Breakfast & Smoothies

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancake Recipe

Sunday is a special day in our house. This is the only day of the week when we all sit down and eat a nice, leisurely breakfast together. Weekday mornings are a whirlwind – getting the kids dressed, fed and out the door is one of the biggest challenges of the day. In contrast, on Sunday, we wake up, cook breakfast together and then gather around the table to eat. Chaos still reigns but it is a little more controlled and we don’t have to rush to get to work and school on time.

When the kids first get up on Sunday morning, I always ask them what they want to cook for breakfast. Nine times out of ten, it is pancakes. I too love pancakes, however most pancake recipes use white flour, which I try to avoid unless something is a real treat. These pancakes are still a treat (especially with the maple syrup!) but the white flour has been replaced with a mix of oatmeal and whole-wheat flour.  My kids love to help with the mixing which results in a messy kitchen but it also makes for some very happy helpers!

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancakes

Adapted from Epicurious.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup of quick cooking oats
• 2 cups of well-shaken buttermilk
• 1 cup of whole-wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons of melted butter, melted coconut oil or vegetable oil
• Sweetener to taste (the original recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of brown sugar but I usually use a squirt of agave syrup)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (you can also add a ½ a teaspoon of cinnamon if you like cinnamon in your pancakes)
• 1 cup of blueberries (I use frozen wild blueberries)

Directions

1. Soak the oats in 1 cup of buttermilk for ten minutes.
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Stir the remaining buttermilk, egg, melted butter/coconut oil or vegetable oil, vanilla, sweetener and oats into the dry ingredients until just combined, then fold in blueberries.
4. Lightly oil a pre-heated griddle or frying pan and cook pancakes on one side until bubbles appear and bottoms look cooked. Flip and cook other side.

Note: You will have to cook in several batches. I usually cook enough for us to eat and then cook the remaining pancakes after breakfast. We usually have leftover pancakes, which make a great on-the-go breakfast or snack during the week with some yogurt and fruit.