All I want for Christmas is fitness… and these delicious crepes.

December 11, 2016 Ashley 0 Comments

For Christmas, my mom’s planning a massive brunch at our childhood home.

I can just see it now. Waffles. Pancakes. Bacon.

Waffle-pancake chimeras wrapped in bacon. And drenched in sugary maple syrup. Probably.

(Actual footage. From the future.)

All the junk we loved to munch as kids.

And… all the stuff I don’t really eat anymore. See, I’ve followed a clean, plant based eating regime for a couple years now – and I love it. The endless energy I get’s worth all the abstaining from dairy, processed non-foods, and the like. There’s no turning back for me. That said, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the fun of unhealthy brunching a bit. Reenacting childhood rituals is a nice reminder of simpler times. So, even though I don’t intend to join in on the reindeer games of sleighing my diet all the way into January… is there a halfway happy medium for vegan me?

Indeed there is.

And I’ve found it in this amazing recipe (which I fully intend to whip up in a couple weeks for the fam)….

Peanut butter stuffed crepes – with fruit on top:

(Or veggie nutella, as this pic depicts.)

Looks so amazing you want it every day – not just Christmas brunch, right?

Of course you. So, here’s the recipe:

First, you wanna grab the following things:

1 tablespoon Ener-g egg replacer mixed with 4 tablespoons water
3/4 cup almond milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup white whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons applesauce

Then, take all’ve that stuff and chuck it in the blender before pulsing for roughly 10 seconds. When it’s nice ‘n homogenized (that’s just a fancy word for fully combined and mixed up), take it out, and throw it in the fridge. Now, this bit’ll be the only long part of the prep time – ’cause it’s gotta stay in there at least an hour (but not more than 48, because: gross.)

When your mix is chilled, then it’s go time. Pop a cooking spray lathered pan on the burner and fill that badboy with the batter. (1 ounce of it, specifically.) Spread it out, nice and evenly, and then – after half a minute’ve cooking – flip it. In ten more seconds, take it off – lay it out flat, and let it cool. Repeat this process with all your leftover batter ’til it’s crepe-ified. Then? Well, then you ferry it – along with all your scrumptious add-on goodies – to mom’s house, where you can show your fam just how delicious being healthy can be.

And you legitimately can. ’cause, at only 21 calories a crepe, you don’t have to feel remorse over generously lathering on that peanut butter, either. Hate peanut butter? Well, if that’s the case, A.) we can’t be friends, and B.) just kidding – ’cause you can always sub in almond butter (or nutella like the image above) or *insert your go-to spread here*. Either way, between the bit’ve sweet and the whole wheat, both your fructose tooth will be satisfied, and you’ll remain satiated and craving free with nice ‘n normal blood sugar levels (since we’re not using the simple carb option for the flour) later in the day.

And that makes a big difference. Because, if you compare this recipe to the regular crepes, you’re looking at over 100 calories apiece. That’s without any of the fun add-ons. Then, as hinted above, there’s the carb issue. Now, carbs aren’t bad. But it depends on what kind you’re eating. For example, the white, enriched, refined flour crepes are typically made of are the simple sort – which means they’ll spike your blood sugar before making it plummet. What follows is lethargy and cravings for more’ve the same. And, while that may be fine for most on the jolliest holiday of the year, it’s not for me. ’cause I’m banking on us getting snow and me having the energy to go play in it after I’m done being a child woman, playing with my presents. Fortunately, for me, I’ll be able to do exactly that – thanks to the whole wheat flour my delectable brunch’s complex carbs impart. And that’s awesome – since I used to kind’ve dread these family eating affairs. But not anymore. In fact, now I’m kinda looking forward to bringing brunch back this year.

’cause as it turns out… you can have your crepes, and eat ’em too.