Easy Walnut Muesli with Fresh Apricots

Ingredients:

Muesli:

• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds

Toppings:

• 2 tbsp. ground flaxseed
• 8 fresh apricots, sliced
• 2 cups 1% or fat-free milk

Makes 8 Servings (1/2 cup per serving)

1. For the muesli: Heat the oven to 275 F. Spread walnuts on a baking sheet and bake until fragrant and lightly browned, about 12 minutes. In a large bowl, combine walnuts, oats, wheat germ, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds.
2. For each serving, place 1/2 cup muesli in a cereal bowl. Top each with 3/4 teaspoon flaxseed and 1/4 cup apricots. Add 1/4 cup milk and serve.

WW POINTS VALUE: 7 pts.

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook. Muesli is a popular treat for breakfast in Switzerland and Germany and very easy to make at home. This breakfast treat is flavorful and delicious. I highly recommend adding a touch of ground cinnamon and nutmeg to make the muesli more flavorful. You can also use chopped almonds in place of the walnut and the muesli will be just as delicious. 

Dried Blueberry Breakfast Scones

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3/4 cup dried blueberries
• 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1 egg white

Makes 12 Scones (1 scone per serving)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.
2. Whisk together pastry flour, oats, flaxseed, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. With a pastry blender or 2 knives used scissor-fashion, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs with some small pieces of butter remaining. Gently stir in the blueberries. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the buttermilk. Whisk together buttermilk and the egg white in a small bowl. Add the flour mixture and stir just until the flour mixture is moistened (the dough will be soft).
3. Gather the dough into a ball and place on a lightly floured surface; divide in half. knead each portion 2 times. Place the 2 pieces of dough on the baking sheet 5 inches apart. Pat each piece of dough into a 6-inch round. Spray a long thin knife with nonstick spray; cut each round into 6 wedges (do not separate the wedges).
4. Brush the scones with the reserved buttermilk. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 15-20 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet on a rack 5 minutes. With a pancake spatula, slide each round onto a rack and let cool completely. Separate the wedges.

WW POINTS VALUE: 3 pts.

 

Note: This recipe appears in the WW Best-Ever Desserts Cookbook. Scones are a wonderful treat for breakfast or as a snack. The original recipe called for 1 tablespoon of turbinado sugar to be topped on the scones but the scones are just as delicious without the sugar. You can also cut the light packed brown sugar in the scones because there are natural sugars in the dried blueberries to make these scones taste  sweet. If you don't have dried fruit on hand, use real berries and the scones will still be delicious.