Thursday, September 29, 2011

Buttermilk Oatmeal Pancakes


With school back in session and Liv's dance season heating up, a balanced diet filled with nutrients and fuel has moved to the forefront of my kitchen.  Neither of my kids are particularly fond of veggies, and since they were babies I've worked hard to find ways to sneak greens and other healthy additions into their diets through pancakes.

As babies they had carrot pancakes, zucchini pancakes, banana pancakes, sweet potato pancakes and pumpkin pancakes.  The addition of whole grains (whole wheat flour, spelt flour, ground flax meal, wheat germ, etc) helped bulk up the nutrition and  eggs and milk served to boost proteins and calcium.  Basically, the pancake was a meal in and of itself and they were happy.

To this day I try to start their day off with a good pancake in the morning and this week Vegetarian Times served up another hit.  Filled with heart healthy oatmeal, these Buttermilk Oatmeal Pancakes filled the kids up and set them off with a balanced start to their day.  The fact that they asked for seconds was a true bonus.

Prepping the night before, oatmeal is stirred with buttermilk and milk and allowed to sit in the fridge overnight.  In the morning the remaining ingredients are stirred into the batter and then dolloped onto a hot griddle.  Before their showers were even finished I had aromas of cinnamon wafting up the steps drawing my sleepy kids down for breakfast.


Buttermilk Oatmeal Pancakes
Vegetarian Times
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With the main ingredient of oatmeal, these pancakes don't cook up quite as fluffy as an all white flour pancake, but no one here seemed to notice.  Filled with heart healthy oatmeal and protein rich eggs and then topped with sliced bananas and chopped walnuts, these cakes are a veritable powerhouse of nutrition, filling your body with the fuel it needs to get through the day.

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups fat-free buttermilk
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
3 large eggs
1/2 cup unbleached flour
3 Tbs. honey
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
sliced bananas
chopped walnuts

Mix oats with buttermilk and milk in large bowl. Cover, and refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight. 

Whisk eggs, flour, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt into oatmeal mixture - just until combined.

Heat skillet or griddle over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray, or brush with melted butter or cooking oil. Pour 1/3 cup batter onto skillet for each pancake, spreading into 4-inch circle. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until bubbles start to appear on surface. Flip pancakes with spatula, and cook 1 to 2 minutes longer. Serve hot, topped with fruit compote, maple syrup, bananas and walnuts, or peanut butter, if desired.

29 comments:

  1. Mmmmm....I love these guilt free pancakes! Great way to star the day :)

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  2. You make me look like such a bad mother. Dudette walked out the door with an Oreo and a bag of Goldfish for breakfast. I guess if I prepped something decent the night before like you do, that'd help.

    those pancakes look absolutely fantastic.

    When I grow up, I hope I can be just like you.

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  3. Mm growing up my dad used to make all kinds of pancakes too! They are still my favorite thing to eat for Breakfast. And these sound like a great one!

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  4. What a delicious and healthy way to kick start the day! Yummy!!

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  5. Wow these pancakes look incredible, what a delicious breakfast!! :)

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  6. I am definitely making these tomorrow. I eyed the recipe in Vegetarian Times as well, but your post has pushed me over the edge. Thank you!

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  7. I totally need some pancakes right now! And I love that you can start these the night before!

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  8. These pancakes look so yummy and healthy at the same time. We will be making these this weekend!

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  9. What a way to start off the morning!! WOW these looks phenomenal

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  10. I would also add some chocolate chips! Yum! :D

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  11. Now these are some pancakes!! They look delicious and I love all the bananas on top!

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  12. Breakfast, lunch or dinner??? These pancakes look fantastic and I could eat them for any meal.

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  13. Hope your schedule isn't as crazy as mine has been. I need some pancakes Mommy, he he. We go on a two week break after tom. picture me dancing at the moment. lol. I want to see if we can make it down South next week.
    -Gina-

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  14. This is so healthy, must be in all breakfasts.

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  15. your kids are pretty lucky to be having pancakes everyday! they look delicious :)

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  16. Kim -- You are truly the pancake queen. I don't make them often, but I do love them. Maybe I'll surprise Michael and make a batch the next time I do breakfast for dinner!!

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  17. I made granola pancakes the other day... I love that you used oatmeal in yours! :D

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  18. Wouldn't I love to be at your house for breakfast for these delicious pancakes. I always have oatmeal in the house, and lately it just sits there...not using it for anything.

    Lovely pancakes, such a healthy and delicious addition with the oatmeal, and slices of banana on top!...as the saying goes "breakfast is the most imortant meals of the day"...in your household it's SO true:DDD

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  19. Delicious! I've recently discovered that I LOVE oatmeal - and I like them in pancakes, too!

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  20. Adore the oatmeal in there. As a Scot, it's the best way to start the day, even if they're less fluffy ;-)
    Love the addition of all the fruit you make. Your kids are SO lucky to wake up to this!

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  21. Anytime you can get something nutritious into your kids and they ask for seconds is a bonus! It's a win-win for everyone.

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  22. These pancakes sound so good! And good for you! This is definitely how I'd want to start my morning =)

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  23. These sound great! We make pancakes on the weekend so I think this needs to go into the recipe rotation. :-)

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  24. Sounds delicious! I'm sure the oatmeal gives the pancakes some nice texture.

    I ate pancakes frequently growing up, but never the variety you made for your children! Definitely a great idea to sneak those nutrients in.

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  25. These look so yummy! Great breakfast and love the bananas and walnuts too! Yum!

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  26. Oh, pancakes! I love pancakes with a passion, especially the buttermilk variety. I'm also a lover of oatmeal and walnuts so these look perfect for me.

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  27. These look great! Love the addition of oats and the lack of sugar. We'll be trying this this weekend for sure. Thanks for sharing!

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  28. For the first time I did I found the dough very loose, but maybe I used too much butter, but also the second time, I soak the oats in milk for about 10 minutes and seemed to really help absorb some of liquid.

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