Healthy Pancake Recipe

The other night, I finished re-reading one of my favorite books - Me and My Dad: A Baseball Memoir, by Paul O'Neill. The book ends with a pancake recipe from the O'Neill family, one that really got my salivary glands going for a short stack of freshly made pancakes with real maple syrup.

So the morning after finishing the book, I headed into the kitchen and whipped up the healthiest pancakes I could manage, and served them alongside a mountain of fresh fruit. The four of us - me, my wife, and our two boys - were grinning like crazy while we enjoyed this special treat. I think I may have even emitted a few moans of pleasure while we ate - I'm told that I do this, but I'm truly unaware of it if I do.

Anyway, foods made with flour aren't a great choice for promoting your best health, but if you're ever in the mood for a stack of fresh pancakes, I hope that you give the following recipe a try. Grinning like crazy and moaning with pleasure are allowed while you eat these yummy pancakes.

Healthy Pancake Recipe

Makes about 4 portions

Ingredients:

1 cup oats
1 cup best quality flour you have
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1.5 cups non-dairy milk (almond, rice, soy, other)
2 eggs (preferably organic and from free-range birds)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (or coconut oil if you prefer fluffier pancakes)
More olive or coconut oil for the pan
2 tablespoons honey or other sweetener of your choice
Maple syrup
Variety of fresh fruit

Directions:

1. Heat a little olive oil in a large pan over medium heat - use enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan.

2. Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and give a quick stir.

3. Add wet ingredients and whisk until batter is smooth - the oats will create a slightly bumpy appearance; the idea is to make sure that the powdery ingredients are well combined with the wet ingredients.

4. For even-sized pancakes that stack nicely, use a small ladle to transfer batter to pan, and fill the ladle to about the same level every time.

5. When the pan is sufficiently warm (the light coat of olive oil will look a little shimmery if you're using a stainless steel pan), transfer enough batter to the pan to create the size that you desire. If you can make more than one pancake at a time, go for it.

6. When bubbles begin to appear, give the pancakes a flip and cook for another minute or two. If they're darker than you'd like, lower the heat a bit for the next round.

Serving these healthy pancakes with a mountain of fresh fruit is definitely the way to go. We had blueberries, freshly sliced bananas, and crisp Fuji apple slices with ours.

I hope that you enjoy this healthy pancake recipe as much as we do. If you have a favorite healthy pancake recipe, please consider sharing via the comments section below. Thank you.