Island Flavor

Bottom Bay, Barbados [Photo by gemteck1/flickr]

Stress at work, annoyance at home and a serious case of wanderlust have you wanting to hit the Caribbean ASAP, but your recessionista wallet says otherwise. No sweat. This yummy summer treat -- snagged right from the recipe books at the ultra posh Sandy Lane resort in Barbados -- is sure to have you sailing away in no time (even if it's only in your mind).

Sandy Lane Low-Fat Granola Wild Berry Parfait

• 1 cup fresh vanilla yogurt
• ½ cup homemade cherry granola (Dried whole cherries & fresh granola of choice)
• 4 sliced strawberries
• Handful raspberries
• Handful strawberries
• Handful blackberries
• Handful blueberries
• 2 TB candied pecans
• 1 sprig mint leaf

Mix the fresh granola and dried whole cherries in a mixing bowl. Pour a quarter of the granola mixture, along with blackberries and blueberries into a glass Mason jar, and pour ½ cup fresh vanilla yogurt on top. Then, layer sliced strawberries and whole raspberries on top of the yogurt. Pour the remaining ½ cup yogurt into the jar, and layer the remaining fruit and pecans on top of mixture. Finish off the parfait with mint leaf sprig.

Wanna make a whole meal? For more recipes from Caribbean hot spots, check out my article over at examiner.com.

Blissful in Barbados

You may recognize the name as the place where Tiger Woods tied the knot a few years ago: Sandy Lane. This amazingly beautiful resort in Barbados (complete with golf course, of course!) has long been a luxury destination of choice for the upper-crust. With rooms like this, it's easy to see why...

I've just received word that for spring and summer 2009, Sandy Lane will be offering 7 plush new packages including free nights and lots of value-added goodies like spa vouchers, lunches and rounds of golf. You can check the website for more details.

The resort just completed a multi-million dollar renovation last fall, and the spa now boasts a panoramic sauna, experience showers and a Rhassoul bath (the only one in the Caribbean). The new amenaties certainly sound great, but what I really wanna do is hang out on a floating bench like this and drink fruity cocktails all day...