Review: Elli Quark (a.k.a. A Reunion with a Childhood Love)

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Growing up as a half-German girl living in North Carolina, I loved having the best of both worlds:

Cool German summers and temperate winters in the American South.

German sweet treats, like Kinderschokolade and Nutella, and American peanut butter and trail mix.

German Weihnachtsmaerkte and American Halloween.

German linguistic freedom (anyone can build a word!) and uncomplicated English grammar.

Long American summer vacations and school to attend in Germany during those long summer breaks.

Rustic German breads and neon-colored American ketchup to amuse my German cousins with.

As the increasing global market brought more and more of my German favorites to me in the USA (I still fondly remember the year that Target brought Nutella in America to me - even if German Nutella tastes way better) the things that I couldn't get here stood out more and more. Key among them: quark.

Creamy Elli Quark

A soft cheese that is both low in lactose and fat, as well as high in protein and creaminess, quark was dairy that I could digest and I LOVED it. I still do! But it was, sadly, impossible to find in even international markets in the USA. Until now!

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Nutritious Dessert: Tiramisu the Healthy Way!

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I participated in an Event and Blogger Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Dannon. I received product samples to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation. All views and opinions are my own, and do not necessarily represent those of Dannon.

Bikinis and beaches. Barbecues and brats. For many of us, summer is associated with a lot of great sensory experiences. But one thing that we tend not to associate with summer is dairy! 

But with cows producing more bone-strengthening milk in the summer months than the rest of the year and the average American already only consuming 52% of the recommended 3-4 servings of dairy daily, we shouldn't neglect it just because the sun is out! That's how June as National Dairy Month came about.

Many of us, myself included, purposely avoid much dairy because of the associated digestive upset from lactose intolerance. 

Yogurt, however, contains live active cultures that help produce lactase in our bodies to digest the lactose in the yogurt. So even if you're like me and just a slice of stomach makes your stomach roll, you might find that yogurt doesn't bother you at all! 

If you're really worried, rich for protein-rich Greek yogurt. The same straining process that makes it so good for us removes some of the yogurt's lactose, making it a lower lactose option than regular yogurt.

Dannon's *Limited Edition* Light & Fit Greek Tiramisu

But here's the best part - with Dannon Light & Fit greek yogurt dessert flavors, your daily Greek yogurt can serve not only as a nutritious snack, but also a creamy, indulgent dessert that's low in sugar, free of fat, and perfect for a sweet treat that you can feel good about eating!

A nutritionist from Dannon and a nutritionist from Stop & Shop hosted me for an educational morning in a suburban Massachusetts Stop & Shop store, to celebrate the launch of *limited edition* Dannon Light & Fit Greek Tiramisu. 

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An Icelandic Treat

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I love Greek Yogurt, but thick, protein-rich yogurt isn't just a recent trend. It's blown up over the past few years in the US, but people in Iceland have been enjoying a similar creamy treat for years!

Skyr is a super-healthy form of dairy that pairs an enticing creamy, thick texture and smooth, rich flavor with exceptional levels of calcium and protein. It's also naturally low in fat and a staple of the Icelandic diet - part of why Icelanders are among Europe's longest living people!

Skyr.is is an authentic Icelandic company that has expanded to providing Skyr to US consumers, as well!



There are three varieties of low-fat Skyr available.



There's Blueberry (I didn't try this one, but I imagine it must be as good as the others), Strawberry, Vanilla, and (my favorite!) Plain.



I was delighted to find that Skyr is like the lovechild of Greek yogurt and quark - it's technically a soft cheese, but with the nutritional stats of a thick yogurt.



It's really delicious to enjoy as a yogurt (either by itself or, as I prefer, topped with dried fruits and nuts and cereal). It's thick, creamy, and just lightly tart. If you go for one of the flavored varieties, they aren't too sweet (but are sweet enough).



It's also a great ingredient for healthy and cooking - the Skyr.is website even has several healthy recipes to get you started! You can make Tzatziki ala Skyr, Chocolate "Skyramisu," fun smoothies, and even "Skyr-a-mole," a high protein, low fat twist on guacamole.

Have you tried Skyr?

What's your favorite world cuisine?

Have you tried any Icelandic foods?

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Friday Foodie Finds #35: Greek Yogurt Edition!

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It's finally March!!

March is awesome. All of the coolest kids are born in March.

Tee-hee.

Anyway, it's Friday! Yaaaaay!

Today's Friday Foodie Finds features greek yogurt, since it's one of my favorite foods. Since greek yogurt is today's star, however, none of these recipes are vegan.

No worries, I'll have some vegan recipes again next week!

Liz's Zucchini Spice Greek Yogurt Pancakes

Nigel's Yogurt Brulee

Dannon's Creamy Yogurt Cheesecake

Heather's Lemon Balm Yogurt Donuts with Blackberry Glaze

Vered's Whole Wheat Greek Yogurt Biscuits

Those look like they would be absolutely amazing fresh from the oven with peanut butter and strawberry jam, don't they?

Voskos's Greek Yogurt Chocolate Bread

Frankly, all of these recipes look really delicious.

But my favorite way to eat greek yogurt is still in a parfait with granola, dried fruits, seeds, and nut butter.

I don't think that will ever change.

Do you prefer greek or regular yogurt?

How often do you eat some sort of yogurt? For me, it's multiple times per day every day!

What is your birthday month?

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Fashion (and food) Inspiration: DIsney Fairies' Vilda

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This week's fashion inspiration is Disney Fairies' Vilda, the quintessential (fairy) bad girl. But I'm doing something different with the inspiration this time.

For this post, I'm going for a look that I think Vilda would wear, if she were a person, based off of her vibe. I'm not really going for similar color schemes or fits or anything.

As always, no individual piece is over $50.

VIlda-Inspired Fashion by livelearneat featuring bandeau tops

Bandeau top
$44 - topshop.com

Cropped jacket
$47 - bankfashion.co.uk

Black mini skirt
$33 - sheinside.com

Dorothy Perkins clutch handbag
$17 - dorothyperkins.com

I think her drink of choice would probably be kefir - tasty, delicious, nutritious (you need to eat well to fuel all that flitting around fairyland!) and pale purplish, at least if you go for Lifeway Kefir Pomegranate!

Full of probiotics to keep your tummy happy, this sweet, creamy, flavorful dairy drink is a far cry from the sour, watery kefir of my childhood trips to Germany.

If someone had given me this to drink, there wouldn't have had to be any bartering to get me to drink something that's good for me!

Pomegranate is so yummy and this pomegranate kefir tastes like a grown-up version of my childhood lunchbox favorite (Danimals drinkable yogurt, in case you were wondering).

Lifeway Kefir also makes a bunch of different kefir flavors, frozen kefir (like frozen yogurt?), ProBugs (kefir in fun pouches that are perfect for kid's lunch boxes), and Greek style kefir - I need to try that!

Oh, here's the blueberry (it's super fruity and tasty, but not as pretty as the pomegranate one):

But for now, I'll enjoy my glass of Pomegranate kefir and pretend I'm Vilda.

Kidding! Kind of.

Which fairy is your favorite Disney fairy?

What's the difference between fairies and pixies?

Have you tried kefir?

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