Holly Clegg's Spring Brunch

Try Holly Clegg's delicious recipes for spring brunch:

• Berry French Toast
10 servings/serving size: 1 slice

Ingredients:
5 cups mixed berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries)
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar (divided use)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 egg
4 egg whites
1 cup fat-free milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) loaf French bread or whole wheat French bread, sliced in 10 1-inch slices

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In an oblong 2-quart casserole, place the berries, 1/4 cup sugar, and cinnamon. In medium bowl, combine the egg, egg whites, milk, and vanilla. Add the bread and soak for 5 minutes, turning halfway through.
3. Arrange the bread in a single layer over the berries. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar and bake for 25–30 minutes or until the bread is golden. Serve with berry juice and berries.

Exchanges:
2 Starch
1/2 Fruit

Nutrition information per serving:
Calories 207
Calories from Fat 19
Total Fat 2 g
Saturated Fat 1 g
Cholesterol 22 mg
Sodium 317 mg
Total Carbohydrate 40 g
Dietary Fiber 3 g
Sugars 13 g
Protein 8 g

• Banana Pancakes
12 servings/serving size: 1 pancake

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour or 3/4 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/4 cups fat-free milk
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped bananas

Method:
1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and sugar. Stir in the milk, oil, and vanilla just until mixed; the batter will be lumpy. Stir in the bananas.
2. Heat a nonstick skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray over medium heat. Using 1/4 cup batter per pancake, cook pancakes 1–2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.

Exchanges:
1 Starch

Nutrition information per serving:
Calories 80
Calories from Fat 12
Total Fat 1 g
Saturated Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 1 mg
Sodium 78 mg
Total Carbohydrate 14 g
Dietary Fiber 1 g
Sugars 4 g
Protein 2 g

• Crispy Spinach Crepes
12 servings/serving size: 1 crepe

Ingredients:
2 (10-ounce) boxes frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 onion, chopped
1 cup reduced-fat ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons fat-free milk
1 egg
1 egg white
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Salt and pepper to taste (optional)
12 crepes
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except the crepes and Parmesan cheese. Place a heaping 1/4 cup of the filling down the center of each crepe and roll up loosely. Place the crepes seam side down in a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan coated with nonstick cooking spray.
3. Coat the top of the crepes with nonstick cooking spray and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake for 20–25 minutes or until the crepes are thoroughly heated and the cheese is melted.

Exchanges:
1 Carbohydrate
1 Lean Meat

Nutrition information per serving:
Calories 109
Calories from Fat 30
Total Fat 3 g
Saturated Fat 1 g
Cholesterol 32 mg
Sodium 164 mg
Total Carbohydrate 13 g
Dietary Fiber 2 g
Sugars 5 g
Protein 8 g

• Easy Bunny Biscuits
Makes 5 bunny biscuits

Ingredients:
1 (10-biscuit) can refrigerated biscuits
10 raisins
5 maraschino cherry halves
20 slivered almonds

Method:
Preheat oven to 450°F. Place five biscuits on ungreased 15x10x1-inch baking sheet. To assemble bunny biscuits: cut the other five biscuits in half and pull a little to form ears. Press two biscuit halves (ears) under the whole biscuit at the top to form the bunny head. Press in two raisins for the eyes in each whole biscuit. In each whole biscuit, press the cherry half for the nose and two slivered almonds on each side of cherry half for the whiskers. Bake for 10 minutes or until the biscuits are done.

Diabetic Exchanges:
1.5 fruit

Nutrition information per serving:
Calories 116
Protein (g) 3
Carbohydrate (g) 21
Fat (g) 2
Calories from Fat (%) 16
Saturated Fat (g) 0
Dietary Fiber (g) 1
Cholesterol (mg) 0
Sodium (mg) 360

• Sweet Potato Casserole With Praline Topping
Makes 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked mashed sweet potatoes (yams)
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 (5-ounce) can evaporated skimmed milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Praline Topping (recipe follows)

Method:
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a mixing bowl, blend together the potatoes, sugar, egg, egg white, and vanilla. Place in a 2-quart casserole dish coated with nonstick cooking spray and cover with Praline Topping. Bake for 45 minutes.

Praline Topping

Ingredients:
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons margarine or butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional

Method:
In a bowl, mix together the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Stir in the margarine, vanilla, and pecans until crumbly.

Diabetic exchanges:
2 starch
2 other carbohydrate
1 fat

Nutrition information per serving:
Calories 333
Protein (g) 5
Carbohydrate (g) 62
Fat (g) 8
Calories from Fat (%) 20
Saturated Fat (g) 1
Dietary Fiber (g) 2
Cholesterol (mg) 22
Sodium (mg) 132

• Almond Asparagus
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds fresh asparagus spears
1 tablespoon margarine
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Trim off tough ends of asparagus. Coat a large skillet with nonstick cooking spray; add margarine. When margarine is melted; add asparagus stems and sauté several minutes. Add lemon juice; cover, and simmer until crisp tender. Add almonds and season to taste, tossing gently.

Nutrition information per serving:
Calories 83
Protein (g) 4
Carbohydrate (g) 6
Fat (g) 5
Calories from Fat (%) 51
Saturated Fat (g) 1
Dietary Fiber (g) 3
Cholesterol (mg) 0
Sodium (mg) 23

• Strawberry Angel Food Cake
Makes 10 to 12 slices

Ingredients:
1 (16-ounce) angel food cake
1 (8-ounce) package reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup evaporated skimmed milk
2 pints strawberries, hulled and sliced

Method:
Slice the angel food cake horizontally into 3 equal layers with a serrated knife. Prepare the filling by creaming together the cream cheese, sugar, and evaporated skim milk. Top the bottom cake layer with the filling and strawberries. Repeat the layers. Frost top with remaining filling.

Diabetic exchanges:
2.5 other carbohydrate,
1 fat
1 vegetable

Nutrition information per serving:
Calories 196
Protein (g) 5
Carbohydrate (g) 35
Fat (g) 5
Calories from Fat (%) 21
Saturated Fat (g) 3
Dietary Fiber (g) 2
Cholesterol (mg) 14
Sodium (mg) 371

— For more information, visit: www.hollyclegg.com