Pancakes

I grew up eating pancakes and waffles made from a mix, the sort where you just add water or just add milk and eggs.  For a long time, that is what I used in my own home.  That is, until I read the ingredients list on the mixes and also started thinking about how simple, affordable, and how much healthier it would be to make my own.  For a while I made pancakes using a basic recipe from The Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.  Then I started to experiment and find ways to make that much healthier for my family.  I have adjusted the recipe quite a bit and found a combination of ingredients that tastes great!

Shauna's Pancake Recipe

1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or use 1 cup and omit the white flour)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup ground flax seed
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
 Mix these dry ingredients together.

1 cup milk
1 beaten egg
1/4 cup of applesauce (no sugar added)
Mix these wet ingredients together, then combine and stir the wet and dry mixtures.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat and melt a tiny bit of butter in it.  Drop spoonfuls of batter onto the hot pan, turn them when you begin to see the first tiny bubbles of air coming up and/or edges look slightly dry.

And that is it!  Sometimes I add a mashed banana and/or blueberries to them.  They are sweet and flavorful enough from the whole wheat flour, flax seed, and applesauce (and other fruit) that I eat mine without adding any syrup, etc.   Leftovers are good if you warm them up in the oven or toaster oven.

There is a fun book written and illustrated by Eric Carle that would be perfect reading material if you make and/or eat these pancakes with your kids.  The book is titled "Pancakes, Pancakes!"