What’s the best breakfast on weekend mornings, snow days, or any day at any time? Pancakes! I love pancakes, and I’m going to share three of my favorite, super easy recipes with you.

Banana Pancakes

Ingredients:

• ½ – 1 banana

• 2 eggs

• A dash of vanilla

• ¼ cup whole wheat flour (my favorite is One Mighty Mill, but any kind works!)

Directions:

1. Mash the banana with a fork in a bowl

2. Beat in the eggs and vanilla

3. Stir the flour in with the fork, and scape the edges with a spatula

4. Heat oil or butter in a pan, and pour spoonfuls of the batter to make pancakes

5. Top with fruit or chocolate chips (optional)

6. Cook the pancakes until golden brown on both sides

7. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pancakes (Pumpkin is a year-round food!)

Ingredients:

• ¼ – ½ cup pumpkin puree

• 2 eggs

• A dash of vanilla

• ¼ cup whole wheat flour (any kind works!)

Directions:

1. Mix the pumpkin, eggs and vanilla with a fork

2. Stir the flour in with the fork, and scape the edges with a spatula

3. Heat oil or butter in a pan, and pour spoonfuls of the batter to make pancakes

4. Top with fruit or chocolate chips (optional)

5. Cook the pancakes until golden brown on both sides

6. Enjoy!

Farmer’s Cheese Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 package of farmers cheese (about 7.5 ounces)

• 4 eggs

• 1 teaspoon olive oil

• 1 teaspoon honey (any sweetener works- adjust the amount to your preference!)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• ¾ cup whole wheat flour (any kind works!)

Directions:

1. Mix the farmers cheese, eggs, vanilla, honey and vanilla together

2. Add the flour and stir until smooth

3. Heat oil or butter in a pan, and pour spoonfuls of the batter to make pancakes

4. Top with fruit or chocolate chips (optional)

5. Cook the pancakes until golden brown on both sides (these pancakes are thicker- sometimes I cover the pancakes before I flip them so they cook through better)

6. Enjoy!

Featured Ingredients:

> Banana:

-Source of

-Fiber

-Potassium

-Magnesium

-Vitamin C

-Manganese

>Eggs:

-Rich in

–Cholesterol (BUT dietary cholesterol and cholesterol in your blood are only weakly related- in other words, eating eggs in moderation is generally healthy)

-Protein

-Cholin

-Biotin (Vitamin B7)

-Vitamin A

-Antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin

>Whole wheat flour: Whole grains contain bran, endosperm and germ from the grain, while

refined grains are stripped of many nutrients and only contain the endosperm

-Bran = contains fiber, B vitamins, iron, copper, zinc, magnesium, antioxidants, phytochemicals

-Endosperm = contains carbohydrates, protein, small amounts of B vitamins and minerals

-Germ = contains healthy fats, vitamin E, B vitamins, phytochemicals, antioxidants

-Eating whole grains correlates with better health in regard to disease

>Pumpkin:

Pumpkin is a kind of winter squash (think butternut, delicata, spaghetti, kabocha, hubbard, acorn, sweet dumpling, and sugar pumpkins)

-Rich in

• Carotenoids: beta carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin

• Protein

• Vitamin C

• Vitamin B6

• Fiber

• Magnesium

• Potassium

• Olive oil:

-Source of monounsaturated fatty acids (a healthy dietary fat)

-Has been found to lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels

Sources:

[1]=https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/food-features/bananas/

[2]= https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/food-features/eggs/

[3]= https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/whole-grains/

[4]= https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/food-features/winter-squash/

[5]= https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/food-and-nutrition/faq-20058439