- Jas
Healthy Pancakes
Updated: Mar 19, 2019
My new year's resolution this year was to be a better cheerleader; for myself, for friends and family, and for anyone really, be it acquaintance, colleague, or stranger. I asked around what people were working on that I could cheer them on and got a variety of answers.
There was being more confident, being open and unassuming about other people's intentions, and two that just wanted to make it through a pregnancy. Then there were the fitness goals, like getting in more steps and being able to do pull ups.
Fitness and weight loss goals always seem to be the most popular new year's resolutions. We figured a couple weeks into the new year, most people are probably still sticking to their new year's resolutions to get into shape.
We decided to explore some healthy pancake recipes and try them out! Most were flourless, or used ripe bananas to avoid other added sugars.
This is one of those times where I am reminded that what is healthy can mean a lot of things, for a lot of different people. If you're on a keto diet, you might want ones that are flourless or use almond flour. If you're in this house, we need to be careful about fats, so using a lot of egg yolk is not really an option. If you're diabetic, I've seen people use various sugar replacements.
Here is the recipe from Genius Kitchen, which we thought best fit our personal needs for what is healthy.
The recipe uses egg whites, which was good for us since the yolk is where the fats are, uncooked oatmeal, a little vanilla extract and cinnamon, and half a banana to sweeten the batter.
The recipe tells you to throw it all in a blender and blend on high for 15-20 seconds, and then make pancakes the way you would........
I had some concerns. There did not seem to be a lot of liquid in the ingredients list, and I didn't think we would end up with a nice pancake batter consistency. I also didn't think the 15-20 seconds would be enough to blend everything into a fairly smooth batter, especially with the oatmeal.
I swear we did it exactly as described in the directions and most of my concerns were correct. The batter was so thick, it didn't really move or pour out of the blender. I used skim milk to adjust the consistency. So below, we have our edits for these healthy pancakes.
Ingredients:
2 egg whites
1/2 banana, ripe
1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal
1/3 cup skim milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
dash of cinnamon
Directions:
1. Blend uncooked oatmeal in blender until it has a flour like consistency. Note that this is optional. I did not want a lot of oatmeal pieces in my pancakes, but if you're short on time or don't really care you can through everything in together.
2. Add remaining ingredients and blend until mixed together. If batter is still too thick, you may want to add another splash of milk or water. If you use a banana that is not very ripe, you may need additional milk to get the pancake batter at a consistency that you can pour.
3. Pour pancake batter onto non-stick skillet that has been sprayed with a little PAM and cook on medium-high heat.
4. Top with butter, syrup, or even a sugar free jam.
5. Enjoy!
These pancakes were very dense. I think we both could barely finish two. With most recipes for healthy pancakes, I would not expect fluffy pancakes as the ingredients just don't allow for that. Depending on the actual mix of ingredients you might find that you can really taste the egg in healthy pancakes as well which is one complaint I have heard about recipes for healthy pancakes.
When it comes to healthy versions of our favorite foods, remember two things.
1. There is no one size fits all for healthy.
2. Everyone has a different bar for what they are willing to swap out, and how much they're willing to give up on flavor or texture in order to be healthier.
If this helps with your new years resolution, play around and let me know what other healthy swaps you've tried! Or let me know what your resolution is! I am happy to be your cheerleader as well!
