Pink. It’s the colour of this Blackberry Sage Frozen Yogurt. It’s the colour my two girls love most. It’s also the colour of Breast Cancer Awareness. It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month and let me tell you, I am infinitely aware. I have partnered with some fellow bloggers to bring you healthy recipes and draw attention to this disease. Spear-headed by Erin of Dinners, Dishes and Desserts and Cassie of Bake Your Day, we are all creating healthy PINK (mostly) recipes (you can check out other contributions below). Several of the bloggers contributed recipes all week long, but I found that my schedule precluded doing so. Regardless, I wanted to participate, as breast cancer has touched my life deeply in several ways. It’s a worthy cause and on Friday there will be a fun giveaway, so stay tuned for that.
So yes, breast cancer has touched my life deeply. I wish I could tell you that all the stories have happy endings, but they do not. My maternal grandmother died of metastasized breast cancer when I was in my early teens. She lived at quite a distance from us, and I didn’t know her very well and didn’t get to say goodbye, but my mother spent time with her at the end. And my mother has been religious about her self-breast exams ever since. My aunt, my father’s sister, has been fortunate to catch her own cancer twice at relatively early stages. The first time, she opted to have radiation and a lumpectomy. The second time, she decided to go ahead with a full mastectomy. Fortunately, she has been cancer-free since then. We hope it continues.
The toughest story of all is that of my father’s wife, my step-mother, Anne. Anne was mother to my youngest sibling, my brother Jon. In her 40’s, Anne was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent the exhausting combined treatments of radiation and chemotherapy. 5 years later, she was cancer-free and considered fully cured. About a year or two after that, she went to the doctor for a persistent cough and was diagnosed with lung cancer. After further investigation, that lung cancer turned out to be metastasized breast cancer, and it had already permeated her lymph nodes and some other areas, including the bones of her hips. Anne and my father took every possible step to halt the spread of the disease, but I am sure I don’t need to tell you that it was too late. It eventually spread to her brain. She died in late August, 2002…she was only 53, and my brother Jon was only 16.
So. Breast cancer. Be aware, and do what you can to support the cause. Because it touches everybody. Many stories have happy endings. Some do not. Let’s fight this every way we can.
Recipe adapted from Pepper Lynn
Blackberry Sage Frozen Yogurt
Ingredients
- 10 oz frozen blackberries
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup sage leaves, roughly chopped
- 2 cups full-fat Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup powdered sweetener (sugar or erythritol) or honey. I used Swerve Sweetener
- 2 tbsp vodka
Instructions
- In a medium heavy pot over medium heat, bring blackberries, water and sage leaves to a boil. Let simmer 15 minutes, then crush berries with a wooden spoon. Let sit 30 minutes to steep.
- Transfer berry mixture to a strainer over a medium bowl and let drain, pushing on solids to release as much of the juices as possible (if your mixture is very thick and syrupy, add a little water and mix it around to get more of the juices). Discard solids
- Whisk in Greek yogurt and sweetener. Refrigerate mixture until chilled, at least one hour.
- Stir in vodka.
- Pour into canister of an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's directions.
- Once churned, transfer to an airtight container, press plastic wrap flush to the surface and freeze until firm but not rock hard, about 2 hours.
Recipe Notes
Serves 6. Each serving has about 6 g of carbs (this is an estimate based on how many berries I used and how much juice I got out of them).
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So sorry to hear how breast cancer has affected your life 🙁 At the very least, its put you in a position to help spread the word about the illness and what people can do to protect themselves and their families from having to go through the same experience. Thanks for sharing your stories and for this lovely frozen yogurt recipe that is wearing pink like a pro!
Mmmmm, I love the fruit and herb combo!!
Sorry to hear about your grandmother and step mom. So many sad stories out there, hopefully one day they can stop. Thank you so much for joining us this week. This yogurt looks amazing!
Thank you for sharing those reminders about getting checked regularly and breast self-exams. And the recipe for the pretty-in-pink frozen yogurt.
Do you think stirring in the Swerve or erythritol to the berry mixture before boiling might help the erythritol from re-crystalizing or get it more completely dissolved. I adore blackberries!
In this recipe, I really don’t think you need to, it blends in well with the yogurt. But use powdered, definitely.
This is beautiful, Carolyn! Perfectly pink. Thanks for joining us this week!
I’m so sorry for your losses to breast cancer. Thank you for sharing your story and writing this post. And thank you for sharing this recipe too–blackberry and sage sounds like a fabulous combination!
This would be a perfect time to enlighten readers on how glucose “feeds” cancer and why living low carb and sugar free is one of the best cancer prevention lifestyles. This is a great video from Craig B. Thompson, President and CEO of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (it’s not a perfect message in my view but really illustrates how carbohydrates “dramatically” increase your cancer rate (around 27:00 he discusses how what you eat impacts cancer). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUlE1VHGA40
Thank you for that, Trina. I don’t know much about that aspect of it myself, although I can believe it. I will definitely watch that video!
It was shocking to see how much glucose cancer uptakes compared to other organs in the body. I’m sure you will find the video very informational. 🙂
Carolyn, Jimmy Moore just did a podcast on ketogenic eating and cancer. It includes the video I already linked for you. Just some great information here 🙂 http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/atlcx-episode-31-dr-colin-champ-ketogenic-diets-and-cancer/16307
Wonderful post, Carolyn. I’m so sorry to hear of your family’s loss and struggle with breast cancer. It is such a cruel disease. Your post is a great reminder to stay aware and do what we can to fight it every day.
Blackberry and sage sounds like such a delicious combination. A beautiful pink to honor BCA 🙂
Hi Carolyn – I too have had cancer touch my life. My sweet sister-in-law died 10 years ago of breast cancer. It seems like everyone I know has been touched in some way.
Question: Could you make this without the vodka? Is there another substitue that you could use?
Thanks!
Yes, you can easily make this without vodka. It’s more for reducing iciness and keeping it more scoopable after being in the freezer. If you are planning on eating most of it right away, then no alcohol needed at all. And if you are willing to let it sit out for a while before serving if you do freeze the remainders, then it’s fine to skip it also.
perfectly pink! love the idea of combining blackberries and sage!
I’m so sorry about your losses. But I’m happy you took the time to make this post.
This yogurt is a beautiful color and especially fitting for the cause. No food coloring or sugar or anything else that can be seen as harmful.
What a sad story 🙁 The fro-yo sounds delicious though. I would love it if you submitted this for my Power of Pink Challenge. Participants are entered to win a $100 donation to the charity of their choice: http://www.beantownbaker.com/2012/10/5th-annual-power-of-pink-challenge.html
I’m salivating over this dessert all over again!
Thank you, Carolyn, for sharing how breast cancer has affected those you love. I’m sorry for your losses and am thankful for the reminder to do what I can to fight the fight.
Hi Christie, thanks for popping by. Normally, I would have had a paragraph in here about how I saw your recipe on foodgawker when searching for how to use up the sage in my fridge, and more credit to you. But I found when I wrote this that I wanted to focus more on the subject of breast cancer and not dilute that message. 🙂
I think what you did is fine – great post! 🙂
So sorry about your losses. My mom had breast cancer, and is only 3 years post surgery, radiation, and chemo. It’s so scary 🙁 She has already had to have another biopsy (neg) and checked for stomach cancer (neg).
I hope you don’t mind me asking, did your step mother have surgery to remove the tumor?
I’m so sorry to hear of the sadness breast cancer has visited on those closest to you – I’ve been very fortunate that none one in my family has suffered from this terrible cancer and I feel very blessed… This frozen yogurt sounds so delicious and it’s such a beautiful vibrant pink – what a wonderful tribute to breast cancer awareness… I’m featuring this post as part of Food Fetish Friday (with a link-back and attribution) and thanks for making me drool!
Wow! That looks awesome. I’ve got to try this. Pinning it so I can come back later 🙂