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Although I am not at all a morning person, I do make it a point to get up and make a home cooked breakfast as many school mornings as possible for my boys. To me, the act of cooking them something is a way for me to show them how important it is to send them off to school with as much energy and healthy nutrients as I can to fuel their bodies and their brains. Growing up, my mom used to make a delicious breakfast for us on the weekends all the time and one of my favorites from her repertoire was the crepe. It was as comforting as a pancake but as sweet as a donut because I was allowed to fill mine up with any type of filling I liked! As a kid, my choice of filling was very simple – just pour in 2-3 teaspoons of sugar, roll and eat.
When I had my boys, I realized that the crepe is a perfect carrier for serving my boys some healthful fresh fruit to start their day. I wanted to recreate the wonderfully indulgent breakfast of warm, filled crepes for them. However, I needed to find ways to decrease the sugar and flour and yet still have the texture and flavor mimic the traditional crepe I grew up loving. My solution was a combination of vanilla extract, increased milk and whole wheat flour. While the kids definitely know the version I make is healthier than the one they order when we are out for breakfast, they still gobble them up every time I make them – which is very often! The key to their crave-ability is letting them choose and load the filling (within boundaries). My kids want their crepes to taste sweet – so I fresh fruit like raspberries, strawberries, bananas and even peaches are always on hand for them to load as much as they’d like. I also allow them to use a scoop of sugar-free whipped topping and 4-5 dark chocolate mini-morsels. These little chocolate morsels and cream seem decadent, but are just 3 grams of sugar per teaspoon so a few in each crepe is very minimal impact on their daily intake. Once they’re filled, they fold them like burritos and in they go! The folding took some practice, particularly for my younger one, but they’re absolutely pros now. We do them tucked in like burritos so that eating isn’t quite so messy and doesn’t require utensils.
The crepe is a simple recipe that can be adjusted and tweaked to increase and decrease its sweetness depending on the type of fillings that you’re going to use. If you just subtract out the vanilla and sugar you can add in any spices you like that match your planned filling. For example, if you’d like to experiment with cheeses, you can add in some basil or thyme
to the crepe mix and the whole thing will have a fresh and savory taste rather than the sweet and indulgent kind. Try experimenting and send me your ideas, we’d love to try them!
