Clean Eating Cherry Almond Dutch Baby Pancakes (and how to pit fresh cherries without a cherry pitter)

Makes 6 servings, 1 slice each
This is another variation of the Peach Dutch Babies that I recipe tested for the April/May 2011 issue of Clean Eating Magazine. It was delicious with peaches, we loved it with pineapple and coconut, and this morning we had cherries so I thought I'd give it a try. 


A Dutch Baby is an oven baked pancake which is kind of a blend between a popover and a crepe. The boys voted this one as their favorite version and I have to agree :) But I REALLY love fresh cherries so I might be a little biased.

Ingredients:

• 3 large eggs
• ¾ cup low-fat milk
• 2 tbsp pure Maple syrup
• ½ tsp almond extract
• ¼ tsp plus a pinch sea salt
• Large pinch nutmeg
• ½ cup whole-wheat pastry flour (I just use King Arthur’s White Whole Wheat flour)
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1 cup sliced cherries
• 2 Tbsp slivered almonds (although the boys and I had it with pecans because we didn't have any slivered almonds LOL)

ONE: Place a heavy, 12-inch oven-proof or cast-iron skillet in the oven and preheat to 425°F. (If you don't have an oven-proof skillet, you can use a baking dish. You'll need something a bit bigger than an 8x8 square pan but a 9x13 is about as big as you could go.)

TWO: In a large bowl, lightly beat eggs. Add milk, Maple syrup, almond extract, salt and nutmeg; whisk to combine. Add flour and whisk just until blended (a few lumps are fine).

THREE: Carefully add coconut oil to the skillet in the oven. Close the door, and allow it to melt, about 1 to 2 minutes. Wearing a heat-proof glove or oven mitt (I wear my Ove Glove), remove the skillet from the oven and pour the melted oil into the batter; whisk just until blended (do not over mix).

FOUR: Pour the batter back into the hot skillet and sprinkle evenly with the sliced cherries. Carefully return skillet to oven and bake until edges are puffed and golden brown, 17 to 19 minutes.

FIVE: When the pancake is done, sprinkle it with the almonds. It’s pretty impressive when it’s all puffed up fresh out of the oven. Call everyone to the table right away because it deflates pretty quickly. My boys like to peak through the window on the oven door to watch it puff up. They call this Magic Eggy Pancakes.

Not only do I get to eat a delicious pancake... staring at it through the oven door
keeps Theron entertained for 20 minutes and I get to see this excited little face :)

You won’t have leftovers but, if you did, you could freeze individual servings using the flash freeze method to feed your freezer stash.

QUICK TIP: I don't have a cherry pitter. We all love cherries and I am eagerly looking forward to the day that I can just hand my kids a bowl of cherries and send them outside to happily eat them and spit out the pits. Until that day comes, this is how I get around the pits:

Wash the cherry, pull off the stem, and stand it up on the cutting board.

Slice of the fruit on either side of the pit

Finally cut off the little bits of fruit left around the pit.
Discard the pit and enjoy!

NUTRITION INFO:
Per serving - 162 Calories (71 Calories from Fat), 8g Fat, 5g Saturated Fat, 94mg Cholesterol, 141mg Sodium, 18g Total Carbohydrates, 2g Dietary Fiber, 9g Sugars, 6g Protein, 4% DV Vitamin A, 2% DV Vitamin C, 6% DV Calcium, 5% DV Iron

:)

Clean Eating Sausage Egg Casserole (OAMC)

Makes 12 servings
Wouldn't you love to wake up and find that someone else has cooked you a delicious and healthy breakfast? That's how I feel when I pull this egg casserole out of the freezer. It's the perfect blend of savory sausage, eggs, and cheesy goodness. Plus it has some kale snuck in so you can start your day right with a power packed veggie :) I make this using homemade breakfast sausage based on THIS recipe from one of my favorite sites but you can use 3/4 lbs of whatever breakfast sausage you prefer.

How I "healthified" it:

• The original recipe called for 10 whole eggs. I used 2 whole eggs and 10 egg whites.
• The original recipe used 16 oz of cottage cheese and whole pound of shredded cheddar. I reduced both of them by half and added a little bit of Parmesan for some extra cheese flavor.
• The original recipe used butter and white flour. I substituted olive oil and whole wheat flour and added and extra 1/4 tsp of sea salt.
• The original recipe used regular breakfast sausage. I made a homemade version of breakfast sausage using lean ground turkey.
• Finally I added some finely diced kale to boost the nutritional profile. Plus, I like it when my kids eat a green vegetable in the morning because then I don't have to think about it at dinner LOL.
• The results - A decrease in calories, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium and an increase in Vitamin A and Vitamin C.

Ingredients:
Breakfast Sausage-

• 3/4 lb ground turkey or chicken
• 1/2 C diced organic dried apples (or 3/4 cup shredded fresh apples)
• 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup or honey
• 3/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp Allspice
• 2 Tbsp dried Sage (1 Tbsp if ground)

Casserole-

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 green onions, chopped
• ½ lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 16 oz carton of egg whites (or 10 egg whites)
• 8 oz low-fat cottage cheese
• 2 cups (½ lb) shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup Parmesan
• 4oz can diced green chile peppers, drained
• 1 1/2 cups very finely chopped kale/spinach
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 1/3 cup olive oil

ONE: In a large bowl, using your hands, mix sausage ingredients well. Place into a large, deep skillet and cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and set aside. Add olive oil to skillet; cook and stir the green onions and mushrooms until tender.

Browning the homemade sausage

TWO: In a large bowl, mix eggs, egg whites, cottage cheese, shredded cheese, Parmesan, kale, and chiles. Stir in sausage, green onions, and mushrooms. Cover, and refrigerate overnight (you can cook it right away but refrigerating it overnight lets the flavors blend a bit more).

THREE: Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish. In a bowl sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Blend in the olive oil. Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Bake 40 to 50 minutes in preheated oven, or until lightly brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Flour mixture before it was blended

Cut into individual servings and freeze using the flash freeze method to feed your freezer stash. To reheat, microwave loosely covered for 2 minutes at 50% power. Cut into pieces and microwave an additional minute at full power.

NUTRITION INFO:

Per serving "healthified" recipe – 301 Calories (152 Calories from Fat), 17g Fat, 5g Saturated Fat, 77mg Cholesterol, 615mg Sodium, 16.5g Total Carbohydrates, 1g Dietary Fiber, 4g Sugars, 22g Protein, 32% DV Vitamin A, 27% DV Vitamin C, 36% DV Calcium, 10% DV Iron

Per serving original recipe – 393 Calories (252 Calories from Fat), 27g Fat, 12g Saturated Fat, 223mg Cholesterol, 791mg Sodium, 13g Total Carbohydrates, 1g Dietary Fiber, 1g Sugars, 27g Protein, 17% DV Vitamin A, 9% DV Vitamin C, 61% DV Calcium, 10% DV Iron

:)

Clean Eating Pina Colada Dutch Baby Pancakes

Makes 6 servings
This recipe is modified from the Peach Dutch Babies that I recipe tested for the April/May 2011 issue of Clean Eating Magazine. The original recipe was so good I wanted to make it again the next day but was out of peaches. We love pineapple and coconut in our house and that was how this version was born.


A Dutch Baby is an oven baked pancake which is kind of a blend between a popover and a crepe. They are traditionally made with white flour and a TON of butter but Clean Eating Magazine of course found a way to make it JUST as delectable while still being good for you :) My very good friend, Martha, was the one who first introduced me to Dutch Babies (made the ton of butter way!) and she’s a bit of a connoisseur when it comes to this dish. As soon as I tried the Clean Eating version, I immediately sent it to her and she was blown away as well. She gives them her seal of approval :)

Ingredients:

• 3 large eggs
• ¾ cup low-fat milk
• 2 tbsp Agave nectar or honey
• ½ tsp coconut extract
• ¼ tsp plus a pinch sea salt
• Large pinch nutmeg
• ½ cup whole-wheat pastry flour (I just use King Arthur’s White Whole Wheat flour)
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1 cup crushed pineapple packed in juice, drained and 2 Tbsp juice reserved
• 2 Tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut

ONE: Place a heavy, 12-inch oven-proof or cast-iron skillet in the oven and preheat to 425°F. (If you don't have an oven-proof skillet, you can use a baking dish. You'll need something a bit bigger than an 8x8 square pan but a 9x13 is about as big as you could go.)

TWO: In a large bowl, lightly beat eggs. Add milk, Agave, coconut extract, salt and nutmeg; whisk to combine. Add flour and whisk just until blended (a few lumps are fine).

THREE: Carefully add coconut oil to the skillet in the oven. Close the door, and allow it to melt, about 1 to 2 minutes. Wearing a heat-proof glove or oven mitt (I wear my Ove Glove), remove the skillet from the oven and pour the melted oil into the batter; whisk just until blended (do not over mix).

FOUR: Pour the batter back into the hot skillet and sprinkle evenly with the crushed pineapple. Carefully return skillet to oven and bake until edges are puffed and golden brown, 17 to 19 minutes.

FIVE: Meanwhile, toast the shredded coconut in a dry skillet over medium heat (the first time I made these I tried toasting the coconut in my toaster oven, forgot about it, and it caught fire… like billowing smoke fire. Oops.)

SIX: When the pancake is done, sprinkle it with the toasted coconut and drizzle with the reserved 2 Tbsp pineapple juice. It’s pretty impressive when it’s all puffed up fresh out of the oven. Call everyone to the table right away because it deflates pretty quickly. My boys like to peak through the window on the oven door to watch it puff up. They call this Magic Eggy Pancakes. I call it scrumptious :)

You won’t have leftovers but, if you did, you could freeze individual servings using the flash freeze method to feed your freezer stash.

NUTRITION INFO:
Per serving - 179 Calories (72 Calories from Fat), 8g Fat, 5g Saturated Fat, 107mg Cholesterol, 130mg Sodium, 22g Total Carbohydrates, 1g Dietary Fiber, 13g Sugars, 5g Protein, 4% DV Vitamin A, 8% DV Vitamin C, 5% DV Calcium, 6% DV Iron

:)