Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancakes

If you don't know me well enough yet, one thing you will know now is that my most favourite meal of the day is breakfast. I feel that a good breakfast will sustain you throughout the day, and I cannot go about my day without having something to eat! 

I got this recipe from  "Cook This Not That!" by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding (2010). This is a fantastic book as it can help those who love to eat find alternatives to cook healthier alternatives that are just as tasty or even better (especially for your health!).

On page 26 they featured Oatmeal Pancakes with Cinnamon Apples. Now, I did not completely follow the recipe as I didn't have everything and I like to experiment and replace things with others. I didn't make the apple sauce, but if you are interested in the original recipe, click HERE.

In order to make these pancakes, you will need:

Yield: 8-12 pancakes

• 1 ½ cups buttermilk - if you don't have buttermilk, so you can use milk or any milk alternatives (I used almond milk and milk) and white vinegar (about 1 cup milk : 1 tablespoon vinegar ratio)
• ¾ cup instant rolled oats - if you don't have instant rolled oats (which is better imo), you can ground up the oatmeal in a food processor or soak your oats in the buttermilk mixture for about 10 mins or longer
• ¾ cup whole-wheat flour - I used pastry whole wheat flour from Bulk Barn
• 2 Tbsps milk or milk alternative
• 1 Tbsp melted butter or an alternative - I used Earth Balance
• 1 ½ tsps baking powder 
• ½ tsp baking soda 
• Pinch of cinnamon 
• Pinch of nutmeg 
• Small pinch of salt
• Fruit topping of your choice (I like bananas)
• Sweetener of your choice if needed (honey, maple or agave syrup, etc.)

IMPORTANT: Always remember that when it comes to measuring pastry stuff, be accurate! And make sure you know you're not mixing up baking powder and baking soda!



Combine dry ingredients first, and then slowly combine your buttermilk until you get a somewhat runny (but not too runny!) pancake mixture.

 Put your man to medium to medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add your preferred base (butter, oil, cooking spray, etc.). I personally love to use my Earth Balance Spread :).  Scoop however much of pancake batter you like and scoop it into the pan, and it should make a circular shape (like a pancake!). Make as many as your pan fits. When you see lots of bubbles forming, that's your cue to flip the pancake!  

  NOTE* I think you should wait for more bubbles than this picture, so wait until you see more bubbles forming in the middle of the pancake!

 Flip, BOOM! Golden brown! Cook for about 2 more minutes and your first batch of pancakes should be done! Make the rest of the batter. I think this recipe should yield about 8-12 pancakes depending on size.

Instead of the apple sauce, I just sliced up some bananas and put a syrup of my choice. In this case I used agave syrup. You can use honey or maple syrup, it's better for you than the conventional pancake syrup! Taste wise? YUM! I really like it and I would definitely make it again! It's kinda cool how no eggs are used in this recipe. So this recipe, with substitutions can be made vegan for those lovely vegan people out there :)! This recipe is super easy to follow.

If you have extra pancakes, throw them in the freezer and and then just pop them in a toaster for a quick yet healthy and satisfying breakfast. I use parchment paper to separate each pancake and put them in a clear plastic bag (I just reused the bags you put vegetables in when you buy them from the supermarket).

I hope you give this recipe a try!

Mung Bean Oatmeal

I am currently attending classes at Whole Foods Market about their Health Starts Here program. For more information check out:

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/healthstartshere/

Someone asked what would be the healthiest breakfast and she responded with Oatmeal. So here is my recipe for a simple, extremely healthy (and tasty!) oatmeal:

Here I have:

• Oatmeal  - I got mine at Bulk Barn. I highly recommend Whole/Rolled Oats since they contain more nutritional value. Don't be fooled by quick oats or one minute oats, it really does not take that long for regular oats to cook (maybe extra 2 minutes?) I think it is worth the little extra time for more nutritional value!
• Cooked Mung Beans - I made them ahead of time. Beans can take a while to cook. Make sure you presoak it first (overnight is perfect) before cooking. It will get rid of any preservatives used and activate the bean to (of course) have more nutritional value.
• Liquid of your choice - You can use milk, a milk alternative (such as soy) or water. In this case I am using rice milk (because rice milk is so tasty!) 
• Banana - .....banana
• Honey - They say unpasteurized is better (again, more nutrients), but I only have the regular pasteurized billy bee honey, so this will do for now

1. Heat up the liquid on medium heat until you start to see steam. 

2. Add your desired  amount of oatmeal.

You can adjust whether you want your oatmeal more chunky or creamy by adding/reducing your liquid/oatmeal. You don't want to add more oatmeal too late though, or else you will end up with some undercooked oatmeal.

3. Keep stirring to prevent burning!
4. Put mung beans in the bowl you will be eating in (reheat them if so desired).

4. Add oatmeal on top of the beans.
5. Add banana (sliced the way you like it)
6. Drizzle honey, mix together and voila! Tasty and nutritious! 

I actually made too much here, but I saved what I have left for the next day. Saving time and money :)

* I did not specify how much of what of what because I just free handed this. You can add more or less of whatever depending on what you like! Don't worry too much about measurement. The only time you should worry is when you bake things (such as cakes and breads!).