Greek Yogurt with Red Wine Infused Dates, Toasted Walnuts, and Honey…and the cathartic power of writing

Making a dessert for a crowd is often assumed to be time-consuming, difficult, and just something that adds more stress and complication to planning a meal. It does not have to be that way, and this simple dessert proves it. It can also be healthy, exotic, and impressive. In addition to being a crowd-pleaser, this dish is also great when made for one. You likely already have the ingredients in your fridge/pantry – you just never thought of combining them before. It doesn’t have to be dessert, either…it would even be a nice breakfast or mid-afternoon snack. Can you tell that I love versatility when it comes to food?

Greek Yogurt with Red Wine Infused Dates, Toasted Walnuts, and Honey

Serves 1, but can easily be doubled, tripled, etc.

• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 packet Stevia sweetener
• 1 tablespoon walnuts
• 1 cup red wine
• 5 dried, pitted dates (can substitute any dried fruit you like)
• 1 teaspoon honey

Put the red wine and dried dates in a small saucepan. Simmer on medium-low until the dates are soft.

In the meantime, toast the walnuts in a pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Stir the Stevia packet into the Greek yogurt. Drain the dates from the red wine, and add to the yogurt. Sprinkle the toasted walnuts on top, and drizzle with the 1 teaspoon of honey. And that’s all she wrote!

On a bit of a side note, I discovered something recently which I’d like to share. It’s pretty appropriate here, this being a blog I’m writing in. It’s a valuable piece of advice, no matter who you are and what you’re going through. Whenever you have thoughts running around in your head and you want them to stop, write them down. It’s the only way to get them out of your head and place them somewhere else, where they belong. It makes the internal become external. There’s a reason why diaries are some of the oldest written records in existence and so commonplace among the human experience. Try it sometime, even if you don’t particularly enjoy writing. The way you will feel afterwards makes it all worth it.

~Elena