Who loves pancakes? I don’t – not usually, anyway. If I am going to eat a pancake, it would have to be interesting. If I am going to make pancakes, they would have to be worth it.

They would have to freeze well and reheat well because I don’t have the energy (or time) to make from-scratch breakfast every morning. Don’t get me wrong, I love a sunrise, but most of the ones I have truly enjoyed happened before I went to bed (I am a night owl and insomniac).

I think with this recipe I have done it! I love these pancakes and my girls did too. Packed with Omega-3’s and fiber from the flax seeds and wheat germ and whole grain flour, I can feel good about the 4 (!) stack my 7 year old ate and the twins gobbling them up. I used to buy commercial freezer pancakes, but they were full of refined sugar and nothing of nutritive value and gave me mommy-guilt bad. I couldn’t wait to share this recipe. Now you can deliver a quick toaster-oven treat to your own monkeys in the morning that puts a smile on all of your faces! Just make a double batch, cool and freeze in zip top bags and you’ll have a pancake a day for the next 4 weeks.

The NUTS and BOLTS

Dry

• 1 c Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 c Unbleached All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 c Flax Seeds
• 1/2 Wheat Germ
• 2tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/3 c Sugar in the Raw (or other raw cane sugar)
• 1/2 tsp Granulated Sea Salt
• 1/2 – 3/4 Tbsp Good Cinnamon

Wet

• 2.5 c Low Fat Buttermilk (or soured milk – recipe follows)
• 2 Large Eggs, Lightly Beaten
• 2 Tbs Melted Butter

WHAT TO DO WITH IT ALL

Add all of your dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl.Take a whisk and stir thoroughly  until fluffed and well combined. Set your bowl aside and get a second small bowl in which to melt your butter. Microwave your butter for 10 – 15 seconds until just melted. Go ahead and pour it into the dry mix and crack 2 eggs into the empty butter bowl. Beat your eggs lightly to combine the yolks and whites and add to your batter. Follow with the buttermilk. Stir well to just combine – there may be lumps and the batter will appear loose. Let stand on the counter for at least 5 minutes and it will bubble and thicken slightly.

Heat a griddle sprayed with non-stick spray or butter to medium low. Use a 1/3 cup measure to dose out the batter onto the hot griddle. If you have made homemade pancakes before, you will know what to do. Look for the bubbles to rise and mostly pop before attempting to flip. These did take a little while longer to cook than I expected, but so worth the wait. A bonus: they held their heat very well.

We tried them with maple syrup – delicious. Blueberries and powdered sugar – also delicious. Two toppings I plan to make recipes for soon are coffee syrup and roasted apples. I’m salivating just thinking about it!

DONT HAVE BUTTERMILK?

How To Substitute: Per 1 cup buttermilk, use 1 Tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar and enough milk to equal a cup. Let stand 5 minutes. Use in place of buttermilk.

MONKEY METER

The eldest ate 4 (!) of them. Then she said that the flax seeds were a touch chewy. Next time I may grind them up before mixing in. 4 of 5

The Twinkies ate a whole pancake each plus a ton of blueberries, then asked for more pancakes. They asked for pancakes for dinner too. I think they were a hit. 5 of 5

All the grown-ups loved them, even trying them cold. Again, some people wont like the seeds whole. If your family is that way, grind the flax in a food processor till smooth before adding to the batter.  4.5 of 5