Custard
Custard is the best little "forgotten dessert" around. Our grandmothers made custard often; we should, too. It's easy, fast, healthy, inexpensive and very good. As desserts go, custard has an almost Zen-like simplicity. I use little glass custard cups, but if you don't have these, you can use a larger casserole dish.

Ingredients:
2 cups milk (lowfat milk is fine)
1/3 cup honey
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
A sprinkle of nutmeg or cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 F. Mix all the ingredients (except the nutmeg or cinnamon) very well with blender, stick blender, electric mixer or whisk. (I use my stick blender for this. It's fast to grab, use and wash.) Pour mixture into four custard cups or a casserole dish. Sprinkle lightly with nutmeg or cinnamon. Place the dish or cups in a baking pan of hot water. The water should be approximately one-inch deep. Bake about 45 minutes (little custard cups) to one hour (larger casserole) or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool, then refrigerate.

Bran Muffins
This recipe makes about 30 muffins. You can bake, cool, then freeze them, and reheat in the microwave when you want to serve fresh hot muffins. I microwave the frozen muffins about 30 seconds for each muffin. They're best eaten warm, and spread with ricotta or cream cheese.

Ingredients:
3 cups bran -- (plain wheat bran, not a cereal)
1 cup boiling water
2 eggs
3/4 cup honey
2 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup oil
2 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup raisins

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray muffin tins with cooking spray, or oil them. In a large bowl, mix the bran and boiling water, and let it stand. In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, honey, buttermilk and oil. Add this mixture to the bowl with the bran and water. Stir the flour and baking soda together, and stir this into the bran mixture. Stir, then add the raisins, and stir again. Fill the muffin tins and bake for about 15 minutes. Let stand in the muffin tins for a few minutes, then remove, and let the muffins cool on a rack.

Final Notes
You will have noticed, I hope, that the recipes I've shared with you are all very lightly sweetened, fairly low in fat and have substantial amounts of healthy ingredients. If you want to lower the fat contents even more, you can substitute two egg whites for each whole egg called for in the recipes -- except the custard. The custard needs the whole eggs.

If you look through your own dessert recipes with a critical eye as to their nutritive value, you may find other "dessert for breakfast" recipes that your family will enjoy. And don't forget muffins and quick breads! I've found that quick breads and muffins are the very best way to get "white-flour people" to begin enjoying healthy whole-grain foods.

About the author: Pat Meadows lives in a small country town in Pennsylvania with her husband, two dogs and a cat. She enjoys cooking, gardening and photography, and may be reached at pat@meadows.pair.com.

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