Courtesy of Elaine Magee

Question: Dear Recipe Doctor, I’m looking for a light breakfast dish for spring. I’m trying to get away from the higher-fat croissants and muffins.

Answer: How about whole grain–blend lemon crepes filled or topped with fresh fruit and garnished with a sprinkle of powdered sugar or a little drizzle of raspberry sauce or boysenberry syrup? These crepes are so tasty you can eat them all by themselves (or maybe that’s just me).

I started with a crepe recipe that calls for almost a stick of butter (6 tablespoons for the batter and 1 tablespoon for the pan), 14 tablespoons white flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 3 large eggs, and 1¼ cups whole milk. Instead, I used 3 tablespoons canola oil and 7 tablespoons each of whole wheat flour and unbleached white flour. The sugar was cut in half to compensate for the 2 tablespoons of light pancake syrup that was added instead of some of the melted butter. Two eggs were used instead of 3, and fat-free half-and-half or low-fat milk took the place of the whole milk.

Finely chopped lemon zest stirred into the batter created luscious lemon crepes. The fresh fruit adds color and flavor along with fiber and all sorts of nutrients! Altogether, you have a low-calorie breakfast or brunch entrée or a dessert with 3 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein and fat with 45 milligrams of omega-3s!

The original recipe (with 1/2 cup of berries) contains 181 calories, 10 grams fat, 5.5 grams saturated fat, 80 milligrams cholesterol, 2 grams fiber, and 0.1 gram omega-3s per crepe.

Crepe batter

3 tablespoons canola oil

2 tablespoons light pancake syrup

2 tablespoons sugar

7 tablespoons whole wheat flour

7 tablespoons unbleached white flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1⅓ cup fat-free half-and-half (low-fat or skim milk can also be used)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs (higher omega-3)

1/4 cup egg substitute

Zest from 1 large or 2 small lemons, finely chopped

Topping: About 5 cups of fresh fruit

Garnish: Boysenberry syrup, raspberry sauce, or powdered sugar (optional)

Directions

1. In blender or large mixing bowl, combine all of the crepe batter ingredients by pulsing or beating on medium speed until batter is smooth. You can use the batter immediately or transfer to a covered container and refrigerate until needed (2 hours to overnight).
2. Start heating a 9-inch nonstick crepe pan or skillet over medium heat. Add 1/4 cup of batter to the crepe pan and tilt pan to cover the bottom and form a circle. Cook until edges of crepe turn golden and center is dry (about 40 seconds). Flip the crepe over and cook other side (about 40 seconds more).
3. Repeat with remaining batter.
4. Serve crepes with fresh fruit and garnish with powdered sugar or a drizzle of boysenberry syrup or raspberry sauce.