SMORGASBOARD: Harvest party... Up the flavor... Lower-cal Greek Yogurt

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Harvest party

Amazing Grains is hosting a Garden Harvest Part from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday at the co-op’s garden at 405 S. Fourth St. (next to water treatment plant) in Grand Forks.

The gathering will feature food, live music and fun to celebrate another successful harvest thanks to the co-op’s community gardeners and local farmers.

The cost is $3 for co-op members and $5 for nonmembers. There is no charge for garden volunteers and children 12 and younger.

Up the flavor

Coffee lovers and hazelnut fans will enjoy stirring these flavors into frosting, cakes and cookies, thanks to McCormick, which has added pure coffee and imitation hazelnut to its line of extracts. Tasters liked how they added subtle accents to a white cake mix and basic buttercream frosting. With a bit of unsweetened cocoa powder added to the frosting, it became guilty pleasure.

Suggested retail price for a 1-ounce bottle is $4.69 at supermarkets nationwide and shop.mccormick.com.

Lower-cal Greek Yogurt

We already had Dannon’s Oikos Greek (strained) yogurt in both nonfat (120-calorie) and “traditional” (full-fat, 160-calorie) versions, both sweetened with sugar and fructose.

Now Dannon has added Light & Fit nonfat Greek yogurt, sweetened with fructose, sucralose and acesulfame potassium. It contains just 80 calories.

The new yogurt comes in 5.3-ounce servings and is available in four flavors — strawberry, vanilla, blueberry and cherry. A four-pack retails for about $2.99 at supermarkets.

Crunch for the bunch

A new line of stick pretzels made by the Mary’s Gone Crackers team boasts a trio of flavors (sea salt, chipotle-tomato, curry), lots of grains (rice, quinoa, amaranth, millet) and a gluten-free certification. Flax, sesame and chia seeds add to the pretzels’ crunch. Tasters especially liked the sea-salt version and the fiery bite of the chipotle-tomato.

Suggested retail price is $4.25 for a 7.5-ounce bag. For a store locater or to buy online, go to marysgonecrackers.com.

Tags: accent, updates, smorgasboard, food