Sunday Pancakes!

My nine year old loves pancakes for breakfast.  He would eat them every day if I allowed.  Much like so many others out there I bought frozen pancakes (yes I am admitting it) from Eggo or Aunt Jemima for years.  Being a single mom doesn't leave me very much time and I thought how bad could it be.  Until one day I decided to actually read the lengthy list of ingredients on the box.  Perhaps I was in denial all those years in opting not to read them.  That day I decided to buy frozen pancakes no longer and find a healthy alternative.

Now I spend about one hour each Sunday morning making some healthy pancakes which I then refrigerate for the rest of the week.  They can also be individually frozen if you need them to last longer.  The kids will never know they're healthy.  HINT - don't tell them they're healthy else you've lost them.  Here is my pancake recipe......

Combine 1/2 C sifted all purpose flour, 1/2 C sifted white whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill High Fiber hot cereal, 2 1/2 tsp baking powder, 2 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 3/4 tsp salt in a large bowl.  In a smaller bowl, whisk 1 egg until well beaten.  Add 1 1/4 C skim milk and 3 tbsp canola oil.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk to combine.  Let sit for 10 mins.  Cook pancakes as usual.  Serve with maple syrup (please do not use the imitation stuff) or my son likes to eat them with strawberry or peach jam.

Note: you can buy the Bob's Red Mill brand at almost any grocery store in the same aisle as the flour.

Variations: 

1 - You can make these into buttermilk pancakes by substituting 1/2 tsp baking soda for the baking powder and 1 1/4 cup of buttermilk for the skim milk.
2 - Try adding a mashed ripe banana to the batter.
3 - I am not a fan of sweet breakfast foods so I make a savory variation of these pancakes for myself.  Here's how:

Eliminate the sugar and cinnamon.  Add an additional 1/4 tsp of salt, 1 tsp garam masala (found in Indian markets), 1 medium onion chopped and sauteed, 1 finely chopped green chili.  Cook in same manner.  Serve topped with scrambled eggs (egg whites are great too) and a dash of Frank's Red Hot sauce.

The recipe makes about 10 pancakes depending on size of your ladle.  It actually makes 11 with mine but we all know that the first one is never pretty and meant to be for the cook to taste.

I had my neighbor's kids over one morning and they went home raving about them.  So if you get a chance try these pancakes out.  Let me know how your kids react.  Would love to hear about any other variations you can think of too.....

Ciao,
Swati