KIRSTEN LUPINSKI: Another helping of great pancakes

I have to admit that after I wrote the April column I was dreaming about pancakes. So, guess what we had for dinner? You got it — Pancakes, and they were so yummy.

The hardest part was deciding which of recipe I wanted to use. I picked the Whole Wheat Oatmeal, which I am going to give you this month. My kids loved this recipe because I allowed them to individually pick the add-ins. One of my boys picked blueberries, the other wanted to try bananas and my not-so-fruit-loving daughter opted for adding chocolate chips in hers (she is my one child that admitted chocolate was her favorite meal).

These pancakes not only allow you to add what you want, but they include yogurt for added protein, whole wheat flour for added fiber and oats for added iron.

In a bowl, combine the following: 1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ cup whole wheat flour, 1 cup quick oats, ¼ teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons baking soda, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. In a separate bowl, whisk the wet ingredients together: 1 egg, 1 cup milk, ¼ cup Greek yogurt, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 2 tablespoons brown sugar.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients, then add in what you would like. As you can see, my family chose fruit and chocolate chips. Scoop about 2 tablespoons of batter onto a greased griddle and enjoy! Of course, you can just make Whole Wheat Oatmeal pancakes without any add-ins and enjoy them with some syrup, butter or just plain.

How many of you (or your kids) love peanut butter? It certainly has become a staple in our house, so why not add it to pancakes? I haven’t tried adding peanut butter to the above recipe, but it sounds interesting to me and I would love for you to try and experiment with this. However I am going to give you a peanut butter pancake recipe that has become a super snack at our house. You can make a batch and freeze them for a quick after-school snack. Just pop them in the microwave or toaster and they are ready in seconds.

Combine the following ingredients: 1 cup flour, ¾ cup Whole Wheat flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and a pinch of salt. In another bowl, mix together 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons melted butter, 1 cup milk, 2 tablespoons peanut butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Mix together the wet and dry ingredients and ladle 2 tablespoons onto a hot greased griddle. You may need to add a little more milk for a thinner consistency. They are also super with some added chocolate chips!

I have one more fun pancake recipe for this month. Apple round pancakes are not only fun to make, but yummy to eat. You need to first core about 3 medium apples (you can remove the skin, too, if your kids don’t like the skin on apples) and then slice them into apple rings.

Set them aside and make the batter. Combine ¾ cup whole wheat flour, ¼ cup quick oats, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Then add 1 cup milk, 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Mix together and dunk the apple rings in the mixture, then cook on a hot griddle — just like you would a pancake.

I hope you have enjoyed all of these pancake variations and I just wanted to remind you why we began this pancake journey: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Therefore, look next month for some other breakfast ideas. Thanks!

Kirsten Lupinski is an assistant professor at Albany State University in the Department of Health and Human Performance. She has a bachelor’s of science in nutrition from the University of North Carolina, a master’s of science in health education from the University of Kentucky and a doctorate in education from the University of Cincinnati. She has worked in the health education field in various capacities (corporate health, community health, college health and wellness and university education) for more than 17 years. She and her husband have three young children (8-year-old twin boys and a 5-year-old girl).