Friday, May 13, 2011

Foodie Friday: Sweet Crepes

Photo credit: Michelle Loy. Copyright 2011. All rights reserved.

I have a little bit of a love affair with crepes.  It started when I was a tweenager.  During summer breaks from school, my sister and I used to watch craft and cooking shows.  (I know, what was wrong with us?)  I often enjoyed trying some of the recipes that we'd see on a show, and once I took a stab at crepes.  While they tasted good, I remembered them being challenging to make.  Ever since then, I've thought about making crepes again, but I've held off because of how hard it seemed. However, recently I've had the pleasure of sampling crepes from eateries, such as Crepes Bonaparte. As I've watched them make the crepes, it seemed simple enough, so I set out on a mission to learn how to make my own.  While these may not be in line with a true French crepe, my entire family loves them.  Now that I've successfully made crepes, I realize that they're actually pretty easy and quick to make.  I think the reason they were so hard for me before was because I was 12!  The great thing about these is that you can make extra and refrigerate or freeze for later use.  The batter can also be made ahead and kept in the fridge overnight for quick prep the next morning.  This could be the perfect way to welcome your weekend!  Enjoy!

Sweet Crepes        

Ingredients
1 1/2 c low-fat milk (I've used 1%, 2% and whole, and they've all worked fine for me.)
1 c whole wheat flour
2 large eggs
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
A pinch of salt
8 Tbsp nut butter (eg, almond, peanut)
4 c fresh fruit (eg, berries, sliced banana)
Honey to drizzle

Directions:
1.  Combine milk, flour, eggs, butter, and salt in a blender, and blend until smooth, about 10 seconds.  Place the batter in the fridge for a few minutes to let the bubbles settle out.  This is a good time to wash and prepare the fruit and other ingredients.
2.  Heat a medium-sized nonstick pan over medium heat.  Spray with nonstick cooking spray.  Pour about 1/4-1/3 cup of batter onto the center of the pan, and swirl to spread it evenly in a circle.  Cook for about 1 minute. Then carefully flip it over and cook for about 30 seconds.  Remove the crepe to a plate.  Repeat until you have 8 crepes or the batter is gone.  
3.  Once cooled, top the crepe with 1 Tbsp of nut butter and 1/4 c fresh fruit.  Gently fold the sides of the crepe over the filling.  Top with additional 1/4 c fresh fruit and drizzle with honey.
*Other filling options include low-fat yogurt and fresh fruit.  

Serves:  4-8
Nutritional Information (for 1 crepe):
Calories:  268   Carbohydrate:  25 g   Protein:  8 g   Fat:  16 g  Cholesterol:  68 mg   Fiber:  5 g   Sugar:  10 g   Sodium:  147 mg   
Excellent source of: riboflavin, vitamin C, vitamin E, and magnesium
Good source of:  thiamin, niacin, vitamins B6, B12, D, A, calcium, iron, and zinc

2 comments:

Anonymous said...[Reply to comment]

Can you replace the butter with coconut oil for a healthier option or would that ruin the consistency?.

Michelle Loy, MPH, MS, RD, CSSD said...[Reply to comment]

@Anonymous Yes, I think it would work. I use coconut oil as a sub for butter often in recipes. It usually works just fine for me in most cases.

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