I fear that all these sweet brunches start showing on my hips soon and with summer just around the corner this is not good news! The good news though is that this concern made me look for recipes with less calories, less fat and less sugar and I shall share some with you.

As my favourite brunch dish is probably still a pancake I started experimenting with some healthier pancake receipes I found. Winning this experiment were these blueberry cottage cheese pancakes!

It may sound a bit strange to have cottage cheese in your pancake batter but as I had already successfully made pancakes with Quark in the past (see Quark Pancakes with Spiced Apples), another almost fat free cheese, cottage cheese seemed like another good option for making ‘skinnier’ pancakes.

Cottage Cheese has hardly any fat, yet is full of protein and it gives the pancakes subsistence, texture and height. Admittedly, on it’s own, the pancakes are a bit too ‘healthy’ tasting due to the cottage cheese.

That’s why I decided to add some blueberries – they add a fruity sweetness to the slightly tart/tangy pancakes. Adding them to the batter, rather than just served aside the cooked pancakes, allows the blueberries to warm through as the pancakes are being cooked, until the juices start bursting out.

Do keep a few berries aside for serving though – along with a drizzle of Maple Syrup or maybe Agave Nectar, which apparently is the healthier sweetener!

For 2 portions you’ll need:

• 3 eggs

• ¾ cup low fat cottage cheese

• ¼ cup flour
• ca 150g blueberries (a small punnet)
• a little low cal spray oil for cooking, if you want to keep the fat low (otherwise you can use vegetable oil or any other fat, such as butter)

Separate the eggs and whisk the egg whites stiff.

In another bowl whisk the egg yolks until they become thick and paler, and then stir in the cottage cheese, followed by the flour. Then fold the egg whites under and add as many of your blueberries as you like (I added two thirds of a small punnet and kept the rest aside).

Heat a pan and spray a little low cal spray oil, then use a big serving spoon to make some circles from the batter and cook the pancakes until the border of them starts to show bubbles. Flip carefully over and continue cooking for about 3-5 minutes, careful not to burn the pancakes.

Serve with more blueberries and syrup of your choice!