Blueberry-Bran Panakes

I ended up making a fair few changes to this recipe, so I just want to write down what I did before I forget.

The original recipe called for 3/4 c. of bran flakes cereal, but I only had OG all bran -- the one that comes as little bran sticks -- so I swapped that in, but used a bit less since I figured it probably had a higher packing fraction than the flakes did.

The original also called for two eggs whites and 2 tsp. of canola oil. I decided to just use one whole large egg instead. I figured that the original was probably written that way because 2 tsp. of oil came out to less points than an egg yolk did under the old points system. But now eggs (not just egg whites) are "free" and I liked the idea of egg in the batter better than oil. So I just rolled with that and left out the oil.

For the sugar, I decided to toss in 1/2 Tbsp. of the Splenda brown sugar blend that I got a while back rather than the 1 Tbsp. of granulated sugar called for.

And I opted to use a mix of different berries rather than just blueberries. Mostly because I had a bag of mixed berries in the freezer and I didn't particularly feel like trying to pick through it to get enough blueberries to make my pancakes. So most of them actually ended up being blackberry-bran pancakes. But I did end up doing a few blueberry- and mixed-berry-bran ones as well.

I also greased my pan with butter rather than using cooking spray. I didn't use much. I figure there was probably only ~1/2-3/4 of a tsp. used for the whole batch of pancakes.

Oh, and I guess the last little change I made was to top them with a "no sugar added" syrup in place of the icing sugar-- And, as I type that, I am reminded that I acutally meant to top them with fat-free cottage cheese and no sugar added syrup! Whoops! That probably would've solved the these-are-tasty-but-not-really-very-filling issue. Because I just ended up eating half a banana afterward to try to fill myself up a bit more since I was still pretty hungry even after 3 pancakes. Maybe next time I should top them with banana slices and cottage cheese and syrup...

Blueberry-Bran Pancakes

Adapted from Weight Watchers

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. All-Bran cereal
• 1 1/4 c. buttermilk
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/2 Tbsp. Splenda brown sugar blend (or 1 Tbsp. brown sugar)
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• ~1/2 tsp. unsalted butter
• 1/2-3/4 c. frozen berries (preferably blueberries)
• 2 bananas, sliced
• 1/2 c. (fat-free) cottage cheese
• 2-3 Tbsp. "no sugar added" syrup (or maple syrup)

Directions

1. Combine the cereal, buttermilk, egg, and sugar and let stand for 5 minutes.
2. Sift in the flour, baking powder, and baking soda, then whisk to combine.
3. Heat a pan over medium-low heat.
4. Very lightly grease the pan with some of the butter.
5. Scoop a scant 1/4 c. of batter into the pan and press a few berries into it. Repeat to form as many pancakes as will comfortably fit in the pan.
6. Cook until the undersides are golden-brown and the top starts to look less wet.
7. Flip and cook on the other side until golden-brown.
8. Transfer cooked pancakes to a plate and repeat cooking process until you run out of batter. (Should make 10-12 pancakes.)
9. Top pancakes with banana slices, cottage cheese, and syrup and serve.