Kiwis are on sale for $0.25 each here this week at the good old Big Y supermarket, so I picked up a few. Then I ate one and I remembered how much I love the tangy sweet-sour taste. I first had kiwi – get this – when I was in kindergarten. My teacher, Miss Lynn, had us try a new food every few weeks. And they were usually an unusual food or something hands on. For instance, one week we made race cars with carrot wheels, celery bodies and peanut butter . . . of course, that was back when peanut butter wasn’t a voodoo food for schools.

These days, bringing peanut butter to school is akin to giving your kid a vodka tonic in his thermos. Seriously. (And don’t take that the wrong way, I know that the peanut allergies are very serious and can be deadly. But these allergies have appeared out of nowhere and my personal concern is mitigating the development in my kids. I certainly don’t want them growing up with that risk and fear. Fortunately, Will isn’t allergic and with any luck Paige won’t be either.)

But where have all these peanut allergies come from anyway? If you ask me, it’s a result of being too sterile. Back when I was a kid everything wasn’t super sanitized to the Nth degree (and yet, somehow we all turned out fine. Go figure.). And experts are noticing that the deadly allergy isn’t striking developing countries where houses aren’t completely germ-free like they are here … too many chemicals in the U.S., I tell you. That’s why I use natural cleaners that aren’t anti-microbial or anti-bacterial.

Anyway, this is about kiwi, not peanuts or peanut allergies.

One thing that is great about kiwi is that it’s really healthy food. Kiwi, or kiwifruit, is rich in vitamin C and also contains a good amount of fiber and potassium. As someone who is trying to lose weight by healthifying my diet and ensuring that I am getting adequate nutrients, having a kiwi a day really helps.

Kiwi is always in season somewhere, although it’s not grown here in the Northeast U.S. According to World’s Healthiest Foods, Californian kiwifruit is available from November until May. The fruit comes from New Zealand for the balance of the year.

So, about this recipe. This is a variation on the Strawberry Fool that I wrote about last year. The fool is a light and airy dessert that should be made and consumed on the same day. It’s only about 120 calories and is a great pacifier for a killer sweet tooth like mine.

10 oz strawberries, hulled (I used unsweetened frozen ones, since they are out of season.)
1 kiwifruit, diced
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 1/4 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt (use a good quality yogurt – it’s worth it)
2 egg whites
strawberries and/or mint for garnish

Put the strawberries, kiwi and sugar in a food processor and blend until smooth – about 30 seconds.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, stir together strawberry mixture and yogurt.

In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until they form stiff peaks (using a stand mixer or handheld speeds this process way up).

Fold egg whites into the strawberry/yogurt mixture. Stir until smooth (using a wire whisk can help).

Spoon into serving glasses and chill for at least one hour before serving.

____________________________

Psst! This is a great post for Sweetnicks‘ ARF/5-A-Day Tuesdays … check out Cate’s site later tonight for a great roundup of fruit, veggie and antioxidant rich posts.