Trader Joe's Dried Baby Sweet Pineapple

I am not really a dried fruit person - it's really give or take for me. But recently I had been looking into dried pineapple because I've heard how good it is. I picked up a pack of the large dried pineapple rings but an employee told me she had not tried those but she loved the Trader Joe's Dried Baby Sweet Pineapple. I decided to go with her recommendation and picked up a bag to try out.

 

Pineapple is typically one of those fruits I enjoy in its natural form. Candied pineapple can get too sweet and it's just not something I look for. With some fruits, when dried, they can become what I call "fruit leather" which is why I tend to not reach for dried fruit very often.

 

When I opened the bag I was slightly concerned because you can see the core of the pineapple. Typically the core is hard and not something you attempt to eat in fresh pineapple. Concerns aside I popped a smaller piece in my mouth and was pleasantly surprised. The fruit is chewy, sweet, relatively soft and quite delicious. The core of the pineapple isn't hard. A serving is also plentiful (particularly if you weigh it out on a food scale).  This can get a little overwhelmingly sweet so I find a few pieces is more than enough to satisfy the sweet tooth.

 

A 40g serving (roughly 1/4 of the bag), is 130 calories or 3 points plus values.

Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt - Pineapple

I was VERY excited when I spotted this new Dannon Light & Fit Pineapple Greek Yogurt at Wal-mart last week!  Pineapple Greek Yogurt is one of my favorites but because I’m not the biggest fan of Chobani I haven’t been purchasing it – I’ve been settling for Black Cherry which I absolutely love.  The Dannon is 80 calories and packed with flavor.  The consistency is not as thick as Chobani’s (for comparative reasons) but isn’t watered down either – and of course, it is quite delicious.  It’s sweet, but not overly sweet and it’s got a great pineapple flavor.  I’m down to my last container (which I am bringing to work in the morning) and I’m almost a little sad this is the last one.  None of my local grocery stores carry it yet – so I may have to make another trip to Wal-mart in my near future!

Points Plus wise – these babies are 2 Points Plus values!

QUESTION:

Have you tried any of the Dannon Light & Fit Greek yogurts?

Strawberry, Pineapple & Coconut Cake

I’ve been on this baking kick as of late I’ve been making cupcakes and muffins and enjoying it all. I’ve wanted to make a pineapple cake for a few weeks now but just hadn’t gotten around to it. I then saw a strawberry coconut cake on pinterest and then wanted to make that. So then I thought … why not just combine the two together? Pineapples and strawberries go perfectly well together and coconut could just be an added treat. Now if you follow some of my food posts, particularly my baking posts (particularly on LUUUX), you see that I like to use healthy alternatives in baking. That is primarily eliminating the use of eggs, oil and butter in my cooking. I do use those things in other ways but there are ways to make moist, delicious cakes/muffins, etc. without using them. I also wanted to test this recipe out because my boyfriends moms birthday is in a couple weeks and I’m pushing him into making her a cake (with my help of course).

Because of the Jello and coconut the cake has a little bit of a heavier texture. The pineapple gives it a wetter/moister texture when compared to regular cakes that use oil and eggs. The whipped cream is perfectly light to go along with it because the cake itself is sweet enough on its own. Overall a fabulous treat and one that I’ll be making again.

The cake has many layers to it, but it is quite simple to make!

Serves 10. 8 Points Plus Values. 
Ingredients:
- 1 box of white cake mix
- 1 box of sugar free strawberry Jell-oo
- 1 can of crushed pineapple
- 3/4c shredded sweet coconut
- 1 tub light Cool-whip

In a large bowl mix the cake mix, Jell-o, crushed pineapple and half the coconut mixture together - using a large spoon or a hand mixer.  When incorporated, equally distribute the batter into two greased cake pans.  Bake according to the box directions.

Once the cakes are done, let them cool completely.

Place one cake onto the center of your cake dish and smear about 1/4 - 1/3 cup of whipped cream on top of the bottom layer, then added the second cake on top of it.

Frost the entire cake (top and sides) with the whipped cream. When done, sprinkle the other half of coconut over the top of the cake.  If you're feeling fancy, you can dye the coconut with red food coloring to a pink hue.

QUESTIONS:
Have you ever incorporated healthier techniques into either your cooking or baking?