Since I wasn't overly impressed with the Breakfast Bible version of a Dutch baby, I decided to revert to the Weight Watchers recipe that, according to my notes, I liked much better. I still think that I like it better than the BB version. But I'm no longer convinced that it's really correct to call it a Dutch baby. Last time I said that it came out "a bit" eggier than previous versions that I'd tried. This time it was basically a baked custard. A delicious baked custard. But still definitely more like a custard than a Yorkshire pudding or a pancake. Either way, I'm happy with the result. Just maybe don't use this recipe if you really want that Yorkshire pudding/Dutch baby texture.

Eggy Dutch Baby with Nectarines and Almonds

Adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan and Weight Watchers

Ingredients

Batter

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 c. milk
• 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract

Topping

• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 3-5 nectarines, sliced
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/4 c. slivered or sliced almonds, toasted
• 1-2 tsp. icing sugar (optional)

Directions

1. Place 1 Tbsp. butter in a 23cm (9") deep dish pie plate.
2. Place the pie plate in the oven and preheat to 200°C (400°F).
3. Meanwhile, combine the milk, flour, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and almond extracts and beat with a whisk until smooth.
4. Pour the batter into the hot pie plate and bake at 200°C (400°F) until set, but still slightly jiggly (15-20 minutes).
5. Meanwhile, melt 2 Tbsp. butter over medium heat.
6. Add the sugar and nectarines and cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved and mixture thickens slightly.
7. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.
8. Once Dutch baby/custard is done, remove from oven and allow to cool slightly (~5 minutes).
9. Pour the nectarine over the custard and sprinkle with almonds and icing sugar (if using).
10. Cut into wedges and serve.

Custard Toasts

I would describe these as "ok, I guess". Symbol liked them more than I did.

Breakfast Custard Toasts

Weight Watchers

Ingredients

• ½ C yoghurt
• 2 tbsp peanut powder
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• ¼ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 4 thick slices of bread
• ¼ C raspberries
• 4 tsp muesli

Directions

1. Whisk together the yoghurt, peanut powder, syrup, vanilla, and egg.
2. Squish the bread slices to make a well in the top of each one.
3. Top the breads with the custard.
4. Top the custard with the raspberries.
5. Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes.
6. Top with muesli.

I've been eating a lot of cottage cheese bowls for breakfast lately. The apple one in particular is very tasty and simple to make. It's also low-Points/low-calorie and gets me a good dose of protein, calcium, and fruit first thing in the morning. All-in-all, it's a pretty ideal breakfast. That said, I still like to mix it up a bit sometimes. So I've been casting about for other breakfast ideas.

Eventually I settled on this Weight Watchers sheet pan pancake recipe. I made a few adjustments, but the basic idea is the same.

Banana Sheet Pan Pancake

Slightly adapted from Weight Watchers

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 1 c. water
• 5 1/2 Tbsp. sugar, divided
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 4 large bananas, divided
• 2 1/4 c. whole wheat flour¹
• 1/2 c. quick oats
• 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• chopped pecans, to serve²
• maple syrup, to serve
• raspberries, to serve

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F) and grease a rimmed baking sheet.
2. Combine the yogurt, water, 1/4 c. of the sugar, vanilla, and eggs.
3. Mash two of the bananas and mix them into the wet ingredients.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined.
6. Pour the batter into the pan and spread all the way to the edges.
7. Slice the remaining two bananas and decorate the top of the "pancake" with the banana slices.
8. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp. of sugar over top.
9. Bake at 220°C (425°F) for 15-20 minutes.
10. Serve topped with maple syrup, raspberries, and/or chopped pecans.

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Variations

Lower-Calorie Version

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. plain fat-free Greek yogurt
• 1 c. water
• 5 1/2 Tbsp. 1:1 monk fruit or stevia sweetener, divided
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 4 large bananas, divided
• 2 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c. quick oats
• 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• chopped pecans, to serve
• "no sugar added" syrup, to serve
• raspberries, to serve

Spiced Banana Bread Sheet Pan Pancake

The original recipe claimed to be a "banana bread" sheet pan pancake, but it didn't include any of what I tend to think of as the traditional/characteristic banana bread spices. I think, if I were doing it again, I'd want to try to add some more spices to it to amp up the flavour a bit.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 1 c. water
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp. spiced rum
• 2 large eggs
• 5 large bananas, divided
• 2 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c. quick oats
• 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• chopped pecans, to serve
• maple syrup, to serve
• raspberries, to serve

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¹ The original recipe calls for white whole wheat flour (as in flour ground from white wheat berries). I don't generally keep that on hand, so I usually just substitute regular hard whole wheat flour. That said, I think soft flour would be even better here. I didn't feel like grinding any for this recipe, but I might give it a go with soft flour next time. I think 330g should be about right. ^Back
2 The recipe called for using the chopped nuts as a topping, and that's what I did this time. I think I'd be inclined to try mixing them into the batter next time though. ^Back

These pancakes are very easy to make and relatively healthy. And tasty! Top with generous amounts of fruit.

Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Weight Watchers

Ingredients

• 1 C cottage cheese
• 1 C quick oats
• 1 banana
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp milk
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in blender. Blend on low until smooth.
2. Cook using normal pancake procedures, ¼ C at a time, on a lightly buttered tawa.

Lean, cornmeal pancakes without any butter or oil in the batter. They're pretty tasty, but I do feel that they need a little syrup or something on top. I thought about putting more fruit, but I really wanted the syrup.

The original recipe said that you should get four servings of three pancakes each using ~1/4 c. of batter per pancake. I did that, but I only got 10 pancakes from my batch! On the bright side, that did make the math for Points per pancake work out a little nicer.

Oh. I think I just figured out why a) my batter seemed a bit on the thick side and b) I didn't get as many pancakes as the recipe said I should. I forgot the water! It wasn't listed in the ingredients, so, as far as my brain was concerned, it didn't exist. Aargh!

Cornmeal Blueberry Pancakes

Slightly adapted from Weight Watchers

Ingredients

• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/3 c. cornmeal
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 c. buttermilk (or 1 c. milk + 1 Tbsp. lemon juice)
• 2 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 large egg
• 3 Tbsp. water
• 1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions

1. Combine the flour, cornmeal, and salt.
2. Sift in the baking powder and baking soda and stir to combine.
3. In a measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, lemon zest, egg, and WATER.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined.
5. Stir in the blueberries.
6. Set aside for 5-10 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, heat a griddle or tawa over medium-low heat.
8. Very lightly grease it and cook your pancakes, using ~1/4 c. of batter for each one.
9. Serve with fresh fruit and/or maple syrup.

Weight Watchers billed this recipe as a "cake". Looking at it -- and tasting the results -- I would say it's more of a baked oatmeal. Although I will grant them that adding the raspberries does take it up a notch and make it feel a bit more sweet and indulgent. (I mean, it still tastes fairly lean and "wholesome", but it was enough to scratch that dessert itch for me tonight.)

I think I'd be inclined to add a little vanilla (and maybe a touch more maple syrup) next time, but it was decent overall. Especially considering that it managed to squeak through at only 2 "Points" per serving. (Obviously the Points per serving would increase if you started doing things like bumping up the maple syrup quantities, but at least this gives you a low-cost starting point.)

The recipe calls for plain Greek yogurt, but I only had regular yogurt, so my "batter" came out pretty runny. It still cooked up fine though. I think it might've been nice to add another tablespoon or two of oats to the mix, but maybe I wouldn't have wanted that if I'd been using the thicker, lower moisture Greek yogurt called for.

Microwave Baked Oatmeal

Slightly adapted from Weight Watchers

Ingredients

• 1 very ripe banana, mashed
• 1/4 c. plain (Greek) yogurt, preferably fat-free
• 2 tsp. maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 c. uncooked quick oats
• 2/3 c. fresh or frozen raspberries

directions

1. Mash banana and combine it with the yogurt, cinnamon, and vanilla.
2. Mix in the eggs.
3. Stir in the oats.
4. Divide mixture evenly between two mugs.
5. Microwave on high for 1 minute.
6. Stir, then microwave on high for another 1 1/2-2 minutes.
7. Top each portion with half of the raspberries and serve.