Recipes from Fish Camp: Breakfast Fruit Toppings

Breakfast at fish camp usually involves pancakes or french toast 5 days out of 6, so it's important to have a variety of toppings so boredom doesn't set in. Maple syrup is tasty, but fresh fruit toppings are so much better for you, and are relatively easy to make. I try to make these once a week at home; at fish camp I just multiply the recipe by factor of A LOT. Here is the basic recipe:

1 cup fresh fruit (blueberries, peaches, apples, pears, raspberries, anything that's good cooked)

1 tablespoon All-Fruit (ie, those fruit spreads that are sweetened only with juice)

Some combinations I've made: fresh blueberries with blueberry All-Fruit; fresh peaches, apricots, or apples with apricot All-Fruit and cinnamon; fresh peaches/apples/pears with raspberry All-Fruit. If a fruit isn't in season, I've used canned (peaches and pears); you could also use frozen berries, but rinse them in cold water first, to reduce the amount of meltwater you get.

Put the fruit (peeled, pitted, cored, and/or chopped, as needed) into a microwavable container with the jam. Microwave about 20 seconds at a time, stirring every time, until mixture is juicy and warm. Serve over pancakes, french toast, or waffles.

These recipes are for an individual serving, so multiply accordingly to serve more people. When I make a large batch, as I do at camp, I cook the fruit and jam over the stove instead of in the microwave, because it's faster.

And what do I do if I have a fresh fruit that doesn't cook well, like strawberries or bananas? Well, then I go to my freezer and get a couple tablespoons of non-fat whipped topping, which adds less than 40 calories to the breakfast. Yum!