These cherries, mmmmmm, these cherries are amazing. They’re Flathead Cherries from Montana, and they make the most amazing yogurt parfaits. I mean, look at these pictures! I’ve been making cherry coconut Greek yogurt parfaits for breakfast all week. In fact, I love Flathead cherries so much that I’m eating one of these parfaits for dinner right now.
We were up in Montana rafting the Upper Middle Fork of the Flathead River in the Bob Marshall Wilderness by Glacier National Park. The Flathead Lake region is known for it’s cherries, famous for them. There are cherry orchards and fruit stands all around the lake, but mostly on the west side. We had to get some to bring home, obviously.
It was an incredible trip. Kris and I drove from Boise to Kalispell; it’s about a nine to ten hour drive, but we drove over Lolo Pass, which is a beautiful drive along the Lochsa River. For the rafting portion of our trip, we were way in the back county, grizzly bear country. (I carried bear spray on my person for most of the trip). We had planes fly us out of Kalispell into the wilderness. It was about a 30 minute flight, then they dropped us and all our gear off, and we were pretty much on our own for five days! No cell service, just five of us and nature. And it was awesome! It’s so revitalizing to unplug from our busy lives and just be.
We got off the river late last Friday night and then Kris and I hung out in Kalispell and Big Fork with some of this best college friends on Saturday. We stopped and bought cherries on Sunday morning before our very long drive home. And I’ve been eating them all week. They’re almost gone now, which makes me sad! There’s a reason Flathead is known for it’s cherries.
I think the best way to eat them is in this Flathead Cherry Coconut Yogurt Parfait. It’s okay to use non-Flathead cherries, but if you ever get the chance to go to Flathead Lake in Montana in early July, I highly recommend getting some of their cherries. Cherries go so well with coconut too, I can’t get over how much I love the combination of cherries and coconut. To make the parfait, I first blended plain full-fat Greek yogurt with cherries, chia seeds, and vanilla. Then I mixed in unsweetened coconut flakes and cocoa nibs. Finally, I simply layered the cherry yogurt with plain yogurt and slices cherries. Perfection!!!
- 2 cups of plain non-fat Greek yogurt
- 15-20 cherries pitted
- 4 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes
- 4 tbsp cocoa nibs
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In a food processor or blender, puree 1 cup of Greek yogurt, 10-12 pitted cherries, 4 tbsp chia seeds, and 1 tsp vanilla.
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After yogurt, cherries, vanilla, and chia seeds are blended, stir in coconut and cocoa nibs.
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Layer plain yogurt, cherry yogurt, and fresh cherries in glasses.
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Enjoy!
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