I wish someone would ask me what I had for breakfast today. Because my answer would be, “Strawberry shortcake.” Yep! I had strawberry shortcake for breakfast. But, with this recipe, it’s totally ok.
I’m growing in my efforts to eliminate all-purpose flour, etc. from my diet entirely, and I’m almost there. I want every grain going into my body to be a whole grain. Thus, I’m experimenting with all kinds of baking recipes because I don’t want to go without all my old favorite foods. I’m learning that if you know how to do it right, eating whole grains can be just as tasty as eating non-whole grain foods. And it is so much better for your body.
I’ve been baking with whey recently since I started making my own Greek yogurt. If you find the idea of making your own yogurt from scratch too daunting (I promise it is actually very simple), you can still make Greek yogurt, yielding whey without making the yogurt yourself. Simply purchase a plain regular yogurt. Using that yogurt, follow the directions here. You will end up with Greek yogurt and whey. It is almost effortless. You can then use both the Greek yogurt and the whey for this recipe.
I used what I learned from making some whole wheat oatmeal biscuits, looked at a typical strawberry shortcake recipe, and I came up with this.
Ingredients:
Biscuit:
- 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup oat flour (you do not need to buy oat flour. You can put dry oatmeal in a food processor or blender and process until it is in the form of a flour)
- 1/2 cup oatmeal
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup whey
- 1/2 cup applesauce (learn how to make very fast, easy and healthy homemade applesauce here)
- 3/4 cup orange juice
Topping:
- 3 cups strawberries
- 3 cups Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey (depending on which flavor you prefer)
Directions: Optional: The day before making the strawberry shortcake, freeze the fresh strawberries in a container. While the shortcakes are cooking, heat the frozen strawberries in the microwave until they are completely thawed. There will be strawberry juice in the bottom of the container which can be poured over the shortcakes.
Biscuits:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place all the dry ingredients for the biscuits in a medium mixing bowl and mix. Add the remaining biscuit ingredients and stir until thoroughly mixed. Divide into 6 portions, roll each portion into a ball, and place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Press the dough balls down just to flatten them a little bit. This isn’t entirely necessary. I just think it makes the shortcakes look prettier. If you want to skip the rolling and just drop them onto the baking sheet, that will also work just fine. Bake at 425 degrees for 12 minutes. Allow to rest for 15 minutes
Topping:
Mix the Greek yogurt and the maple syrup or honey in a medium bowl. I preferred to use my mixer because it makes the yogurt more smooth. But, you could also stir it in by hand.
To serve:
Cut a shortcake in half and place onto a plate. Cover with 1/4 cup of the yogurt topping and a few strawberries. Place the top of the biscuit next and cover with another 1/4 cup of the yogurt topping and a couple strawberries. Pour a little juice from the strawberries over the top (if you made the juice) and place the remaining strawberries around the plate. Serves 6.
With 2 whole grains, the calcium, protein, and fruit in this dish, it is a perfectly acceptable option for breakfast (or any meal, actually). A single serving has 292 calories (if you use Trop50 orange juice…otherwise, it will have a little more), 85% of the vitamin C and 100% of the vitamin A that you need for a day, a little less than 20% of both your daily iron and calcium needs, 17 grams of protein, and 8 grams of fiber.
So, as Chicago and elsewhere in the world get ready to welcome summer and all of the summer treats we associate with it, you can welcome strawberry shortcake for breakfast rather than a guilt-ridden dessert!
chicagohealthygirl 