High School is harder than I remember. With all this extra homework, dance practice, hospital volunteering and now college application season approaching in addition to my other "Mom Duties", I'm completely and utterly exhausted. Making my last round of kid pick ups at 9:30 on some night, lights out isn't happening until well beyond what I consider a "decent" bedtime. And I'm the first to admit that the alarm getting me up again before the sun rises is leaving me a little grumpy.
The school year started some 6 weeks ago with me jumping out of bed before the alarm even went off, grabbing a shower and then happily popping downstairs to get a hot breakfast on the table before the kids headed out the door. We had pancakes, waffles, French Toast, etc, lunches were packed with imagination and the kitchen was cleaned all before 8 AM.
However, these last few weeks have seen me lose my morning perk. The alarm blares once, if not twice before I slide out of bed to get Liv moving. My shower may be lasting a bit longer, and breakfast has been reduced to a bowl of cereal because I didn't had time to get all the ingredients for pancakes together and mixed as well as get lunches ready before the kids head out the door.
Enhanced with spelt and oat flours in addition to ground flax meal, the batter is then mixed with protein-filled eggs and and calcium-rich milk all combining into light and fluffy pancakes or nicely crisped waffles. Adding fruit and nuts either to the batter or over the top brings a rounded meal that I feel happy sending the kids out to start their day on.
Scaleable to whatever quantity you are looking for, making your own baking mix is cheaper and healthier than store bought, and you can mix it up at your convenience (like after your afternoon nap!) to have you looking like Super Mom in the morning. Have a sick friend? or perhaps a neighbor with a new baby? Make up a cute mason jar filled with the mix, toss in a recipe and a bottle of pure maple syrup to ease their day.
DIY Homemade Pancake and Waffle Mix
Versatile to what ingredients you have on hand, you can substitute whole wheat flour for the oat and spelt, or simply use 100% All-Purpose if you would prefer. Add cinnamon if your kids are cinnamon fans, or perhaps vanilla sugar for extra vanilla flavor. I use this handy recipe conversion calculator to scale this recipe for either larger or smaller amounts.
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2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup oat flour
1 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup ground flax meal
2 Tbs brown sugar (or granulated sugar, or vanilla sugar)
1 Tbs +1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container.
(makes 2 batches of pancakes or waffles using recipes below - scale as desired! I tripled this recipe for a big batch to last longer.)
1 1/4 cups DIY Mix
1 egg
1 cup milk (or milk alternative)
1 Tbs oil (we use avocado oil)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk gently just until blended.
Heat a griddle to medium to medium/high heat, and lightly butter the pan. Pour pancake mix onto the griddle. When bubbles begin to appear, flip the pancakes. After a minute or two remove the pancakes to a plate. Proceed as above until all batter is used.
Top with fruit and nuts of your choice and drizzle with maple syrup or agave.
Makes about 6 four-inch pancakes.
For waffles:
1 1/4 cups DIY Mix
1 egg
1 cup milk (or milk alternative)
3 Tbs oil (we use avocado oil)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk gently just until blended. Proceed as directed with your particular waffle maker. (our favorite is the Cuisinart Round Classic Waffle Maker
)Top with fruit and nuts of your choice and drizzle with maple syrup or agave.
Looking for more pancake and waffle recipes?? Here are some of our favorites!!
Light and Fluffy Restaurant-Style Pancakes
Oatmeal Pancakes with Milk
Buttermilk Oatmeal Pancakes
Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes with Warm Maple Glaze
Buttermilk Pancakes
Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes with Chunky Blueberry Sauce
Whole Grain Pancakes with Buttermilk, Oatmeal and Banana
Coconut Belgian Waffles
Crispy Yeasted Belgian Waffles
Peanut Butter Waffles
Coconut Macadamia Banana Waffles
Blueberry Waffles
Have leftover waffles?? Whip up some irresistible PBJ Waffle Sandwiches for the lunchbox!! (I've been told these beauties bring a good trade...)
-3-M.jpg "PBJ Waffle Sandwiches")
I love having homemade pancake mix on hand, and especially love the healthy aspect of this one. I have a bag of flax seeds but most recipes I see call for flax meal. I might have to try grinding them up in the food processor. Is the meal really super fine?
ReplyDeleteSuch a good and clever thing to have on hand. :-) Since I've had to go gluten-free, I've been living on pancakes for brekky. :-) They're so delicious and handy and satisfy that craving for bread. :-)
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh. Are we living the same life on opposite sides of the country??? I've found the exact thing happening to me. Don't tell anyone, but I've even bought Pop Tarts. This is a fantastic alternative though. I know your family's love for pancakes, so if they're devouring them, they HAVE to be good!
ReplyDeleteOMG Kim, you just are right on dot. Mornings are so crazy right. I was ready to get back to routine after summer, now after a few weeks, and it gets overwhelming at times.
ReplyDeleteThis idea is perfect for those 'don't have time' mornings. The mix of flours is a great idea, can't wait to get on it.
I never thought of making the mix ahead of time! I thought I can only make pancakes/waffles on weekends when I have more time in the morning to prepare. This is such a great idea, Kim! I need to find a nice jar like that first (love it!). Thank you also for the great recipes for both waffles and pancakes!
ReplyDelete