[Edited to add a healthy fat source -- no small triumph!]

I’ll admit it. I’m something of a pancake junkie.

When I was a kid, my favorite breakfast was my mom’s homemade pancakes, which she stirred up on many a weekend morning. In my teens, I took that recipe and tweaked it, adding enough butter and sugar to a single recipe of pancakes to harden the arteries of a horse instantaneously. (As a professional baker, butter was my number one ally.) That recipe kept me and my family pretty unhealthy and overweight for years and years. (They did taste good at the time, but man, were they bad for us.)

Then I started eating more healthfully and decided to branch out into pancakes that were at least a little less harmful to the health. It took some searching, but eventually I found a recipe that sounded acceptable and contained oats to add more fiber and flavor. But that recipe still had copious amounts of butter and buttermilk, which I stopped eating by choice to improve my health, so I tweaked it a little and used whole grain flour instead of white flour for the batter.

And then I learned that I’d also need to give up wheat if I wanted to breathe without assistance (which seemed like a pretty good reason — it turns out that wheat was my major asthma trigger), which meant even more tweaking. I probably also did a lot of complaining, but after much ado I finally came up with a version of pancakes that’s about as healthy as you can make them without, well, just eating them as oats.

For those of you reading this recipe who follow Dr. Fuhrman’s dietary recommendations (get more info on Dr. Fuhrman), this isn’t 100% in line with his guidelines, but it’s pretty close. First, pancakes get a little browned, meaning that acrylamides form when the pancakes are baked. Secondly, without a small amount of added fat, the pancakes don’t actually form a decent crust, which is pretty much what allows pancakes to be pancakes and not liquid mush. Of course, fats are necessary in a healthy diet, but until very recently, I hadn’t found a whole food fat source that worked. I am thrilled to share that I just discovered that almond butter can be used instead of oil in this recipe! I also use apple juice and a very small amount of honey to sweeten the recipe, though the honey is optional.

I like serving these for special occasions and anytime there’s a crowd around that isn’t quite as health-minded as my household is. I top them with a simple apple-cinnamon compote (recipe follows) or a big bowl of sliced strawberries, blueberries and bananas, and thus far I’ve had no complaints. :) If you’re so inclined, a little maple syrup would be good as well.

For the pancakes, here’s what you need:

- 2 c. rolled oats
- 1.5 c. apple juice (fresh or the high-quality, non-translucent storebought kind is best)
- 1 tsp. alcohol-free vanilla
- 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 egg (or 1 tbsp. ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp. water)
- 1.5 tsp. vegetable oil or 2 tbsp. raw almond butter (creamy)
- 2 tsp. honey (optional)
- 1/3 c. whole wheat flour or 1/2 c. oat flour (can be made by blending 1/2 c. rolled oats in Vita-Mix — you can also add in 1 tsp. xanthan gum if desired to add a little stickiness to the oat flour-based recipe)
- 1 tsp. baking powder (optional when you cook with oat flour — I don’t use this myself anymore because it just adds unneeded sodium)
- Water as needed to thin batter, one tablespoon at a time

Either the night before or 1-1/2 hours prior to making pancakes, put oats and apple juice in large bowl. Cover and refrigerate.

Remove bowl from fridge and add in all additional ingredients as listed above. If you use flaxseed and water instead of egg, allow flax/water mixture to gel up a bit for 5 minutes before adding to mixture. Stir well (if using whole wheat flour, be careful not to overmix). Add in just enough water so that batter is still somewhat thick, but can be flattened/smoothed with a spoon without much effort. (Every batch seems to be different, depending on how long the oats have soaked.)

Heat griddle or griddle pan to medium-low heat; pan is ready when drops of water sizzle and evaporate on pan in a few seconds. These pancakes are thicker than others due to the oats, so use a lower temperature than you usually would and cook pancakes slightly longer.

When griddle is ready, drop pancake batter by tablespoon onto the pan, smoothing each pancake out before adding the next pancake’s batter. Pancakes should be the size of a homemade oatmeal cookie.

Flip pancakes carefully once bubbles begin to form and then pop; cook until done on both sides. Make sure not to overcook, and adjust temperature of burner/griddle if need be between batches. Place cooked pancakes on a plate and cover with foil or a clean dishcloth to keep warm until serving.

Serves 2-3

For the apple compote, here’s what you need: (I put this on about 5 minutes before I begin cooking the pancakes)

- 2 apples, chopped
- 1/4 c. raisins
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 c. apple juice  (fresh or the high-quality, non-translucent storebought kind is best)

Place all ingredients in small saucepan and stir well. Cook over medium heat until apples are slightly tender (or until desired tenderness) and liquid has cooked down. Serve with oatmeal pancakes.

Healthy eating notes:

Notice that I do not add any salt to this (or any other) recipe; we get plenty of sodium from the whole foods we eat, though you can salt to taste if you wish. In this recipe, 1/4 tsp. salt would be all you need. As someone who almost never eats any added salt whatsoever, I also don’t add baking powder, which also adds in quite a bit of sodium to the recipe, but I make the version out of oats. However, it is necessary to add baking powder if you make this with whole wheat flour.

Gluten-free: I use gluten-free rolled oats from GlutenFreeOats.com; Bob’s Red Mill also has gluten-free oats, which can be found in many health food stores and better grocery stores such as Whole Foods.

Copyright 2009 Jennifer McCay

www.LeanGreenMama.com