Whole Wheat Pancakes

We eat pretty healthy most of the time, but some weekends it’s fun to splurge a little! Actually, since my recipe is made with whole wheat flour, you don’t even have to consider these a splurge. You really can have your (pan)cake and eat it too! We all know that bananas are a super food and at just 111 calories per pancake, now you have no reason not to dig in and enjoy some with the kids. Pancakes from scratch don’t really take much longer than a store-bought mix, and using fresh whole ingredients is so much healthier than what you’ll find in a box.

One requirement of making pancakes on the weekends, though, is that you must be in your pajamas. My kids love to help in the kitchen and I enjoy doing it with them. It’s something I hope I always remember about this fleeting phase of my life; making pancakes on Saturday morning with my kids in our PJs. What’s better than that?

Before you get started, here’s a tip that I hope will save you time later on. Double or quadruple the dry ingredients part of this recipe and store it in a container. I used this canister that the Stonewall Kitchen store-bought mix I used to use came in. Then when you are ready to make pancakes next time, you can use it just like you would Bisquick. You’d still measure out one cup of the dry mix and then just add the milk, butter and egg and stir. If the batter seems too runny, add a little more of the dry mix until it reaches the desired thickness. Another time-saving tip; cook up extra pancakes to freeze and use for breakfast on busy school mornings. Just reheat and breakfast is served!

Whole Wheat Pancakes with Dark Chocolate and Bananas

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup sugar or 1/2 cup honey
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1 large egg
Dark chocolate morsels (optional)
Fresh bananas (optional)
Maple syrup

Whisk together flour, sugar (or skip if using honey), baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl whisk milk, egg and butter (plus honey if you skipped sugar). Combine wet and dry ingredients and stir well. Spray skillet with nonstick spray or use melted butter. Pour batter onto hot skillet using a ladle. Add chocolate chips (if using). Once bubbles rise, flip each pancake. Finish cooking and remove from skillet. Top with banana slices and drizzle with pure maple syrup.