Courtesy of 3-A-Day™ of Dairy

Makes 6 servings
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 6 minutes

1 (12-ounce) package reduced-fat Mozzarella string cheese
1 egg
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
8 tablespoons panko (Japanese) bread crumbs
1/2 cup prepared marinara sauce, warmed (optional)

1. Position rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
2. Remove cheese from packaging and set aside. In a small bowl, whisk egg until foamy. In small non-stick skillet, mix Italian seasoning with bread crumbs and place over medium heat. Cook and stir bread crumbs until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
3. Dip one piece of string cheese in egg until coated and then into toasted bread crumbs, coating completely. Redip the string cheese in egg and again into the bread crumbs, if desired. Place on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining string cheese and place on baking sheet 1 1/2 inches apart. Spray string cheese lightly with cooking spray.
4. Bake 5-6 minutes or until heated through. (Cheese may melt slightly and loose shape. Simply press it back into place.)

Suggested serving: Pair with warmed marinara sauce for dipping.

Makes 1 serving
Prep time: 5 minutes

1 (6-ounce) container low-fat blueberry yogurt
1/2 cup apple juice
1/3 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/3 cup frozen sliced peaches
5-6 ice cubes

Blend all ingredients with ice (amount of ice will vary depending on desired consistency). Pour into a glass and serve chilled.

Makes 4 servings
Prep time: 15 min.
Cook time: 1 min.

1 1/3 cups egg substitute, scrambled
1/2 cup salsa
1 cup Cheddar & Monterey Jack shredded cheese
4 (8-inch) whole-wheat, flour tortillas

Combine scrambled eggs, salsa, and cheese in a large bowl; toss lightly to blend. Place one-fourth egg mixture down the center of each tortilla. Fold tortillas closed. Place 1 filled tortilla on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on high (100%) power for 30 to 40 seconds or until hot and cheese is melted; repeat with remaining filled tortillas.

Makes 6 servings
Prep time: 15 min.
Cook time: 5 min.

2 (3-ounce) packages vanilla instant pudding mix
4 cups low-fat milk
20 vanilla wafer cookies
3 bananas, sliced
Whipped cream (optional)
Graham cracker crumbs (optional)

Prepare pudding with low-fat milk as directed on package. Spoon one cup of pudding into a 2-quart serving bowl and top with 10 cookies and half of the banana slices. Continue layering with 2 cups of pudding, remaining cookies and bananas. Top with remaining pudding, cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Garnish with whipped cream, graham cracker crumbs, or banana slices, if desired.

Makes 4 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

French Toast
2 whole medium eggs
4 egg whites
1 cup fat free milk
½l teaspoon cinnamon
8 pieces cinnamon swirl bread

Topping
16 ounces fat free plain yogurt
5 tablespoons maple syrup
2 cups coarsely chopped fresh fruit (i.e. grapes, strawberries, oranges, blueberries, peaches)

Combine the topping ingredients, except for fruit, in small mixing bowl. Refrigerate.

In a medium bowl, beat together eggs, milk, and cinnamon. Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium heat and lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray. Dip each piece of bread into the egg mixture and coat thoroughly. Place in skillet and cook for about 2 minutes on each side.

To serve, cut warm French toast on the diagonal. Arrange on plate. Top with fruit, then the yogurt mixture.

Quick Tip: To reduce prep time, use frozen French toast.

Makes: 1 serving
Prep time: 3 minutes

1 cup fat free skim or 1% lowfat milk
2 packets instant oatmeal
1/2 ripe banana, mashed
1/2 tablespoon chopped walnuts

In a small bowl, combine milk and packets of oatmeal. Microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes until steaming hot, but not boiling. Stir until creamy. Stir in mashed banana. Garnish with walnuts and serve.

Wake up to this tasty, satisfying bowl of oatmeal that is made with milk instead of water. Try using your favorite flavored oatmeal to add an extra kick.

Makes 2 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes

1 cup lowfat chocolate milk
1/2 cup plain low fat yogurt
2 tbsp chocolate syrup
3 tbsp maraschino cherry juice
1 cup crushed ice

Optional spooky eyes:
maraschino cherries
chocolate chips

Place ice in blender. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend for 30 seconds. Pour into tall glass and top with spooky eyes. For spooky eyes: Pat dry the number of cherries you would like to make with a paper towel and stick a chocolate chip into the indentation in the top of the cherry.

Makes 3 servings
Prep time: 5 minutes

1 cup lowfat plain yogurt
4 oz. lowfat cream cheese
1/2 cup diced, seeded cucumber
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon lemon zest

Optional garnish:
Cucumber, sliced thin
julienne mint leaves

Stir yogurt and cream cheese until smooth. Add remaining ingredients; stir to blend. Serve with raw or blanched vegetables, such as carrots, celery, tomatoes or zucchini.

Makes 9 servings
Prep time: 12 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes

For the granola:
4 1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal, uncooked
1/3 cup sliced almonds
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup apple juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup raisins

Serve with:
1 cup fat-free milk, per serving
fresh berries (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Stir together oatmeal, almonds, cinnamon and salt, if desired, in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk maple syrup, apple juice and vegetable oil; pour over oatmeal mixture and stir to coat thoroughly.

Spread mixture in an even layer onto a 15x12-inch baking pan. Bake for 25 minutes, stirring twice during baking time.

Cool mixture in the pan before adding raisins. Store granola in an airtight container. To serve: Pour 1 cup of milk over a heaping 1/2 cup of granola. Top with fresh berries, if desired. Serving suggestion: Instead of milk, use 1 cup of fat-free yogurt with the granola.

Makes 6 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

2½ cups fat free milk
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (7 ounces)
1 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon dry mustard
2 cups shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese
½ cup shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese (optional topping)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook macaroni according to package directions.

Meanwhile, heat milk and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Gradually whisk in flour, salt and dry mustard and simmer for 1 minute, whisking occasionally.

Remove from heat; stir in 2 cups of cheese until melted. Add drained macaroni to saucepan and toss with cheese sauce. Transfer mixture to an 8- or 9-inch square baking dish.

Bake uncovered in until hot and bubbly, about 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Variation
Make Mom add some color, and some extra nutrition. Sauté some chopped red pepper and broccoli florets in the butter before adding the flour for a gourmet version of this comforting creation.

Makes 4 servings
Prep time: 3 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

4 (6-inch) pita flatbreads
1/2 cup prepared pizza sauce
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 400°F. Spread 1/4 cup of pizza sauce evenly over each pita flatbread. Sprinkle shredded cheese evenly over top of each flatbread and arrange on baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until flatbread is light golden brown and cheese is melted.

Makes 4 servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

For the topping
2 cups low fat vanilla yogurt
1 cup raisins

For the pancakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup 1% low fat milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup low fat vanilla yogurt

In a small mixing bowl, briskly combine vanilla yogurt and raisins until yogurt becomes looser texture. Reserve. For the pancakes, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine milk, butter, egg, pumpkin, and yogurt, mixing well.

Add wet ingredients to flour mixture and stir until just moist. Do not overmix. Batter may be lumpy. For thinner batter, add milk. Lightly coat a griddle or skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium. Using a quarter-cup measure, pour batter onto hot griddle. Cook until bubbles begin to burst, then flip pancakes and cook until golden.

Serve warm, topped with yogurt-raisin mixture and dusting of cinnamon.

1 cup low-fat strawberry yogurt
Angel food cake

Cut or tear pieces of angel food cake and dip into strawberry yogurt.

Makes 10 servings
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

2 teaspoons chili powder
1 (16-ounce) can spicy fat-free refried beans
1/3 cup chunky medium salsa
1 (8-ounce) container plain fat-free or low-fat yogurt
1 cup finely chopped iceberg lettuce
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
1/3 cup sliced green onion, including tops
2 tablespoons chopped black olives

Stir chili powder into beans and spread evenly onto a clear pie dish. Spread yogurt over the bean dip, then spread the salsa over the yogurt, leaving a narrow border around each layer's edge. Scatter lettuce over yogurt mixture. Sprinkle Mozzarella and Cheddar cheese over lettuce and top with tomato, green onion and olives.

Suggested servings: Serve with baked tortilla chips or an assortment of sliced vegetables such as carrots, celery, and cucumber.

Note: May substitute Mexican-blend cheese for the Mozzarella and Cheddar, if desired.

Makes 4 servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes

2 cups skim milk
2 cups lowfat lemon yogurt
1/2 cup ice
3 tablespoons powdered lemonade mix

In a blender, combine all ingredients and blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Serve in a tall glass and garnish with lemon wedge or zest if desired.