Grainy Morning

My favorite meal of the day is breakfast. It is so important to eat a good breakfast because what you eat first thing in the morning dictates your appetite for the rest of the day. If you start off healthy, you will be more likely to end healthy. I love eggs and whole wheat toast for breakfast with some plain greek yogurt and fruit on the side. What is your favorite breakfast meal?

My brother absolutely loves pancakes for breakfast and has come up with his own recipes that are variations on the basic pancake (cottage cheese pancakes anyone?). More recently I have bugged him to make pancakes using whole wheat flour instead of enriched flour. He came up with the following recipe. These pancakes are hearty and healthy while remaining delicious. Add a touch of maple syrup for natural sweetness or top with fresh berries and honey!

Combine all the ingredients (don't over mix) and cook on a hot griddle!

1c Whole Wheat Flour
1/4c Instant Oats
1t. Baking Powder
1/2t. Baking Soda
2T Flaxseed Meal
2T Wheat Germ
2T Honey
2T melted Butter
1 egg
1-1.5c Buttermilk or Milk

Rarely does he measure and as such these measurements are ball park figures, but try it out and play with the consistency.

Variation: I wasn't kidding about the cottage cheese pancakes! Cottage cheese adds a delicious touch to pancakes. Even if you don't like cottage cheese, these taste amazing (I haven't met someone yet who isn't surprised by how yummy they are). Add about a cup of cottage cheese to this recipe and cut out some of the flour. Exchange skim or 2% milk for the buttermilk and determine the amount of milk based on the consistency of your batter. Cottage cheese adds more protein to your pancakes while replacing some of the carbs. These are by far my favorite pancakes!