Weekend Decadence

We stopped by McDonalds during Free Coffee Week and looking at all the breakfast items on the menu, it made me remember one of my favourites- the McDonalds breakfast burritos. One burrito is 300 calories, 16g of fat (7g saturated), and 24g of carbs, and most people eat two plus a potato item like hashbrowns!

Since I've been playing around with crepes lately, I got the idea of using the Pancake Mix to make a wrapper for the burrito. The result was an incredibly decadent breakfast that will have you convinced that this breakfast couldn't possibly be Nutrisystem-friendly; but it is!

Pancake Mix:



McDonalds Breakfast Burrito:

1 pkg Nutrisystem Pancake Mix
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup Egg Beaters
1/2 slice fat free cheese
1 turkey breakfast sausage
chopped onions, green peppers (optional)
black pepper and hot sauce to taste
salsa or ketchup to taste

In a bowl, whisk the pancake mix, milk, and water until no lumps remain. Pour half the batter into a frying pan sprayed with PAM butter spray; set the other half of the batter aside. Flip the crepe when ready and cook the second side. In a separate pan, cook the Egg Beaters, sausage, and vegetables. When both the eggs and crepe are ready, spoon the filling into one side of the crepe and top with the FF cheese. Microwave for 20 seconds to melt the cheese, and enjoy with a spoonful of spicy salsa if desired!

My husband took one bite of this and asked me to make him some for lunch! He likes them with a little Frank's hot sauce cooked into the eggs and asked me to add a little to the crepe batter next time as well.

Some tips on making your crepes since I had trouble at first: they take much, much longer to cook than pancakes, which I wasn't expecting since they are so thin. Also, if you try to flip them early, they'll rip and be ruined (or at least not look so pretty). I wait until the edges start to lift and then carefully slide my spatula underneath. The second side only takes a minute or so to crisp up since it's already mostly cooked. If you are making crepes and want the first one to stay moist for easy folding while the second cooks, put it on a plate and place a damp paper towel over the top.

Now, I'm sure some of you are wondering how to count this and what we're going to do with the rest of the batter. Here's where breakfast starts to feel like a real extravagance!

Quick Dessert for Breakfast Crepe:



leftover crepe batter
1 fruit serving of your favourite berries (I like strawberries), in thin slices
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp Splenda
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp ricotta cheese

Prepare the second crepe as directed above. While it's cooking, pour the water, vanilla, and Splenda into a small pan and heat it on medium heat. Add the strawberries, and let them cook until most of the liquid is gone and the pan is thick and syrupy. Put the ricotta cheese in the crepe and top with the fruit syrup. If desired, drizzle with Walden Farms Maple Syrup or Chocolate Syrup and a tiny puff of whipped cream. Enjoy your breakfast dessert!

After a year, I have to say that this breakfast still has me feeling slightly amazed that I can do it all with a breakfast entree, dairy/protein, and fruit serving (plus a free food: the tbsp of ricotta), but you can! Just make sure that you don't go over 100 calories for your egg filling- it depends on the stats for your sausage. You could also use 1oz of fat free ham if you want more egg or cheese. It was a totally filling and decadent breakfast- definitely satisfied my cravings!

Disclosure: This post was written by me and was not edited by anyone. The opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own and have not been influenced in any way. Nutrisystem Canada is providing their food and program to me free of charge for my weekly updates. I was not compensated for writing this post.