Half Is Good (Recipe)

I love breakfast. I've never overlooked it.
I also love Quick breakfasts and Healthy breakfasts. And if the two get along in the morning, all is well for the day.
And so I'm going to share this "Make Half Your Grains Whole" pancake recipe that is certainly "not from scratch." And I cook them four at a time.

Adapt this to what makes sense and to your own resources.
I, for one, use all my cast iron cook ware for breakfast, if it's called for. It keeps me from standing over the stove for long and I just wipe out the pans and they are done. There are even more reasons dotted throughout this post for cast iron. You, too, can find cast iron cookware new or second hand... it's purely wonderful... and I do wash mine with a bit of soap regularly.
Let's get started, shall we?
From left:
Cooking spray, pancake mix, whole wheat flour, ground flax, vanilla, and (front and center) a hand full of walnuts, plus water... Anything other than the mix and flour are optional! So you go ahead and play around with it. It's just pancake batter, lest I remind you. But it has the potential to be brilliant, if done well to your tastes.

Now, picture the morning greeting a night owl. If I just roll out of bed, and my instincts are raw, I know my kids will want pancakes. Pancakes are in our breakfast rotation, but the fact that A)My girls are pretty easy going and B) I've perfected these pancakes as such that C) They forget to ask for the chocolate chip version! with Nutella spread on top! We have it much more regularly. First thing I do is turn on all the burners under pans (aka QUICKER breakfast). Medium heat. The beauty of cast iron shining through.
Then I gather my ingredients and my bowl. I suppose if you want to go even faster, you could mix your various dry ingredients ahead of time in batches and store air tight, as that would save even more time. If you want to be one of those people. Morning, organized, stellar people, I mean.
In a mixing bowl add equal parts whole wheat flour and pancake mix. I often use one cup each, but that seems plenty for us three. (Jake is just getting to work having seen elk, the ocean, lots-a rain, jumbo snowflakes, and everything in between in commute.)
Add two to three tablespoons of flax. Goodness.

Crush the walnuts with another cast iron pan (I'll seek professional help, I promise.) and add to the bowl.
Simply put: combine all your dry ingredients and mix well.

Then add enough water to keep it thick. Use muscles to stir. A.M. workout complete.
Add a teaspoon of vanilla. (My theory on vanilla is that since we usually associate vanilla with very sweet things, adding it without the sugar in this instance makes it seem like you are eating the equivalent of a pastry, without any sugar at all. I do in fact use this to lessen sugars in other instances. I just don't tell anyone.)

Add to preheated cast iron and adjust heat if needed. Evenly spread batter as needed.
Do not touch, flip, or peek underneath until air bubbles have appeared through the batter and it begins to dry. Then flip only once and give 'em a press into the pan. Please. Go about your morning routine and come back.

After flipping, I mean I seriously press them down into the surface heat, no superficial spatula smacks for me. This keeps their moisture. Flavor. Oils. With nice outer layers. Good bite, and all that. At least try it once. Another awesome thing about cast iron, is that I can turn off the burners next thing, and they finish cooking on their own. Not using any more electricity. And since it's more gentle cooking, they don't burn. Great for people who drift away from the stove for a spell, like me. But you don't have to; you might need to turn down the temperature slightly.

Ding Ding! Order Up!

(Another health tidbit is that I get my kids interested in produce with "silly" names. D'Anjou pear is a favorite. But only if said with extreme gusto. Okay, as long as I'm "silly" and the pears are juicily ripe. A small and yummy price to pay for a healthy breakfast and parental conscience. And mounting skills in picking good produce.)

Unless you've got  a coveted bottle of pure maple syrup, dot with real butter and serve with a smear of peanut butter -or Agave nectar. My new favorite.
In conclusion, when it comes to whole grains: half is good. If not a step in a promising direction. Have a sunshiny day, America.

More of my "recipes" to come, even gluten free.
Fun, right? Mmmmmmm!