Pancakes and Eggs with a little flair

Sometimes we get in a rut and end up staying with the basics. With a little modification, you can turn a basic breakfast into something unique, and some may even call a little gourmet.

Pancakes and Eggs Recipe (with a little flair) - makes 1 serving

Enough of your favorite pancake mix + liquid to make one serving

1 tbsp. wheat germ

2 tbsp. rolled oats (also called old fashioned oats)

4 fresh figs

1 tsp. white sugar

cooking spray

1 tbsp. raspberry preserves (or jam / preserves of your choice)

2 eggs

1 tsp. herbs de provence

1 heaping tsp. white flour

pinch of salt

1 tbsp. milk (or soy milk)

1. Turn on your broiler to high. Put a griddle or a large saute pan on the stove and turn the heat to medium. Let it stand, dry, over the heat to pre-heat the pan.

2. Mix up the pancake mix as usual. Add the wheat germ and rolled oats and add a little more liquid, as needed to make a thick batter. Let stand for about 5 minutes.

3. Cut off the stem of each fig, and then cut an X in the top of each one. Do not cut all the way through. Place the figs, X side up, on a cookie sheet or other baking dish. Spray lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle a little bit of sugar atop each one. Put in the broiler and keep a watch on it. As the figs cook, they will open up like a flower. Make sure the sugar doesn't burn. It should be about 7 minutes.

4. Now start making your pancakes. Your pan should be hot and the batter should be a little bit thicker. Pour pancake batter onto your hot surface (pan or griddle), and once bubbles appear on the top, flip the pancakes. I like mine to be a little darker than traditional. If you like that too, then don't flip the pancakes until a minute or so after the bubbles appear. Continue cooking until you have used all of your pancake batter. If you are making a large batch and want to keep the pancakes warm, put them in some aluminum foil and put them on the bottom rack of your oven.

5. Next, in a small bowl, mix 2 eggs, herbs, milk, flour and salt and whisk until smooth. Using a medium non-stick saute pan (I use the same pan I did the pancakes in), take the pan off the heat, holding the pan in one hand and using the other hand gently pour about half of the mixture into the pan. It is extremely important to use a non-stick pan. Swirl the pan around to form a thin coat around the entire bottom of the pan and set back on the heat. Let the egg mixture cook for a minute until it is easily removed from the bottom of the pan and then flip it. Let it cook on the other side. Then remove from the pan and roll up. Do the same with the other half of the mixture.

6. By this time, I hope you took the figs out of the oven, otherwise they will be charred. Arrange the pancakes on a plate, put the rolled up eggs/crepes next to them, top the pancakes with the figs and raspberry preserves.

Serve hot and enjoy.

A few things to note about this recipe -

- I was lucky enough to find a high-protein, low calorie pancake mix in the Whole Foods. If you can locate something like that, you'll be better off in terms of a healthy choice. I added the wheat germ and rolled oats to add some more fiber to this dish. You could also sub oat bran, or other higher fiber grains and put a little bit in the pancake mix.

- Limit the white sugar, and rasperry preserves. Just use a bit to carmelize the top of the figs.

- If you use a non-stick pan, there's no need for any butter or oil. Another way to keep this healthier.

- Use fresh ingredients, substitute egg beaters if you like, you can also use soy milk in place of milk, etc. Feel free to substitute similar ingredients in order to suit your needs. Have fun with it!

*healthy foodie*