Breakfast

Pssst! Don’t tell anyone these are whole wheat! Just tell them you made delicious apple pancakes for breakfast. Even I was surprised how soft and fluffy these yummy pancakes are. And there’s a ton of apples in there. I use a huge Granny Smith apple that usually weighs over a half pound, which I peel, core, and dice into 1/2- inch pieces. The batter is thick and lumpy and that’s a good thing.

This is my basic buttermilk pancake recipe that I use for blueberry pancakes too. And buttermilk makes the best pancakes! The key to great pancakes is not to over-mix. Never use an electric mixer. Just combine the dry and liquid ingredients together gently by hand until just barely combined. Some bits of visible flour is fine. Then fold in the apples… gently… and you will have a thick and lumpy batter. That’s perfect.

If buttermilk is not available where you live, look at my “Substitutions” blog category. You can make your own but the real thing is better.  For cooking my apple pancakes, I use a non-stick electric griddle but you can make pancakes in your largest flat pan. If it’s non-stick you don’t need to grease the pan at all but if you like, you can rub the pan first with a stick of butter.

Everyone’s stoves and griddles are different so the cooking temperature should be somewhere between 360 and  375 degrees F or just below medium-high on the stove. The pancakes should cook in about two minutes per side. For soft and fluffy pancakes,  make sure to use whole wheat pastry flour and not whole wheat flour. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

What’s wrong with a few chocolate chips for breakfast? It’s okay with me if you’re getting whole grains, oats, banana and walnuts in a delicious breakfast brownie. This new recipe replaces my old breakfast brownie because this one uses ingredients that are more available to everyone.

There are lots of reasons to eat bananas. They’re a good source of vitamins C & B6, manganese, potassium, fiber, biotin, and copper. And the riper the banana, the sweeter it is and the easier it’ll be to mix into the batter. Walnuts provide heart-healthy fats and protein but for the best flavor they really should be toasted first. I toast a bunch at a time and keep them available, refrigerated, for baking. To toast nuts spread on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Oats are breakfast superstars – high in soluble fiber, which is known for lowering cholesterol and keeping things moving. I use regular Quaker rolled oats in this recipe and extra light olive oil but you can use another oil of your choice like canola. So this is my new Breakfast Brownie and I hope you like it. I’m not saying it should BE breakfast, but I am saying why not dessert AFTER breakfast? Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Are you getting enough fiber? Well now you can! Just make my super high fiber breakfast brownies made with every kind of fiber I could think of. I make them with oats, high fiber bran cereal, whole wheat flour, prunes and even olive oil, so there’s no white flour and no butter. Did I mention the chocolate chips?? You do know that dark chocolate is good for the heart so use the darkest chocolate chips you can find. Now let’s talk about the ingredients you will need:

Oats – I use regular Quaker Rolled Oats in the round carton.

Flour – I use whole wheat pastry flour, any brand I can find.

Cereal – I use Kellog’s All Bran Original cereal, which has 10 grams of fiber in 1/2 cup. If you can’t find it, look for an equally high-fiber cereal.

Oil – I use extra light olive oil but you can use a different oil if you like.

Chocolate Chips – I use either semi-sweet chocolate chips or I chop up some of a 62% Scharffen Berger chocolate bar.

Prunes – This is important. I use Sunsweet Premium Prunes in a can and they are very soft and moist. I even took a picture to show you how moist they are and their moisture is key to keeping these chewy bars moist. If you chop up regular dried prunes, the bars will be dry.

If you can’t find these prunes in a can, you can pour boiling water over regular dried prunes, cover, and let them stand for 15 minutes. Then drain and chop. I experimented with it and they come out softer for sure, but not quite as soft as the canned ones. But it’s the best I can come up with for my international cooks who can’t find these American products.

This recipe is similar to my giant breakfast cookies with a few changes. I call them breakfast brownies but you can call them prune bars or high fiber bars. Fiber is beneficial for many reasons.  Besides preventing constipation, fiber can help you maintain a healthy weight and lower your risk of diabetes and heart disease. But to eat fiber it has to taste good and that’s where I come in. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

A healthy, high fiber breakfast is important  but it can also be fun. And waffles are fun. Let’s talk about how healthy they are first. My waffles are made with 100% whole wheat pastry flour and extra light olive oil so… fiber and heart healthy fat. Then I bake each one with a big pile of sliced almonds for extra protein and extra crunch. The almonds get baked into the waffle and then you get a fantastic toasted almond flavor with each bite. Oh, and they are easy to make from scratch. Putting the batter together takes less than five minutes!

Now let’s talk about the fun part… what to put on your waffles. Well, there’s a little butter and of course real maple syrup, or honey, maybe some sliced bananas, strawberries, blueberries, peanut butter, yogurt, or take a minute to cook up some caramelized apples. Here’s how I see it. Let’s say you have three waffles. Put some healthy fresh fruit on the first one, some maple syrup on the second one, and the third one can be dessert. What’s wrong with a few chocolate chips or a little drizzle of chocolate syrup if it means you’re having whole grain waffles? A friend of mine wouldn’t tell you but she puts vanilla frozen yogurt on her third waffle… but you never heard it from me. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Five ingredients is all you need to make these simple, easy turkey-apple breakfast patties… and about 15 minutes. In fact, you’ll barely have enough time to scramble some eggs. Okay, I admit it. I like breakfast sausage but I haven’t had it in years. There’s this thing I have about eating healthy. I love the smell and flavor of traditional breakfast links but not all the fat that’s in there. I’m very excited that I can enjoy a healthier breakfast sausage. (patty, actually – unless you have a sausage maker and some casing!) If you’re wondering about using white ground turkey breast, I tried it and it’s just too dry but here’s the good news – dark meat is nutritionally superior to white meat. Look at this:

• Calories: White meat = 161 calories. Dark meat = 192 calories.
• Fat: White meat = 4 grams. Dark meat = 8 grams.
• Protein: White meat = 30 grams. Dark meat = 28 grams.
• Iron: White meat = 1.57 mg. Dark meat = 2.4 mg.
• Zinc: White meat = 2.08 mg. Dark meat = 4.3 mg.
• Thiamine: White meat = .04 mg. Dark meat = .05 mg.
• Riboflavin: White meat = .13 mg. Dark meat = .24 mg.
• Selenium: White meat = 32.10 mcg.  Dark meat = 40.90 mcg.
• Folate: White meat = .01 mcg. Dark meat = 10 mcg.

So don’t skip breakfast. Turkey sausage and eggs is full of protein and with a slice of whole grain bread, it’ll keep you going for hours. How about making your own breakfast sandwich with a whole grain english muffin, a fried egg, and a turkey patty. Note to self: Add that to my bucket list. To try my easy, healthy turkey breakfast patties, click here for the recipe.

I could live on egg salad! And that’s easy because it takes me five minutes to make my low fat, easy egg salad. I prefer it simple with just yellow mustard and light mayo but I know a lot of people like to add extras like pickle relish, onion, celery, olives, etc. So go ahead. Use my simple, healthy recipe as a starter and then make it your own. But for me, plain old egg salad on some whole grain bread with lots of lettuce and tomato – it’s the perfect breakfast, and a perfect lunch.

For a while people were avoiding eggs because they contain cholesterol but all the latest research indicates that they may contain cholesterol but they do not raise serum cholesterol. This is good news because eggs have so many nutrients including complete protein; lutein for your eyes; and choline (in the yolk) for your brain and to reduce inflammation. They also contain sulphur to give you beautiful hair & skin, and strong nails. Here’s a link to some of the latest research on eggs: http://www.prevention.com/health/health-concerns/latest-research-health-benefits-eggs

Now that eggs are back, you can enjoy this easy and healthy egg salad. But even my delicious egg salad is no fun if it takes ten minutes to peel a boiled egg. So to make things even easier, I can show you how to make perfect, easy-to-peel hard boiled eggs.

For the video on how to boil eggs, click here.

For my blog post with even more info on boiling eggs, click here.

For the latest research on eggs, click here.

And for my Simple Egg Salad Recipe click here.

Remember buckwheat pancakes? Did you know that buckwheat has more antioxidants than some vegetables? So forget the pancake mix! You can make these healthy, high fiber, and really delicious pancakes for breakfast in ten minutes. While the griddle heats up, you mix together a few simple ingredients and ten minutes later, you’re doing your body a lot of good. Here’s why you should eat buckwheat…

~It’s high in fiber.

~It can help stabilize blood sugar.

~It’s a complete protein.

~It’s a good source of magnesium, which reduces blood pressure.

~ It’s rich in B vitamins, particularly niacin, folate and B6, all beneficial to cardiovascular health.

~It’s full of antioxidants, including lignans, which protect against breast cancer.

~The powerful antioxidants and flavonoids in buckwheat prevent premature skin aging.

~It tastes great!!

Don’t skip breakfast. Take a few minutes to have this healthy, high fiber breakfast and you’ll have sustained energy and stable blood sugar, so you won’t be snacking on things you shouldn’t. This is an easy pancake recipe, but then all pancakes are easy to make from scratch. I use a non-stick griddle, which doesn’t need greasing but I sometimes just rub it with a stick of butter. If you can’t find buckwheat flour at the grocery store, look for it at a health food store. You can also order it online. And it’s good to store it in a tightly sealed container in the fridge.
Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

OMG! I love these breakfast cookies so much! They are so healthy and each cookie has over four grams of fiber! Let’s talk about what’s in them… and what’s not. First of all, there is no butter and no white flour. There are lots of oats and whole grain flour, and then I add some high fiber cereal or wheat bran for even more health benefits – and crunch. They are sort of chewy and crunchy at the same time. The prunes not only add fiber, they help keep the cookies moist. Dark chocolate does have health benefits…. and it’s chocolate!  Now some info on the ingredients:

~Flour: Whole wheat pastry flour is not the same as whole wheat flour. The pastry flour will make a lighter cookie.

~Oats: I use Quaker Old-Fashioned Oats, not quick-cooking.

~Cereal: I use Smart Bran (from Whole Foods) or Kellogg’s All Bran Original or plain wheat bran.

~Oil: I use avocado oil but they also work with  extra light olive oil or canola oil.

~Chocolate: Dark chocolate has antioxidants so the darker the better. I use dark chocolate chunks, usually a 70% dark chocolate bar.

~Prunes: They are not all the same. Moist prunes keep the cookie moist so I use Sunsweet Premium Prunes in the round can or St. Dalfour French Prunes in a jar. If you can’t find these prunes, try pouring boiling water over regular prunes, cover and let stand for 15 minutes, then drain and chop. Without moist and sticky prunes, these cookies will be dry.

Why should you make this cookie? It’s all about the fiber in this healthy breakfast cookie, which contains lots and lots of soluble and insoluble fiber. The benefits include everything from lower cholesterol, protection against colon cancer, heart disease & stroke, reduced risk of diverticulitis, hemorrhoids  & diabetes as fiber slows the absorption of sugar, more stabilized blood sugar, less constipation, easier weight management because fiber keeps you feeling full longer… but if you increase your fiber, it’s also important to drink plenty of water for it to assimilate properly. But enough about fiber. Make this cookie. Try it. It’s so good, you’ll be doing what I do and having it for dessert too! – Jenny Jones  Click here for the recipe.

UPDATE Feb. 27th:

In case anyone finds their cookies to be dry, please make sure to use moist prunes and not the typical ones that are more common. If you can’t find these prunes, try pouring boiling water over regular prunes, cover and let stand for 15 minutes, then drain and chop.

This is one of my prize recipes! I worked hard to make the healthiest cinnamon rolls possible (so I can eat more of them) but they had to be soft and gooey and delicious.  This is it. I tried using some whole wheat flour but they never turned out soft enough so it’s all-purpose flour but the good  news is the entire recipe uses only two tablespoons of butter. Two. And now I have even better news: I usually make them with no butter at all. There’s so much flavor in the cinnamon and brown sugar filling that I often use a trans-fat free margarine and I defy anyone to tell the difference between that and the one with butter.

Make it either way. If you are concerned about saturated fat I promise that you will love these delicious buns without butter. If you use butter, it’s only 2 tablespoons so each roll has as little butter as a slice of toast.  Two tablespoons divided by eight rolls equals 3/4 of a teaspoon of butter in each cinnamon roll.

Did you know that all cinnamon is not the same? The most popular kind is Ceylon cinnamon, which is what most stores sell but they usually also have Saigon cinnamon which I LOVE! It’s much more potent and fragrant, in fact I usually use less because it’s so powerful. If you use Saigon cinnamon, reduce the amount in the filling from 2 teaspoons to 1 1/2 teaspoons. It’s amazing cinnamon and really worth looking for. My store carries Spice Islands brand…

Now let’s talk about frosting. You can frost them in the baking pan but I like to transfer them first to a plate or pie pan before frosting so the sides also get some of that gooey frosting. Here’s how: After the 10-minute cooling period place a dinner plate on top and flip them over onto the plate. Then take another plate or pie pan and flip them back again and they will be right side up and still warm and ready to frost… all sides!

You don’t have to give up cinnamon rolls. Make your own with my healthy recipe and if you want,  you can do the prep the night before, refrigerate overnight, then let them rise in the morning and bake. There’s no reason not to enjoy one of the best things in the world to bake. Your whole house will be filled with the intoxicating aroma of cinnamon!  Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

I make my own cheese blintzes because I have to! I love blintzes and every time I’ve ordered them in a restaurant or deli they arrive so greasy it’s almost like they’re deep fried. So now I make my own and there is no comparison. Mine are soft, never greasy, and lightly browned with lots of delicious filling made with farmer’s cheese (I get Friendship brand), reduced fat cream cheese, sugar, and just a hint of vanilla. Farmer’s cheese is a dry and crumbly cheese and it makes the best blintzes. It can be hard to find but it’s worth looking for.

I make 12 blintzes at a time, keep some refrigerated for a few days, and just brown what I need, usually two for breakfast. I’ve had them with every kind of fruit from berries, to cantaloupe, to peaches, papaya or mango. My dad used to make cheese blintzes for dessert sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. Okay, sometimes, I have one with fruit for breakfast and the other one with cinnamon & sugar. No matter how you serve these healthy cheese blintzes, once you make them yourself you will never order them in a restaurant again. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones