Flax and Oat Pancakes

You groggily open your eyes one Saturday morning. Spring is here; this fact is made evident by the warm sun streaming through the blinds and the cheerful songs of the birds outside your window. You hear your children and spouse giggling down the hall, you smell the freshly brewed coffee, with a light and happy heart you head to the kitchen and…pour the same tired, old, strangely-reminiscent-of-cardboard cereal for breakfast?! No! Such a perfect spring Saturday morning calls for pancakes! And, believe me, these hearty and healthy pancakes will have everyone around the table full, happy, and ready to enjoy their spring break adventures without a sugar crash.

Makes about 12 pancakes, depending on size.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups of whole wheat flour (could be made gluten free by substituting GF flour)
• 1 cup of old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup of coconut sugar
• 2 tbsp of whole flax seeds
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp of ground nutmeg
• Pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk
• 3/4-1 cup of water
• Optional toppings:
  • butter
  • coconut oil
  • maple syrup
  • honey
  • chocolate chips
  • unsweetened coconut
  • chopped fruit
  • chopped nuts

Directions:

• Heat your skillet over medium-low heat, and grease with desired cooking oil
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour through salt)
• Add egg, oil, and almond milk, stirring until combined
• Add water about 1/4 cup at a time, until it makes a fairly thin batter
• Spoon batter (your desired pancake size) into hot pan
• Once bubbles form and pop, flip and cook on the other side
• Repeat with remaining batter
• Serve warm with desired toppings
• Store leftovers covered in the fridge – they reheat fine in the microwave, good to grab and go!

I hope you and your family can enjoy a slow Saturday morning breakfast together; I’d guess that these pancakes could rouse even the most sullen teen out of bed 😉 For more breakfast ideas, check out my Whole30 Breakfast Hash, Turkey Sausage Breakfast Bake, Fruit and Nut Granola, Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal, or Peanut Butter and Chocolate Overnight Oats. I hope this season, in all of its newness, starts off wonderfully for you. Have some quality time at breakfast…and enjoy your pinch of crazy!

 

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Fruit and Nut Granola

A Healthy Snowball

If you’ve read my other breakfast posts, you know that mornings are early and slightly chaotic around here. If you haven’t read my other breakfast posts, you should 😉 I’ll even make it easy for you and leave you links here and here for some easy and healthy breakfast prep! But, seriously, it is tough to get in a healthy breakfast when you are trying to rush out the door in the morning. However, it is so important for your blood sugar and your metabolism…there’s a reason why they (whoever “they” is) say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day!

A healthy breakfast is good for your body, but I’ve found, also important for my mind. If I eat a donut for breakfast (and let’s be real, who eats just ONE donut?!), it is so much easier for me to make unhealthy choices the rest of the day. I will have low energy from my donuts so I won’t want to work out, but I will still be hungry because my nutritional needs weren’t met, so I may binge eat for lunch, and so on. But if I start my day out with a satiating, nutritional breakfast, that sets me on a healthy track for the rest of the day. After my healthy breakfast (and of course coffee), I will have the energy for a morning jog, then eat a healthy snack and drink some water when I get home, and it just snowballs in a healthy way.

So here I have refined sugar free Fruit and Nut Granola which you can prep ahead of time and grab and go! I hope you can make a batch to enjoy throughout your week and start your days with a healthy snowball!

Fruit and Nut Granola

Delicious with milk, plain Greek yogurt, or by itself! Makes about three cups.

Ingredients:

• One cup of old fashioned oats (GF if needed)
• 1/2 cup of almonds, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup of walnuts, coarsely chopped
• One tbsp of chia seeds
• One cup of dried fruit, chopped (I did half a cup of apricots, half a cup of dates)
• 1/2 to one tsp of cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• One generous tbsp of raw honey, plus more for drizzling
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 F
• Prepare large baking sheet with baking spray
• Combine dry ingredients except sugar on baking sheet
• In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, sugar, and honey
• Pour over mixture on the baking sheet
• Stir until everything is evenly coated
• Spread out in a single layer on baking sheet
• Bake for five minutes, stir, then bake for another 3-5 minutes until desired toastiness
• While still warm, drizzle with additional honey and let cool and harden

I mean no ill will against donuts, but if I start my day with donuts I know my sugar monster will stalk me all day. Who wants a monster stalking them all day?! I hope making this granola gets your monster off your trail and sets your healthy intention for the day. Eat a healthy breakfast…and enjoy your pinch of crazy!