Oatmeal & Banana Pancakes with Pomegranate Syrup

Today was my friends last day visiting me in Texas, and we wanted a healthy breakfast, so we made these pancakes.  I know you are thinking what, pancakes aren't healthy, but these are.  These pancakes are loaded with complex carbs, yet contain no saturated fat.  plus, the pomegranate juice is high in polyphenols! Bonus!!  I found this recipe in the latest issue of Clean Eating Magazine.

Pomegranate syrup:

1 cup pomegranate juice

2 T. honey

Pancakes:

3 medium bananas, plus 1 sliced banana for garnish

1/2 cup low-fat milk

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 cup rolled oats, ground to a coarse flour in a food processor

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

2 egg whites, whipped to soft peaks

olive oil cooking spray

1. To make syrup, whisk juice with honey in a small saucepan.  Bring mixture to a boil over medium high  heat, then drop heat to medium.  Simmer mixture and reduce it to a syrup, about 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and let syrup cool slightly before using.
2. To make pancakes, add bananas, milk, and vanilla to a blender and puree until smooth.  In a large bowl, whisk together ground oats, rolled oats, flour, salt, and baking powder.  Fold banana puree into dry ingredients to form a thick batter, taking care not to overwork it.  Gently fold in whipped egg whites.  Heat a large non stick skillet coated with cooking spray to medium heat.  Add portions of batter, leaving room for pancakes to expand.  Cook until lightly browned, about 1 1/2 minutes per side.  Serve with banana slices and a drizzle of pomegranate syrup.

THE VERDICT:  I'm not a huge fan  of pancakes, but I would eat these everyday.  We loved them, and they defiantly hit the spot before our workout.

Had To Use Up The Rest Of The Buttermilk....2 Quick and Easy Recipes

So I had lots of extra buttermilk to use up, hence the bread in the earlier post. I hate to throw things out so we have been on a buttermilk extravaganza. And I would like to announce it is finally gone.

Buttermilk Pancakes

Recipe from Cooking Light, The Complete Cookbook

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 T. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup low fat buttermilk

1 T. veg. oil (I used Canola)

1 large egg, slightly beaten

1. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Combine buttermilk, oil and egg; add to flour mixture, stirring until smooth.
2. Spoon about 1/4 cup batter onto a hot nonstick griddle. Turn pancakes when tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked.

The Verdict: Good I Think...The boys scarfed them down in about 30 seconds and were out the door.....Oh yea I forgot early Monday meetings at work.

Ok one last use for Buttermilk: A Quick and Easy Chicken Marinade.

1/2 cup buttermilk

squeeze of a small lemon

2 cloves garlic, minced

sprinkling of pork and poultry seasoning

salt and pepper

Marinate chicken for about 4 hours, then grill.

The verdict: Chicken was very moist. I served it with asparagus and homemade buttermilk bread. It was an easy but filling Sunday afternoon dinner.

Healthy Banana-Blueberry Muffins

Recipe from Martha Stewart Everyday Food Jan/Feb 2009

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup wheat germ

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp.

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs

2 ripe bananas

1/3 cup reduced fat milk

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 cup frozen blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 375. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together flours, wheat germ, baking soda, and salt.

2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars with a mixer until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl, mash bananas with a fork; stir in milk and vanilla.

3. With a mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture and banana mixture to butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture; mix until combined. Fold in frozen blueberries.

4. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean, 25 to 28 min, rotating pan half way through. Let cool in pan 10 min; transfer to rack to cool 10 more min.

Per muffin: 222 cal, 9.2g fat, 4.4g protein, 32.3g carbs, 2.6g fiber

The verdict: The Boys Loved them! I sent a batch to work with Abe today and boy were those hard workers happy!! I had one for breakfast too, and they are good, very moist. I lost one to a kitty though, oops!