stone ground whole wheat flour

Vanilla-Almond Freezer Pancakes

May 29, 2014 by Dana

If your mornings are super busy making breakfast ahead, freezing it, and getting it out as needed is a great idea. These pancakes are loaded with nutrients and oats, which will give you lasting energy. I love knowing when I send my school aged son off to school that he won’t be super hungry before lunch time! If you don’t want to freeze this recipe I recommend cutting it in half.

Another reason to make your own pancakes to freeze instead of buying the store bought version are the ingredients. Here are the ingredients from Kellog’s Eggo Buttermilk Pancakes:

The Red Flags

Soybean oil: Highly refined, unhealthy fats, GMO, never a good option!
High Fructose Corn Syrup: Highly refined, GMO, will likely give a spike of energy, and a crash!
Enrichment: The fact that they are enriching these means they are not using a whole flour that still has natural nutrients in tact. If you are consuming whole, unrefined grains there is no need for enrichment. Our bodies are also more efficient at processing naturally occuring nutrients so that is always the best way to go.

Overall, the ingredient list is just in my opinion inferior. They use the worst ingredients in each category, then go back and enrich it. I know I don’t want to start my day with unhealthy fats, gmo’s, and HFCS! Also, if you are thinking of going the boxed mix route, some of those are even worse! Check out this post for the reasons why.

*To freeze simply place in ziplock bags and store in freezer.

Spicy Black Eyed Pea Burgers (Morningstar Alternative)

May 21, 2014 by Dana

Buying good food to feed a family of 5 can be expensive! One thing we try to do to save money, try new things, and be healthier overall is take the focus off of meat in our meals. There are so many unknowns about the meat industry in America, and quite frankly I just don’t trust any of the big name brands. We do buy organic meats, but they are super expensive! I do use a few tricks to stretch the meat we buy, but I also love throwing in one or two meatless meals every week. I like experimenting with new ingredients and creating new recipes that do not contain meat and so far my family has really loved all of veggie friendly meals I’ve served. My kids do love beans and I’ve been serving lentils to my toddler since before he could even talk. Both of these are awesome alternatives to meat and contain tons of protein and fiber.

Whole Wheat Apple and Oat Pancakes

May 16, 2014 by Dana

I mentioned before I had been trying to perfect my pancake recipe. When I’m creating recipes to use for my kids it does take a bit of trail and error with ingredients to get things just right. I’ve been making pancakes from scratch for quite some time now, so I’m familiar with what makes a good pancake! I also have 3 tiny taste testers to let me know what they like as well.

Nutrients

Of course, being a health conscious mom I also want to pack as many nutrients as I can into my kid’s breakfast. When my 7 year old son goes off to school in the morning I want to be sure he will have energy to last him until lunch time. The problem with sugary kids cereals and some frozen pancakes is that they are loaded with sugar and refined grains that give kids energy spikes, then crashes. Kids tend to loose focus easily and eating highly refined foods won’t help with that!

Oats provide long lasting energy and are iron rich, so I feel good about feeding them to my toddler and baby as well. Its awesome being able to make a breakfast like this and feed all 3 boys the same thing! The stone ground whole wheat flour in these is also naturally rich in iron, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and folate so your getting nutrients from grains without the bleaching and enriching refined grains go through. I’ll never understand the concept of stripping grains of their natural nutrients, then adding them back in. Getting back to basics and using stone ground whole wheat flour, rolled oats, and real apples make these pancakes a delicious way to start the day. They are great for snacks and lunchboxes as well!

*Here is a link to the flour I use: