BF Kid Zone: Trail Mix Pancakes

Anyone who knows me and the divas in real life should know we are unapologetic food snobs. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that boxed pancake mix is forbidden in my house.

One might think this means I spend a lot of time making pancakes. Not so! My 12 year old has gotten so adept at mixing up her own that I don’t have to set foot in the kitchen on Saturday mornings, our appointed pancake day!

For this pancake, though, I did venture into the kitchen. The idea started with that Trail Mix protein shake for kids that I shared…last week? Anyway, back in May I was in Michigan visiting Pam and she gave me a muffin she made where she used oatmeal as the starch instead of flour.

That idea had been percolating in my head for a while now and I’d been wanting to play around with it. Thinking on the trail mix shake, I wondered if it could translate into a pancake? (Only in my mind does all this come together in a way that makes any sense.)

It did translate. And it was nummy!
This recipe makes approximately four pancakes. A tall stack for your favorite short stack.

Nik’s Trail Mix Pancakes

¾ c. quick oats
1/8 tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
2 tbsp almond slices
1 tbsp almond butter
½ a very ripe banana
1/8 tsp pumpkin pie spice
¼ c. raisins
1 large egg

Step One:

Use your blender to grind up your oatmeal into oat flour (admittedly, one could just buy oat flour but this method is cheaper!).

Step Two:

Add to said blender the remainder of your ingredients (except the raisins) and blend until smooth. Like so:

Step Three:

Spray down your griddle (or a frying pan) with nonstick, let it heat up then add equal sized dollops (I use a quarter cup measure).

While they are cooking on the one side, add the raisins. I first had this allusion of making a smiley face or a heart. But that pan is hot! If you have any success with that, lemme know.

Step Four:

Flip when bubbles start appearing on the top of the cakes and cook another minute or two.

I admit it! I had a bite (or three). They were good! Crunchy though. Some kids might not like that. If yours is one of them, omit the almond slices. I served this with some sugar-free pancake syrup (oddly my child prefers the sugar-free to the regular).

And the larger point here is that I know a lot of you want to feed your families healthy food. You have seen the light and you want to share it! The important thing to remember is to meet your family, especially your kids, where they’re at. My kids like pancakes, so I’m always striving to make their pancakes a little healthier.

Enjoy!