Oatmeal Pancakes
Life in California in the 70′s was about healthy living. My friends and I would go to the local food co-op to acquire all the “healthy” foodstuffs then get together and parcel out our goods. And unlike today with all the convenience of ready food items we made every thing from scratch. Thinking “green” was a way of life thirty years ago.
Our kids? Never saw Fruit Loops or anything that we thought would “poison” their bodies. Little did I know that it would not last. No need to go into how Flintstone vitamins tasted so good that….well one vitamin that tasted like candy wasn’t going to be enough! My daughter decided to eat half a bottle in one sitting, and made herself violently ill.
Then McDonald’s introduced the Happy Meal. Can you actually believe we have had Happy Meals since 1979? The first Happy Meal only cost a $1.00 and contained either a McDoodler stencil, a puzzle book, a McWrist wallet, an ID bracelet or McDonald Land character erasers. No matter how hard I tried, after one sampling of this junk my kids were demanding it non-stop.
Eventually I had to strike a balance between my ultra-healthy ways and a more balanced, kid-friendly lifestyle. I let them eat some junk, as long as we were eating health foods the majority of the time.
After my kids grew and left home I reverted back to my “granola” heritage and went back to making soups from scratch, swilling fresh juice and herbals teas, and choosing only whole grains and unprocessed foods.
In my late forties I moved to Belgium where fast food and pre-packaged meals were not part of the normal lifestyle. I started cooking much more and experimenting with even more whole foods recipes.
One recipe that has stood the test the time are the Oatmeal
Pancakes from the whole foods bible Laurel’s Kitchen. Even my friends who are not obsessed with healthy eating love them. (The secret is in soaking the oats for five minutes before cooking)
Enjoy!!!
Oatmeal Pancakes
1 1/8 cups milk
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
- Combine the milk and rolled oats in a bowl and them stand at least 5 minutes.
- Add the oil and beaten eggs, mixing well. Stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened.
- Bake on a hot, lightly oiled griddle, using 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Turn them when the top is bubbly and the edges are slightly dry.
- Serve with fresh, organic honey or real maple syrup!
- Makes 10 t0 12 four-inch pancakes.
Posted in Food and Drink
Thanks for posting this! My husband promised my niece and nephew I’d make them banana pancakes for breakfast (just mash one banana into this recipe…delicious!) but I didn’t pack my ooold copy of Laurel’s Kitchen for a trip across the country and couldn’t remember the proportions by heart.
Thank goodness we have hippies on the Internet at times like these. : )
A small correction to the recipe, the 1 teaspoon of brown sugar called for (not the 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar) should have been 1 teaspoon of baking soda.
I make these a lot. They are fantastic and accept variations easily. I really like chopped walnuts or pecans and whole (but small) blueberries added. Craisins and orange zest are great too.
I use whole wheat pastry (from Bob’s Red Mill) for all my quick breads. It’s a little more friendly than typical whole wheat flour.
Finally, I usually substitute buttermilk for the milk and add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda to act as leavening in the presence of the acid in the buttermilk. They are very light and tender!
Also it’s easy to halve or double this recipe, depending upon the number of diners.
Oops, when I said the 1 teaspoon of brown sugar should have been 1 teaspoon of baking soda, I really meant baking powder!!!
I thought of another favorite variation: grated apples, cinnamon and chopped walnuts. Yum!
Thanks for letting me know that I put 1 teaspoon brown sugar instead of 1 teaspoon baking powder! That makes a world of difference in a recipe. I will get this changed!
Oh I love your ideas for putting other things in the pancakes. I always look at recipes more like “guidelines” than actual rules which, sure makes it hard for those who enjoy what I cook. Many times I can’t repeat the recipes. I wrote in my Laurel’s Kitchen the different suggestions here. I will try them out.
Another good oatmeal is steel oats with apples, nuts and/or cinnamon. Sometimes I add dried fruits and serve with fresh buttermilk! Yum!