover fruit connoisseur here! I keep a yogurt container in the freezer to store bits of leftover fruit, veg, porridge, yogurt, apple sauce etc. whatever is left in tact on the snack plate and would be tasty in a future smoothie gets chucked in and frozen. Every few days I whiz up a big smoothie in my Vitamix with whatever is in the frozen leftovers container at that moment in time plus yogurt, a handful from my stash of frozen bananas and garden zucchini, pb, oat milk, protein powder, dates etc. Any smoothie we don’t guzzle as a family goes into those annoying drinkable yogurt bottles for future school lunches (bonus points that they double as an icepack in a lunch box and don’t leak!) and chucked into the freezer. While this reduce / reuse approach may seem disgusting to some, it works for us! Groceries are expensive! My spiritual gift is stretching good food as faaaaaar as I can. It’s pretty satisfying watching my children guzzle their leftovers! Xo
love the idea of a smoothie container!
I tried this today, and my only question is how to prevent the yogurt from tasting too icy. My family would have devoured it all if it weren’t for the yogurt tasting like ice. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Were you using full-fat yogurt? I’m thinking if not, it might not turn out as well. Sort of like the difference between creamy ice cream and the “ice milk” we used to have in the 80s.
Choosing a full-fat Greek yogurt tends to work the best for us (my 9yo loves to make herself yogurt bark for breakfasts). Greek yogurt has some of the watery whey strained out, and the lower water content will prevent iciness.
Porridge cakes! Any leftover cereal/porridge plus some self raising flour, egg, vanilla extract and whatever you* want (berries! Cinnamon! Mixed Spice! Lemon zest!) Pop it into cupcake holders and bake for 10-20mins at 180C. Healthy snacks or on the go breakfasts for dayyyys! *my toddler wants
Love this idea! Have you ever tried Ellenos yogurt? This yogurt….. changed my life? It is beyond creamy and delicious. It is Greek yogurt, so very high in protein. They have a Plain and Vanilla Bean that would be great base for this yogurt bark. I buy it at Whole Foods! You must try it!
Big Farma!
I love seeing more of Kelsey on Cup of Jo! Of course, I love all writers and contributors, but something about Kelsey’s tone makes me feel like she’s a best friend who invited me over to gossip…about yogurt bark. In the best and most exciting way! And I don’t even have kids.
Yes! We love her so much :) xx
Same. Kelsey is the best!
another option would be to mix up the fruit and any yogurt and freeze it in popsicle molds .. same thing, different shape :) My mom froze yogurt like this when I was little, super easy
wow!
We have the opposite problem over here – barely manage to constantly refill the refrigerator with fruit, and they are so pricey here in Russia nowadays… Sigh. I’ve also recently read about just crushed frozen banana with cocoa powder being an amazing healthy dessert, but haven’t got around to trying it out yet
I freeze all uneaten banana chunks or mushy brown bananas. I just keep a gallon sized bag in the freezer and add to it all the time. I use it for making “ice cream” for the kids. You just put frozen bananas in the food processor and mix until it looks like ice cream. That’s it. For a special treat, we sometimes add sprinkles or chocolate sauce. The kids DEVOUR it.
We add vanilla bean powder and a bit of milk or cream and it’s absolutely unbelievable!
Your kid’s smile in that picture clears my skin and aligns my chakras.
Love this! In an effort to repurpose left over grilled cheese sandwich, I discovered a small chop gives me the worlds best salad crouton!
When my 6 yo is eating berries, if one or two are left he’ll eat them even if he’s full because he doesn’t want the other berries to have a party in his tummy without them! LOL!
This looks amazing — and like a perfect, cooling summertime treat! My all-time parenting win (which may have come from coj) is that I offer my kids sliced fruits and veggies during their video time, which is usually 5-6ish while I’m cooking dinner. Sliced apples, Persian cucumbers, and carrots are our go-tos … staves off the pre-dinner hanger, and by the time we sit down for dinner, my kids have already had 1-2 servings of fruits and veggies, which definitely helps me chill out about what they do (or don’t) eat!
This has been my most major parenting food win, as well! My kids eat SO many carrots cucumbers and apples and it just feels like a balm to my soul. Their eating and focus on these foods has shifted throughout time (in a non-linear way), but both used to be very disinterested in the veg and now often request them and finish them (and, not always!) I’m so excited to try this yogurt bark idea. Thank you so much!!! It looks so refreshing and delicious.
My sons are now 29 and 31. I always served up cut up veggies [or sometimes a plate of steamed broccoli] while I was preparing dinner. Now as adults, they are huge vegetable consumers, and very popular with their health-conscious girlfriends :)
Kath, SAME! Literally my best (only?) parenting hack is The 4pm Veggie Tray. I always have a variety of veggies chopped in a tupperware and good dips (thanks, Trader Joes!), ready to go and also offer it in leu of whatever veg goes with dinner that night. We all eat like 100x more fresh foods when I keep up with this.
WOW this is genius!!!!!!! Thank you!
When my kids were young, I would make frozen bananas on a stick. For some reason, food looks like a dessert when it’s on a stick especially with sprinkles. Half a banana. Slide in popsicle stick through the cut end. Dip in yogurt of any flavor (yogurt can be thinned with a touch of milk if it’s too thick). Lay on parchment paper. Sprinkles or any toppings/drizzles optional but I find a few sprinkles makes it irrisistable. Freeze. Ta Daaa!
This is genius! Thankyou!
I do this too! We call them banana pops and my daughter goes through a lot of them! Her favorite iteration has some melted dark chocolate and peanut butter drizzled on top because…of course. :)
Ohhh yum!! I make Bircher muesli with leftover apples and pears (just grate around the bite mark, add to a bowl with equal parts milk, oats and yogurt, then leave overnight). Also big fans of intuitive eating over here, even if some nights I have to physically turn my body away from his plate so I don’t watch and think ‘Jesus is that all you’re eating’. But I love how stress free his relationship with food is at the moment.
All the very very brown or partially eaten bananas from my toddler go into a ziploc bag in the freezer sans peel. When there are enough, they get turned into ABC muffins (apple, banana, carrot) that are a popular snack that also use up that tired apple that has been traveling around and a lonely carrot from the fridge- https://www.yummytoddlerfood.com/baby-muffins/ Similarly, the last few slices at the bottom of the bread bag become baked french toast or bread pudding. And stale tortillas or tortilla chips go into scrambled eggs!
This is very cool
I’m 39 and don’t have kids, and I want to try these muffins for myself! Using up sad produce + wanting healthy snacks/breakfast is ageless, haha.
It looks so pretty!
Not me, a 36-year-old, running to make this for myself 👀
DEFINITELY NOT ME EITHER….
I put leftover smoothies into popsicle molds It’s amazing how a smoothie they don’t like transforms into popsicles they love in just a couple hours.
I do this too and it brings me so much joy to see the rejected smoothie enjoyed in another form :)
When I was a kid (late 70s, early 80s) my parents would freeze single serve yogurt then give it to me as a snack. Not only did I LOVE it – it also took forever to eat so was an amazing distraction. Hilariously, I remember people (kids, other adults) saying that frozen yogurt was gross. Little did they all know the 90s and fat phobia would hit and you couldn’t cross the road without hitting a frozen yogurt place. Any way TL;DR – this post is brilliant.
I’m around your age, and loved TCBY as a teen. I spent a year studying in London in the early 90s, and discovered that fro-yo was not a “thing” there, to my dismay. I was gobsmacked when a flatmate said, just pop your yogurt into the freezer and make frozen yogurt. I loved it! Thanks for the memory :-)
I am shooketh. With sincere thanks from the mom of a 4 year old.
Hahaha I have two boys, ages almost 4 and 5.5. I can’t even imagine leftover fruit. We never have enough 😂 all kids are very, very different.
Ha! Same here. My daughter is obsessed with fruit!!! There was a banana phase, a grape phase, a mandarin orange phase, and she’s currently in an apple phase, although she still likes all of the previous mentioned items! I agree with the idea of not forcing things on toddlers, but i have on occasion stopped her from going for the third banana!
Yum, I don’t have kids but I am going to make this for myself : ) Good ‘cooking for one/living alone’ dessert.
I feel like this would also be good for ravenous teenagers who are constantly looking for a “little snack.”
I am that ravenous teenager! (Nori, 37 years)
You can hide just about any pureed vegetable in spaghetti sauce. Broccoli and carrots worked especially well for my daughter, before she learned to love them just as they are.
OKAY SOLD!!! seriously, best idea ever.
This looks delish, but I’ll have to make it with non-leftover fruit. Even with a toddler (or especially because of said toddler) we have to restock fruit 2 or 3 times a week at our house!
Same! Our household plows through fruit … getting my youngest to eat protein, though, that’s a different story!
Not leftovers but along the frozen food topic my kids love frozen peas. Sometimes when I don’t have a good vegetable for them I put them on the plate and they are usually gone.
Same! Little frozen treats!
My cousin’s son used to call them “ice peas” when he was little and devoured a little bowl of them before dinner.
Or made it into a round and cut wedges and called it pizza
I keep a tupperware container in the fridge with the gross grapes, 3/4 now-brown apples and bruised strawberries my kids reject. Once I have enough I make stove-top applesauce with it – the trick is to whirl it into oblivion with a food processor or immersion blender so that nobody can see what actually went into said applesauce. Fruit + water + vanilla extract + heat + blender = a treat they inhale. (Yes, they think it’s a treat! I don’t know how I managed that trick though.)
“gross grapes” – love it! I freeze the ones that aren’t up to snuff. Frozen grapes = exciting treat. (being mindful of choking hazards and everything).
This looks delish but all my kids want is fruit! Fruit and carbs! And don’t get me started on the berries — they will eat them all and leave me for broke!
Same here! I think we have different breeds of toddlers lol
Samesies. Fruit is the only thing my kid will finish! i guess #notallkids ha. This still looks yum though!
I dump them into a smoothie! But I like this idea a lot, going to try it.
I do the same! I have a bag i keep adding to in the freezer for future smoothies.
I’m embarrassed to even ask this, but…how long in the freezer? I know I could just eyeball and test it, but, if my kid sees me making this for the first time, she will want to know how long she has to wait to eat it!
I had the same question!
My kids love fruit but won’t eat yogurt!
tell them it’s ice cream…
The famous Jeni of Jeni’s ice cream recently created a line of upcycled fruit/nut/seed bars called Floura. Her ife cream making leftovers turned into bars. They are tasty and a bit pricey but nonetheless a genius copycat idea. All you need is a food processor or decent chopping skills to recreate these bars at home. I’ve used honey are a binder but often the fruit is sticky enough to bind well. 8×8 square pan, slice into squares. Frig. to keep. Pitted dates are often the main binder in bars but using chia seeds has great swell too. I’ve not tried Greek yogurt bars but I may try topping these fruit bars next time with vanilla infused plain Greek yogurt.
My fruit resistant eight year old ( just very occasionally would eat it) devours it now when we make these frozen fruit purees. It helped that her older cousin went on and on about it, but it’s called a Yo Nana machine and we just dump a bunch of frozen fruit ( after it sits out for seven min) and it turns it into a sort of soft serve. I add peanut butter, coconut flakes and granola to mine – it’s basically an açaí bowl without the açaí! And bonus – it’s crazy easy to clean up.
There are toddlers who leave FRUIT behind?
Here to report that my four-year-old daughter will only eat 3/4ths of every banana haha.
Cortney, I’m with you! My toddlers have never left fruit on their plates. In fact, my 4 year old will talk to berries (literally any kind) like they are GI Joes and say “never leave a guy behind” before eating the last one.
Haha, I was thinking the same thing! I love recipes that help reduce food waste, but my toddler asked for cantaloupe, raisins, and mango for breakfast this morning. And, he would have eaten all three IF I let him.
I was thinking the same thing but Jannelle is right – every day I come home to a half eaten banana on my counter that my three and a half year old daughter started and left before school in the morning. Blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries though? Gone instantly.
I live with one! Picks up a small apple, eats a quarter of it, plops it down. I cut off the brown bits and slice the rest for future snacking. Bananas also suffer a similar fate. Most berries are finished! Watermelon gets inhaled! I guess the larger fruits are more challenging. Looks like I got some apple & banana yogurt bark in my future.
My son will love this! Thanks!
I actually do not know this struggle – my preschoolers would eat exclusively fruit all the time if I’d let him – BUT this still looks so good and refreshing even just for me. I will be making it!
i know some people poo-poo lying to kids, but i’m definitely telling my toddler this is an ice cream treat
My mom has the energy of a mafia boss so when she told me I was allergic to hot dogs, I believed her no questions asked. I was seven. I didn’t eat another hot dog until college when my ‘allergy’ came up and she confessed the truth. (Apparently I went through a four month period of only eating hot dogs and applesauce and she’d just had it). So what I missed out on some hot dogs in my teen years. I don’t hold it against her! She did what had to be done.
I mean, it IS a cream product and it IS frozen so I think you can do this in good conscience!
Do what works for you girl!
Also, you could just call it a frozen treat :)
With all due respect, Kirstin, my Mom has your Mom beat. Once, in a car full of squabbling kids, she turned the radio off, and when we protested she explained that if you pass a bowling alley with the radio on your car would blow up. I was a young teen when I figured out that it wasn’t true, and started to relax as I drove with her. To be fair, this was 60 years ago. Parenting has changed quite a bit since then.
I have never done this, but will try tonight!!! I make baked oatmeal with leftover/old bananas, berries, apples, peaches, etc. It’s a huge hit every time and so healthy for breakfast or a snack. I don’t follow a recipe, but this is the idea: https://www.compstonkitchen.com/berry-chia-baked-oatmeal/#recipe
The creativity & innovation that goes into and comes out of parenting never ceases to amaze me. Your daughter is darling!
Ohmygosh, this looks good. At the same time, I cannot keep fresh fruit in my house for more than two days because it disappears. Instead of getting paid in dollars, I should be paid in berries, apples, pears, and mangoes because that is where all my money goes. Maybe I’ll try this bark when my kids move out in ten years:-)
I was at my friend’s house on Sunday, she has a ten year-old and twin five year-olds, and when her husband came home from the grocery store I CACKLED. I have never in my life seen so much fruit! I had eaten an apple earlier when she asked if I was hungry and immediately apologized for devouring her paycheck.
Fruit is the only thing my 3.5 year old reliably eats 🤷♀️ Besides grilled cheese lol
Genius!
I wonder if you could put this into popsicle molds with popsicle sticks for easy handling!
Good idea! “Breakfast popsicles” would be a huge hit in the summer!
Of course, I do this all the time in the summer! You can also stir a coffee spoon of jam into plain yogurt and put it in a mold in the freezer. Or just freeze a fruit yogurt. Or crush a too ripe banana with a fork and put the puree in a popsicle mold in the freezer. Lots of possibilities!