Chocolate Pancakes

Pancakes are a hot commodity in our home. As in, "eat it while its hot before Darius does!" That boy is a pancake destroyer! With pancakes being on our regular breakfast menu I find myself reinventing the wheel a bit, simply to shake up the mundane. We have a wide variety of recipes now ranging from pumpkin, coconut, vanilla, and now chocolate. If you reach for the big blue bag of pancake mix at grocery stores you may reconsider when you see how easy and super inexpensive! it is to make your own from scratch; homemade pancakes taste about a bagillion times better! Oh, and did I mention that you can make these in your free time [or just a double batch at breakfast,] freeze them, and then have toaster pancakes another day? Pure laziness genius at its best!

 

Chocolate Pancakes

and original recipe by me!

1/3 c. unprocessed cocoa powder

1/2 c. hemp protein powder

1/2 c. old fashioned rolled oats

2 c. fresh ground whole wheat flour

2 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp baking soda

1 tbsp cinnamon

pinch of sea salt

1 tbsp vanilla

1/3 c. naturally creamed honey

2tbsp coconut oil, melted

2 c. coconut milk [in a carton, not a can]

1 c. water

Mix all of the ingredients together it's really that simple! while heating up a pancake griddle [I heat mine to about 300-350*F]. Once griddle is hot, and ingredients are combined, use 1/4c scoop to ladle batter onto the grill. Cook until bubbles start to form on surface [about three minutes,] then flip pancakes and cook for an additional one to two minutes. Serve hot and enjoy!

I like to enjoy my pancakes with natural peanut butter [meaning, when you look at the ingredients list all it says is 'peanuts'], hemp hearts, and a touch of 100% pure maple syrup with apple slices on the side. Sooo good!

 



Morning Glory

Around our home, there is one request that I receive more than," can you make some cookies today?" As we snuggle in bed, I ask Darius what he'd like for breakfast, and almost every morning his reply is,"um, how bout some pancakes?" Said so sweetly, and with such a hopeful smile, I have a hard time refusing the request. And so, more often than not, I make pancakes, and everyone is happy - including me because I know these pancakes are healthy for my little men! I shun away from packaged goods, and that includes when it comes to making breakfast for my kiddos. Which is the reason why I developed a pancake recipe that incorporates vegetables, natural plant proteins, and health fats. Make a batch of these for your family, and you can relax when they ask for a little syrup [as long as it's 100% pure maple syrup that is.]

Pumpkin Pancakes

an original recipe created by me!

 2 c. almond milk
1/2 c. water
1 c. pure pumpkin puree
2 tbsp coconut oil
3 tbsp. vinegar
2 c. stone ground whole wheat flour
1 c. raw frozen cashews [not salted]
1/4 c. chia seeds
1/4 c. hemp hearts
3 tbsp. honey
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. salt

Heat your pancake grill to 300*F. Put the cashews in a blender, and blend until a fine powder [having the cashews frozen ensures that they turn into a powder when blended, instead of turning into cashew butter.] Next, in a stand mixer, add all the ingredients, including the ground cashews, and blend together. Remember to use a spatula to clear off the sides of the bowl a few times while blending. Once all the ingredients are nicely blended, use a 1/4c. measuring cup and scoop batter onto the hot pancake grill. Make your pancakes nice and round, and remember to flatten them with the back of your spatula when you flip them so that they are not too thick [this will ensure that they cook all the way through.] Watch your pancakes so you know when to flip them, but I find that 3-5 minutes is the magic number per side. Yield approximately 18 pancakes

Once your pancakes are off the grill enjoy them with 100% maple syrup as my little Darius does, or with cut up fresh fruit on them as I do [I also love them with natural peanut butter spread on top of them!] If you have left overs [as we do every time I make them] freeze them for a quick toaster breakfast in mornings to come!

Enjoy!

Rainy Day

After two full days of rain, when we woke up this morning and saw the rain drops falling, yet again, my sweet little Darius was more than a little despondent. Seeing his little shoulders fall as he looked out the window, I knew I had my work cut out for me today. Time to put on my entertainer hat!

We had a camp out [in a REAL tent!] fought super villains, made cookies [just wait until I show you these babies! I'll post about them later as they deserve their very own post] and had a delicious warm breakfast for supper [yep, I'm that cool ha!]



My little Captain America. Today I was Thor...there is no picture evidence





Darius seriously passed out leaning on the counter while baking cookies! I never knew baking was so exhausting ha!

And now for the delicious breakfast we had for supper. It will warm you up, and bring some good old fashioned comfort on a cold day. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!


Katie's German Pancakes

Ingredients:

6 eggs

1 cup soy milk

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

5 tbsp chia seeds

2 tbsp coconut oil

Preheat oven to 450F. While your oven warms, and your house is finally warm in these pre-furnace months, place the coconut oil in your pan (I used a 9x13) and set it aside.

Place the remaining ingredients in a blender, and mix that goodness up!

When the oven is preheated, place the pan in the oven for three minutes to melt the coconut oil.

Remove the pan, with melted coconut oil from the oven, pour in the pancake mixture, and return to the oven. Set your timer for 17 minutes, and wait patiently!

When the pancake is baked, remove from the oven and let stand for a couple of minutes before serving. Score the bake (as pictured above) and serve with berries, nut butters, or honey.

What breakfast do you love to have for dinner? Or do you stick to tradition and only eat breakfast in the a.m.?