Banana Berry Muffins

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups unprocessed wheat bran or oat bran
1 cup white whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed (see note)
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk or fat-free milk
1/4 cup agave nectar or dark honey
2 ripe medium bananas,mashed with a fork
1 large egg
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh (or frozen) blueberries
1/2 cup pitted chopped prunes (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 F.

Lightly coat a nonstick 12-cup muffin pan with cooking oil spray. In a medium bowl, combine the bran, flour, flaxseed, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside. In another medium bowl or in a blender, combine the milk, agave nectar or honey, bananas, egg, oil, and vanilla until smooth.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in 1/3 of the liquid mixture. Using a spoon, stir until smooth. Add the remaining liquid mixture and stir just until combined. Add the blueberries and prunes, if desired; stir again, but do not overmix.

Spoon 1/4 cup batter into each prepared muffin cup. Bake for about 14 minutes, or until the tops spring back when pressed gently in the centers. Do not overbake. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing the muffins from the pan. Serve warm, or cool completely on the rack.

Note: If you can’t find ground flaxseed in your local health food store, you can grind whole flaxseeds in a clean spice grinder to the consistency of cornmeal.


Makes 24 (1 Serving = 1/2 muffin)

Morning Glory Muesli

INGREDIENTS

4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup wheat germ toasted
1/2 cup dried apples, lightly packed, chopped
1/2 cup raisins

DIRECTIONS

Ahead of Time: In a bowl, combine oats, nuts, and cinnamon. Add honey and toss to coat. (Mixture will form clumps that will separate during baking.) Spread mixture evenly in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 5 minutes. Using a wide spatula, lift and turn mixture over. Bake for 5 minutes more. Remove from oven and turn mixture again. Let cool on a wire rack.

Stir in wheat germ, apples, and raisins. Store muesli in a tightly covered container for up to 1 month.


Yield: 6 Cups; Serving = 1/4 cup

French Toast with Cardamom-Apple Syrup

INGREDIENTS

4 thin slices of apple
1/2 cup apple juice
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
1 tablespoon cold water
1 egg beaten
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 slices whole wheat bread (80 calories per slice)

DIRECTIONS

In a small saucepan, simmer the apple slices and apple juice until the slices are tender but retain their shape, about 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Using a slotted spoon, remove the apples and set aside. Reserve the juice.

In a cup, combine the cornstarch, cardamom and water; stir into the reserved apple juice. Heat mixture to boiling, stirring, and cook until thickened and clear. Set aside. In a shallow bowl, combine the egg and vanilla. Dip the bread slices in the egg mixture, turning to coat both sides.

In a nonstick skillet, lightly brown the bread on both sides. Remove to serving plates. Arrange the apple slices on the toast. Spoon the apple syrup on top.

Yield: 4 Servings

Blueberry Yogurt Shake

INGREDIENTS

1 cup nonfat blueberry yogurt
1/2 cup grape juice
1/2 cup blueberries, frozen
1/2 cup blackberries, frozen
1/2 cup strawberries, frozen
1/2 cup nonfat milk or soymilk (45 calories)

DIRECTIONS

Put everything in the blender and blend. Serve immediately.


Yield: 4 Servings

Blueberry Bran Muffins

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups unprocessed wheat bran or oat bran
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup 1% milk or unflavored soymilk
1/3 cup honey
1 ripe medium banana, mashed with a fork
1 large egg
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup fresh blueberries or other berries

DIRECTIONS

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly coat 24 nonstick miniature muffin cups with cooking oil spray.

In a medium bowl, combine bran, flour, flaxseed, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside. In another medium bowl or in a blender, combine the milk, honey, banana, egg, olive oil, and vanilla extract until smooth.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in one-third of the liquid mixture. Using a spoon, stir until smooth. Add remaining liquid mixture and stir just until combined. Add blueberries and stir again, but do not over mix.

Spoon 2 tablespoons of batter into each prepared muffin cup. Bake about 8 minutes, or until the tops spring back when pressed gently in the centers. Do not overbake. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from the cups. Serve warm or cool completely on the rack.

Make-Ahead Tip: To freeze these muffins for later use, wrap cooled muffins tightly in plastic wrap and place in freezer bags. Freeze for up to three months.

Yield: 24 miniature muffins; Serving = 1 muffin

Better Blueberry Pancake

INGREDIENTS

1⁄2 cup reduced-fat buttermilk
1⁄2 cup whole-grain oat flour
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! spray
1⁄2 cup fresh or frozen (not thawed) blueberries
Sugar-free, low-calorie pancake syrup (optional)
100% fruit orange marmalade spread (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 200°F.
In a small bowl, combine the buttermilk, flour, egg white, baking soda, vanilla, and salt. Whisk just until blended. Stir in the blueberries. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until it is hot enough for a spritz of water to sizzle on it. With an oven mitt, briefly remove the pan from the heat to mist lightly with I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! cooking spray. Return the pan to the heat. Pour the batter in 1⁄8-cup dollops onto the skillet to form 3 or 4 pancakes. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until bubbles appear on the tops and the bottoms are golden brown. Flip. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until browned on the bottom. Transfer to an oven-proof plate. Cover with aluminum foil. Place in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with cooking spray and the remaining batter to make 8 pancakes total.

Place 2 pancakes on each of 4 serving plates. Serve immediately with I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! spray, syrup, and/or fruit spread, if desired.


Yield: Makes 4 servings (1 Serving = 2 pancakes)

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

Rolls:
1 1/4 ounce package active dry yeast
1 cup warm milk (105-110 degrees)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup margarine, melted
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
4 cups flour

Filling:
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1/3 cup margarine, softened

Icing:
8 tbsp (1 stick) margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup (2 oz) cream cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

For the rolls, dissolve yeast in warm milk in a large bowl.

Mix together sugar, margarine, salt, and eggs. Add flour, and mix well. Knead the dough with your hands. Put in a bowl, cover, and let rise about 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Roll dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll the sough flat until it is approximately 21 inches long and 16 inches wide. It should be about 1/4 inch thick.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

For the filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread the softened margarine evenly over the surface of the dough, and then sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar evenly over the surface.

Working carefully from the top (a 21inch side), roll the dough down to the bottom edge. Cut the rolled dough into 1 3/4 inch slices and place 6 at a time, evenly spaced, in a lightly greased baking pan.

Let the rolls rise again until double in size (about 30 minutes).

Bake for 10 minutes, or until light brown on top.

While the rolls bake, combine the icing ingredients. Beat well with an electric mixer until fluffy. When the rolls come out of the oven, coat each generously with icing.

Breakfast Caserole

1 lb. bacon, sausage or ham
1/2 onion
1 dozen eggs
1 cup milk
2 cups cheese
1 package hash browns

Brown meat and onion. Mix egg with milk and pour over hash browns, then put meat on top. Bake at 350 degrees until done, about one hour.

Master Pancake Mix

10 c. whole wheat flour
2 cups unbleached white flour
1/2 cup baking powder rounded (10 Tablspoons)
4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup sugar
4 cups dry milk

Store in an airtight container in a cool place.

Master Mix Pancakes

1 cup mix
1 Tbsp oil
1 egg slightly beaten
1/2 to 3/4 cups water
cinnamon to taste

Mix until combined-adding water to desired consistency.

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 1/4 cup flour
2 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
1 egg
6 Tablespoons pumpkin puree
2 Tablespoons melted butter
1 cup milk

Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger, salt, nutmeg, and ground cloves.Mix egg, pumpkin puree, melted butter, and milk and fold into dry ingredients. Heat a greased skillet over medium heat; pour in 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Cook about 3 minutes per side. Serve hot with maple syrup. Makes 12 pancakes.

Creme Brulee French Toast

1 stick butter
1 c. packed brown sugar
2 T corn syrup
an 8-9 inch round loaf country style bread or french bread
5 large eggs
1 1/2 c half and half
1 t vanilla
1/4 t salt

In a small heavy saucepan melt butter with brown sugar and corn syrup over medium heat stirring, until smooth and pour into a 9x13 pan. Arrange bread slices in one layer in baking dish, squeezing them slightly to fit.

In a bowl whisk together eggs, half and half, vanilla, and salt until combined well and pour evenly over bread. Chill bread mixture, covered, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake uncovered until puffed and edges are pale golden, 30-40 minutes. If not serving immediately, turn each slice of bread over to prevent sticking to pan.