food
Pancake Recipe: How to Make Breakfast + Dinner = Brinner!
“Dear Families,” is how the weekly message from our school principal always begins. Each April, one week’s letter has a similar first line; “Your child will participate in state testing this week, so be sure your child is well-rested and eats breakfast.” We want to see our children do well on report cards so we dutifully put them to bed early and serve them breakfast. Without focused students every morning, though, how will our children learn the content before testing? Let’s make a renewed focus to serve a well-rounded breakfast all year long.
The morning meal doesn’t have to be fancy or require cooking each morning. Instead, think of easy foods that your family enjoys and ideally includes a few of the food groups: Grains, Fruit, Milk, Vegetables, and Meat. Try to include three food groups at breakfast for enough variety to stay satisfied until lunch and enough food to “break the fast” after what is easily 12 hours since the last meal.
Easy breakfast ideas that include three food groups:
The Customary Starter: Cereal with milk and a piece of fruit
The Works: Bagel topped with peanut butter and 100% juice
One for the Road: Egg and cheese mixed with salsa then wrapped in a whole-wheat tortilla
Stand-In Fancy Meal: Frozen whole-grain waffles topped with yogurt and sliced fruit
My kids love breakfast, but our mornings can be pretty busy. Starting the day with a full sink of dishes also does little to put me in the right mind set. To have the best of both worlds—breakfast without the early morning mess and rush—we love to have breakfast for dinner or “Brinner.” So in honor of state testing, here is a recipe that is Brinner perfect. It has three of the five food groups and encourages your kids to think outside the box for dinner. Who knows, maybe there will be pizza for breakfast the next day!
Make Breakfast for Dinner: Brinner!
Cottage Cheese Pancakes Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 Carton California Cottage Cheese (16oz)
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons orange marmalade (for divided use)
- 4 Eggs, separated
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Butter
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 4 thin orange slices for garnish
- Mint leaves for garnish (optional)
Preparation
Combine Cottage Cheese and 1/4 cup of the marmalade in a food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside.
Beat egg whites until they are stiff, but not dry. Transfer the beater to the yolks to save washing in between. Beat yolks until they are light in color. Beat in the cup of cottage cheese-marmalade mixture, reserving the remaining cup of the mixture for the topping. Add the flour and salt and continue beating until completely mixed. Carefully fold in the beaten egg whites.
Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Wipe the butter out of the pan with a paper towel. Spoon the batter (1/3 cup for each pancake) into the hot pan. Cook pancakes over medium heat until golden brown on the first side.
Very carefully turn the pancakes over to brown the other side. While the pancakes are cooking, combine the maple syrup and remaining 2 tablespoons of marmalade; mix well and set aside.
To serve, place 3 pancakes on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with 1/4 cup of the reserved Cottage Cheese-marmalade mixture. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the maple-marmalade mixture over the top of each serving. Garnish with twisted orange slices and a sprig of fresh mint, if desired.
Makes 12 pancakes.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 316 ; Total Fat: 7 g ; Saturated Fat: 3 g ; Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.8 g ; Carbohydrates: 43 g ; Protein: 21 g ; Vitamin A: 338 IU ; Vitamin C: 1 mg ; Calcium: 122 mg ; Sodium: 625 mg ; Iron: 1.7 mg ; Fiber: 0.5 g
Add your favorite fresh fruit, like sliced banana or strawberries or defrosted berries if off-season, to up the fruit in this recipe.
What breakfast food do you like to serve for dinner?
Trina Robertson, MS, RD is a registered dietitian with a master’s degree in nutrition. As a HealthyEating.org Mom she shares her positive approach to healthy eating with the goal of inspiring others to prepare and enjoy foods from each of the food groups. As a Project Manager with the Dairy Council of California, Trina develops, evaluates, and promotes nutrition education materials for students and adults. At home she enjoys cooking and sharing meals with her family. Her most rewarding accomplishment is that her boys are good eaters and are learning to cook. Follow Trina on Twitter @TrinaR_RD and find more Healthy Eating ideas on Facebook.
Trina Robertson
Latest posts by Trina Robertson (see all)
- Sweet Treat: Strawberry Club Sandwiches - August 1, 2023
- Recipe: Spinach, Strawberry, and Walnut Salad - May 8, 2023
- Recipe: Peaches with Kale Salad - August 10, 2019
