I have nephews who love fluffy pancakes (Nathan, Shane and Harry to name three)! So, I played around with my old recipe from days of yore, to add some more protein and nutrients and they turned out pretty well!
Benefits of Ingredients
Eggs are a great source of protein and brain healthy nutrients like Vitamin B12 and Choline, in addition to good cholesterol which we need for our hormone production.
Natural yoghurt might not be every child’s first choice due to its tart taste, but there are many ways that we can incorporate them into foods that they like and believe it or not, they work great in pancakes. Yoghurt contains live bacteria and so is great to include in our diet to keep our gut healthy and it also has protein. Lemon juice contains vitamin C and a wee bit of iron and honey is antibacterial.
Most importantly they are fun to make! You can play around with the toppings and add nuts or chopped seeds for more protein with a home made chocolate spread instead of a sugar loaded brand. By the way I have tested the chocolate spread on aforementioned nephews and it got the thumbs up too!
Egg Safety at this link and more benefits of eggs here
Ingredients (makes 4 medium pancakes)
- Free Range Organic (if possible) Eggs X 2
- Natural Soya or Dairy Yoghurt or Greek Yoghurt X 1/2 Cup
- Honey X 1/2 teaspoon
- Gluten Free Flour X 100g
- Baking Powder X 1 teaspoon
- Lemon X 1/4
- Almond Milk X 1/2 cup approx (or dairy if you prefer)
- Berries x 1/2 Cup
Method
- Whisk the eggs in a jug or bowl
- Add the Flour and baking powder and mix well
- Add the yoghurt, honey and lemon juice and mix until smooth
- Slowly add the milk until you have the consistency you like (not too runny if you like a think fluffy pancake)
- Warm a pan (I use a non stick – not teflon – pan so don’t need oil)
- Using a soup ladle, spoon 3/4 ladle of the mixture onto the pan on medium heat
- When the base has set and you see holes on the top of the pancake, flip over to cook the other side gently
- When serving, you could top with more yoghurt and berries, and add some more nuts or seeds
- You can make a home made chocolate sauce by melting squares of dark chocolate in a ramekin and adding a tiny drizzle of honey to sweeten
These pancakes are a great start to the day and remember that protein helps us to stay fuller for longer. Protein and fibre together help to slow down the release of glucose into our blood and so regulate our blood sugar levels. The berries also contain vitamin C, I also added walnuts to serve for protein, fibre and omega 3 and pumpkin seeds for protein, fibre and zinc!
You could also add a tablespoon of cacao (great source of magnesium) to the mixture to add a chocolate taste, which might encourage your kids to try them! Magnesium is great for our bones, teeth, muscles, energy production and brain health. Much better than sugary cereals for sure!