Recipe: Low-Fat Crepes for One

UPDATE: In the original recipe, I talked about the wonders of yogurt, but I've recently discovered it's what was making my pancakes and crepes tough. Apple sauce makes a way better oil substitute! Yogurt is still a delicious topping :)

I reworked Jacques Pepin's classic recipe to make it lower in fat and easier on my poor, dumb gallbladder.

They turned out pretty excellent. Make sure you mix the batter just long enough to get out the lumps, but no longer!

Ingredients:

1 whole egg

1 egg white

1/2 cup non-fat milk

3 Tbsp unsweetened apple sauce
3/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp sugar

1/2 cup cold water

Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Heat a mid-sized, non-stick frying pan over medium heat.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, and apple sauce. Then add the dry ingredients and mix just enough to get rid of lumps. Now stir in the cold water.

3. Spray the hot pan evenly with cooking spray. Use a small ladle to spoon the the batter into the pan. Two scoops should be enough. Pick up your pan and tilt it around to spread the batter evenly. The movement is in the wrist. This takes a little practice to get perfect, but, remember, even ugly crepes taste delicious!

4. Let the crepe cook for 2-3 minutes and then flip (cooking times may vary).

5. Fill with your choice of toppings. Fresh fruit, jam, more yogurt, or just cinnamon and sugar! I went with all 5 toppings ;)

♠

Breakfast basics made better

-The Basics-

Oatmeal, eggs, toast. Pretty basic breakfast fair, but it doesn't have to be boring or bland. Here are some ideas to switch up your morning routine!

Oatmeal

Try different grains! Most oat-alternatives aren't much more expensive than your regular rolled oats and are especially affordable when bought in bulk at places like Whole Foods Market.

Try rolled rye, barley, Kamut, or spelt. Steel cut oats are another delicious, high-fiber option. It takes a little longer to cook, but has a nicer texture than the rolled variety.

Try new toppings!

-Miss Melba: Dried apricot, raspberry, almonds and yogurt (pictured above)

- Cinnamon Roll: Cinnamon, brown sugar, raisins, butter and low-fat milk

-Maple Walnut: Toasted walnuts & maple syrup or a little bit of maple flavoring

Tip: Cook dried fruit, such as apricots & raisins, in the grains. They plump up really nicely!

Eggs

In my opinion, eggs are pretty much perfect. I like them all ways. My mom turned me onto a different way to eat my poached eggs: Wrapped in crepes! They're amazing! Of course, that tends to happen when you wrap things in crepes. A little salt and pepper is all that's needed.

 I recommend the Jacques Pépin crepe recipe my mother has been using for years

French Toast

I usually put a little vanilla in the egg batter, but these other flavors are delicious too:

-Maple flavoring

-Lemon flavoring

-Orange flower water

 (my mom used this last flavor to death, so I don't like it any more)

-OR- use coconut butter to fry the toast. It tastes delicious and is not any worse for you than butter (remember there's no such thing as low-fat fat)

Warning: this next tip is not low-fat!

One time I was making french toast and I ran out of egg mixture. I had a couple dry spots on the slice of toast I was trying to fry, and the only thing left in my fridge was a half-pint of heavy whipping cream. One thing led to another and I was soon eating the most amazing piece of whipping cream french toast! So the next time you're planning a birthday breakfast or just really feel like calories don't matter, try using whipping cream in your egg mixture instead of milk!

Recipe: Peaches & Toast

A recipe post is long overdue. I thought I would share one of my favorite breakfast recipes with you. I grew up eating peaches and toast, but other than that I don't know where it originated from. It could be my grandmother's invention; it could be Dutch; who knows!

Bacon is the perfect side. It goes so well with sweet fruity or caramel flavors. but if you're like me and hate smelling like bacon all day, or don't have room in your diet for bacon (especially since you ate 2 1/4 pieces of pie last night), a soft-boiled egg is a nice side of protein.

One of this recipe's best features (other than being delicious), is that it's fast and simple! This makes it perfect for all different sorts of breakfast situations. Live by yourself? Having 10 people over early in the morning? (Goodness, why would anyone do that?) It can even work when you're camping! Anyway, I will give you the recipe and you will see how easy it is!

(This version serves 2 people)

Ingredients:

-Two 15.25 oz. cans peaches in light syrup

-1/4 tsp cinnamon

-Sprinkling of nutmeg

-4 pieces of good whole wheat bread

-Butter, to taste

-Bacon, to taste

1. Empty both cans of peaches into a saute pan or sauce pot. Mix in cinnamon and nutmeg. Bring to a very small boil over medium heat. Let bubble for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to low.

2. While peaches are cooking, make your toast. A nice wheat or oat bread works best, as it holds up well and the nuttiness of the grains goes very nicely with the peaches. Toast to preferred darkness and apply butter as necessary (avoid eye contact).

3. Serves peaches over toast. Spoon a little extra syrup onto the corners. This will soften them a bit. You don't want the bread swimming in syrup, though, because it gets too soggy! I mean, if you like really sloppy sloppy bread soup, by all means, add more, but I prefer it just slightly softened.

For larger quantities, get those giant cans of peaches. They can also be used as doorstops and camera stands.

Variations:

If you have more time, use fresh peaches. Water and sugar will make a nice syrup.

Add sliced bananas and use coconut butter on the toast! My mom made this variation last summer when we were breakfasting in the garden. It was the perfect morning.

Let me know if you have any questions, because I undoubtedly left something out.