Triple Banana-Flax Pancakes

Triple Banana-Flax Pancakes

I have always hated funerals and graveyards. It has to do a lot with my mother and the child she lost before I was born. He had the same breathing problems that my oldest developed during labor, but didn't have the state of the art NICU that I was fortunate to have 30 years later. When I was a teen my mother decided to try to find his grave. I went with her and quietly held her hand when she found out there was no grave marker. A tiny piece of my heart left me that day to stay with the brother that I was never able to meet. Last week my husband's family experienced a loss. My first reaction was to find a way to get out of it. I was cranky the entire 1 1/2 hour drive to the service. We were late since my youngest son got very sick on the way. I ended up sitting in the back seat rubbing his back the entire time and we arrived 10 minutes before the memorial service ended. After the graveside service the family went back to the church for lunch. As I sat next to my father-in-law with tears in his eyes, it struck me. Just like I sat and held my mother's hand at the cemetery, my husband and his family needed me. When someone passes away those left behind are the ones that need our love and support. It was no longer about me and my comfort, but what I could provide for my family who I love beyond measure.  I hope that I was able to at least bring a little comfort to my husband, kids and the family that even though I am not related by blood I would do anything for. Family is the thing that binds us together in times of grief. Since last week was a long week with a funeral and the first day of school I made sure that everyone ate nutritious breakfasts. I tried a new recipe for Triple Banana-Flax Pancakes from the September 2013 issue of Parents magazine.

Old Building Wayne County, WV

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 45 minutes of total time, 25 minutes of which is active and makes 12 pancakes. Since I was making these pancakes for my kids I did not make this recipe gluten free. While they will eaten gluten free, they prefer wheat flour and at least once a week I make bake and cook for them with regular flour. If you have never tried making your pancakes on a griddle, I recommend it highly. It is the best way that I have found to have light, golden brown pancakes. I left out the canola oil since on my griddle I never have a problem with things sticking and I like to save a little bit of fat where possible. They still turned out nice and brown without it. Make sure to spread out the pancakes for them to cook evenly. That way there will not be any doughy spots. Additionally, slice the bananas thin so that the bottoms of the pancakes brown nicely without the bananas burning.

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My two kids were big fans of these pancakes. When my oldest first saw that the pancakes had bananas cooked in he wasn't sure. He was quickly won over by the first bite and ate three. They worked well with either butter or maple syrup. My oldest preferred maple syrup, while my youngest was a fan of melted butter. They would also be delicious with a combination of both. I froze the leftover pancakes and re-heated them in my toaster oven for a quick weekday breakfast. Freezing big batches on the weekend is a great way to save time and is much cheaper than buying pancakes frozen at the store (plus they taste much better!).

For the recipe go to Triple Banana-Flax Pancakes. (registration required)

Triple Banana-Flax Pancakes

Recipe Type: Breakfast

Summary:

A kid friendly recipe for pancakes with flaxseed meal and fresh bananas. Freeze well for big batch cooking.

Preparation Time: 0h, 25m

Total Time: 0h, 45m

Yield: 12 Pancakes

Glutenfree Blueberry-Flax Buttermilk Pancakes

I love pancakes. Growing-up Sunday mornings were my favorite time of the week. It always meant a big breakfast with bacon and pancakes. Lots and lots of pancakes, piled high with butter and real maple syrup. My two boys have carried on my love of pancakes. Their eyes go wide when they see me pulling out the griddle to make their favorite breakfast food. However, after I started having problems eating gluten pancake breakfasts were something that I wasn't able to enjoy. Luckily I found that brown rice flour can work beautifully in pancakes and they can be a part of a healthy breakfast routine. Recently, I made a new recipe for Gluten free Blueberry-Flax Buttermilk Pancakes from Everyday Food magazine, which looked delicious and perfect for a big breakfast.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes a total of 30 minutes, all of which is active and makes 4 servings. Since the original recipe was not gluten free, I obviously made a number of modifications. First instead of all-purpose flour I used brown rice flour. I used low-fat buttermilk instead of full-fat and frozen blueberries. I made no further ingredient modifications. Instead of a skillet I made my pancakes on a griddle, which I love since the pancakes always come out evenly browned. I always melt a tablespoon of butter on my griddle when making pancakes, it makes the outside delicious. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I loved how light and fluffy these pancakes turned out. It's the worst feeling when you try a new pancake recipe and they end up flat and tasteless. These pancakes were nothing like that. Plus with 18 grams of protein per serving they are a great breakfast option. This is definitely  a recipe I would make again in the future.

For the recipe go to Blueberry-Flax Buttermilk Pancakes.

Better Homes and Gardens Loaded Oatmeal Cookies

My family loves sweets and I make them at least once a week. I have tried unsuccessfully to cut out sugar multiple times and have come to the conclusion that since we eat healthy most of the time an occasional homemade treat is fine. Additionally, I find baking very comforting. My mom and I used to bake cookies frequently together and I have passed on the tradition to my own children. There is something very comforting about baking and eating homemade cookies. In the past year I have been trying to find new ways to make sweets, while incorporating adding nutrition. Recently Better Homes and Gardens magazine had a recipe for Loaded Oatmeal Cookies using flaxseed meal and wheat germ, which looked healthy and delicious.

This recipe has 15 ingredients. It makes 30 cookies and takes approximately 30 minutes of prep and 9 minutes of cooking per batch. I had no problems finding all the ingredients at my local store, even the flaxseed meal was easy to find in the organic section. I used 80 percent cocoa dark chocolate in bar form and then chopped. I found that the cookies cooked very quickly, watch to make sure they don't overcook and burn. I followed the recipe as stated, however, it could easily be modified to use almonds or sunflower seeds instead of walnuts.

These cookies were very good and my household ate the whole batch in a couple of days. I love that they have the added benefits of flaxseed meal, wheat germ, dark chocolate, cranberries and chopped walnuts. The taste is delicious and my kids didn't notice that they were healthy. A great way to add nutrition to baked goods and would make a great healthy snack.

For the recipe go to Loaded Oatmeal Cookies.