Banana Pancakes

Pancakes are always a hit in our house. They are easy to prepare, super versatile and never disappoint. I remember as kids, my mom would surprise us with breakfast for dinner. We would go bonkers! I realize now, after having my own kids, it was just a way for her to get a quick meal on the table. For us though, it was exciting, fun and delicious. These pancakes are just as good for dinner as they are for breakfast. They are so quick to bring together. In our house, we have pancakes at least once per week and then enjoy the leftovers for a quick breakfast or snack. If there happens to be any extras, which is rare, I will wrap them up and freeze them for a breakfast on a morning when we are pressed for time or to toss into a lunch box for a school snack. When I am planning to serve them fresh for breakfast, I often combine the dry ingredients in a bowl before I head to bed the night before, and mix up all the wet ingredients in a large measuring cup too, that way in the morning all I have to do is mix them together and off we go, gourmet breakfast in minutes!

This recipe calls for a mashed banana but this could easily be replaced by applesauce, pumpkin puree or any other fruit puree of choice. Really the options are endless. This trick adds moisture and sweetness to the pancakes as well as an extra boost of vitamins and minerals from the fruit. Once we pour batter on the griddle, we either add a few blueberries or a few chocolate chips. Serve topped with berries, sliced banana, butter and maple syrup and you are all set! For snacks at home, we often smother our pancakes with nut butter before digging in. So delicious and adds an extra punch of protein. We hope you enjoy these pancakes as much as we do!

Banana Pancakes

Makes 12-14 pancakes

Dry ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp sugar

sprinkle of salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Wet ingredients

1 tbsp oil (neutral works best, I use canola)

1 1/2 cups milk (any variety will work, I use unsweetened almond milk)

2 eggs

1 banana, mashed

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

• Warm up non stick griddle

• Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl and set aside

• Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl then add to dry ingredients and mix until just combined, its ok if there are a few lumps. You don’t want to over mix the batter

• Using a tablespoon measure (for smaller pancakes) or 1/4 cup measuring cup, pour batter onto hot griddle. Once bubbles start to form on the surface of the pancake they are ready to flip

• Allow pancakes to cook for another 1-2 minutes, then they are ready to serve!