Prepare to be WOWED!

That is what Hungry Girl has to say about her new recipe for whole wheat pancakes with fresh strawberries.  I knew I had to try it.

Normally The Pancake King  makes our Saturday morning breakfast cakes, but I asked him if we could try this special recipe today, instead.  I picked up some lovely fresh strawberries at the market yesterday and knew that there was light Cool Whip lurking in the freezer.  I don't always have the ingredients for some of the more intriguing Hungry  Girl recipes, so when I do, I love to try them out.

I did make a couple of changes... I used egg whites instead of the egg subtitute she calls for.  And, I used cow's milk instead of opening a new box of soymilk... my strawberry jam is not sugar free so I used sugar free marmalade instead.  I didn't want to spend the calories on regular jam. 

And, last but not least, I doubled it all to make 2 servings.  Here is how I assembled it.

Strawberry Short Stack
Makes 2 servings

• 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 4 Tbs old fashioned oats
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 packets Splenda
• Dash salt
• 1/2 cup egg whites
• 2 Tbs fat free milk 
• 2 Tbs sugar-free preserves
• 1 cup sliced strawberries
• 1/2 cup light Cool Whip Free, thawed
• Optional: Fat Free Reddi-wip, sugar-free pancake syrup 

1. To make the batter, combine flour, oats, baking powder, sweetener, and salt in a bowl. Add egg whites, milk, and 4 Tbs water. Mix well and set aside.
2. Place preserves in a microwave-safe bowl and nuke for 20 seconds, until softened and warm. Stir into pancake batter until thoroughly integrated.
3. Bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat. Add one quarter of the batter (approx 1/3 cup) to form a large pancake. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes, until pancake begins to bubble and is solid enough to flip. Gently flip and cook for an additional 1 - 2 minutes, until both sides are lightly browned and inside is cooked through. Keep warm till you have made all 4 pancakes.
4. Remove skillet from heat, re-spray, and return to medium-high heat. Repeat with remaining batter to make 3 more pancakes.
5. While pancakes cool slightly, combine strawberries with Cool Whip in a bowl and lightly stir. Spoon half this mixture evenly over one pancake, and then place a second pancake lightly on top.  This makes one serving.
6. Make up a second serving in the same manner.
7. If you like, add more Cool Whip and a drizzle of pancake syrup.

Per serving.  Not including additional Cool Whip and/or pancake syrup.
Weight Watchers P+ = 7.
Calories 286; Protein 11g; Carbohydrate 52g; Fat 4g; Fibre 6g

I really liked these pancakes.  They are chewy and thick and quite hearty.  I would definitely recommend that you put some syrup on them.... mine is sugar free so doesn't significantly add to the calorie count.

The batter is quite sweet itself, so if you could easily leave out the sugar free preserves and even the Splenda, if you like.

Great fuel for our morning run!

Printable Recipe



A Smashing Pumpkin Surprise

When this recipe arrived in my email inbox from Hungry Girl, I knew I would have to give it a try.  What could be better than combining one of my favorite foods, pumpkin, with grilled cheese?  It is so oddly alluring, that I couldn't resist.

And I was pretty sure The Captain would like it, too.  He is such a willing guineau pig sometimes.

The original recipe looks very good but since I didn't have all the ingredients on hand, I had to make a few changes.  I only had the original flavor of Laughing Cow cheese, not the Swiss (although I don't really notice any difference myself), and I didn't have any light butter, so used half the amount of regular butter.

Fun, different, and VERY good!  Here is the way I made it.



Savory Pumpkin Grilled Cheese
Makes 1 Serving

• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup canned pure pumpkin
• 1 wedge The Laughing Cow Light cheese
• 2 dashes cayenne pepper, or more to taste
• Dash black pepper
• Dash of salt
• 2 slices light bread
• 1tsp butter, room temperature
• 1 slice fat-free cheddar cheese

1. Bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat on the stove. Add onion and, stirring occasionally, cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
2. To the bowl, add pumpkin, cheese wedge, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and salt. Mix until smooth and set aside.
3. Lay bread slices flat and evenly spread the upward-facing sides with a scant smear of butter.  Set aside.
4. Re-spray skillet with nonstick spray and bring to medium-high heat on the stove. Gently place a slice of bread, buttered side down in the skillet.  Top with pumpkin mixture, followed by the slice of cheese. Place the other bread slice on top, buttered side up, and cook until lightly browned on the outside and hot on the inside, about 2 minutes per side, flipping carefully with a spatula.

Serve and enjoy!

Per serving.

Weight Watchers P+ = 6.

Calories 235; Protein 11g; Fat 8g; Fibre 5g.

This seemed like a lot of filling for the bread slices... and it is.  We didn't even try to pick them up.  A knife and fork made it all so much easier and less messy. 

The consensus?  Definitely a keeper and well worth the effort it took to put it all together.  Thanks, Hungry Girl, for another great idea!

Printable Recipe

2-Bite Bliss

I spotted a recipe for 'cookies for one' a few days ago at Chocolate-Covered Katie.  A perfect way to make just a couple of mini cookies - it's all about portion control!

I whipped them up for The Captain to go with his mid-morning coffee and he really liked them... and was wondering where the rest of the batch was hiding.  Hah!

Katie's are vegan but my version has fat free cow's milk, butter, and raisins.

Baked Mini Cookie Balls

Makes 3

• 5 level teaspoons white flour 
• scant 1/16th tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp butter, melted 
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 Tbs raisins 
• 1-1/2 tsp brown + 1/2 tsp white sugar.
• 1 tsp milk, if extra liquid is needed

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
2. Combine dry ingredients, then add wet and mix with a fork. It’ll seem a little dry at first, but just keep mixing.
3. Add the raisins last.
4. Gently form into three little balls
5. Bake 9 minutes - they should still be soft when you take them out of the oven

For all 3 cookie balls.
Weight Watchers P+ = 4.
Calories 157; Protein 2g; Carbohydrate 21g; Fat 8g; Fibre 1g

These are adorable!  And S.M.A.L.L. !

Ready to bake

2-bite bliss!



Next time I make them (and I will make them again - so many possibilities for add-ins), I think I'll make sure I need the oven heated up for more baking... one of Katie's cupcakes perhaps?

If you have a toaster oven, this is the time to use it, for sure!

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