whole-wheat-chocolate-chip-cinnamon-banana pancakes

Yes, they were as good as they sound.

A reader on our family blog mentioned how cruel I was for posting such a yummy looking pictures with a yummy sounding name, and not posting the recipe.

Well, I have two admissions to make:

1.) I rarely use a recipe

2.) I used Krusteaz Honey Whole Wheat pancake mix for these pancakes (there was some in the pantry from a previous tenant at our little furnished place we’re staying)

However, I do use a recipe for baking, and I do have a really yummy recipe for whole wheat pancakes:

Whole Wheat Pancakes

2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
1/4 c ground flax seed
2 tsp baking powder
1 T sugar (I usually use honey and mix it with the milk and eggs)
3 dashes cinnamon (I use a lot more than 3 “dashes”...)
1 egg, divided
2 egg whites 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c milk

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Put the egg whites in a bowl by themselves. Mix up the wet ingredients (mix the honey with the milk if you’re using honey). Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Beat the egg whites until they are stiff, then fold them into the pancake batter (this helps the pancakes to be fluffy – especially important when you’re making whole wheat pancakes).
Don’t worry about lumps – lumps are completely accepted in pancake batter, just so you know.
Now this is the part where you can add anything you want.

To be honest, the reason I added bananas to the pancakes was because when my little helper (18-month-old J) was up at the counter she found the fruit bowl and managed to pull the stems off of two bananas. So I had bananas to use. Why not stick ‘em in the batter! Then I got carried away and decided chocolate chips would add some yummy-ness. You could also use carob chips to go a little more healthy. And then afterward I thought some cacao nibs would be a perfect addition to some health pancakes! Next time. Well, I sliced up the two bananas (next time I will mash them as my three year old, V, refused to eat the banana chunks in the pancakes).

The combination of the flavors was absolutely delicious. One tip when you’re pouring the batter – the chocolate chips tend to sink to the bottom of the batter, so mix up the batter before each batch you pour on the griddle.

All Things in Moderation

Russ and I have been talking a lot about health lately. Mostly because I'm trying to shed the baby weight, and he is trying to gain muscle mass in his upper body without getting fat around his midsection.

We are doing a cleanse this week and next - a simple cleanse, not to strenous. The basic elements are no sugar (or artificial sweetners), no salt, no dairy, and no carbs. We eat a protein and veggies, and some friut. When we start eating carbs, we are going to try to moderate them, and make most of them be from whole grain sources.

We are still debating over the sweets, candies, and other processed foods issue. I would prefer to have as little processed foods as possible in our kitchen. I want to save chips and candies for barbeques and holidays. I'm even going to go back to making homemade Mac and Cheese (from cream or milk and grated cheese). I used to make it homemade - and it's much better than way, anyway! It's probably cheaper, and definitely healthier. 

I need to develop the ability to say "No" to my husband and his sweet tooth. The only problem is that I feel guilty if I'm trying to live a health lifestyle, and my husband is eating junk food all the time. Basically I feel like I'm saying "I'm going to live forever, but you're going to get cancer and die." I don't want to outlive my husband. I have my weakness for chocolate and goodies, but I never bought them myself (ice cream being the one exception). I would eat them if they were at a party, or if we were eating at someone else's house,  but I wouldn't eat them myself. 

But then I married my husband and he LOVES sweets and treats. It's his house, too... so I just have to work harder at convincing him that we don't need all that sugary salty goodness. 

Anyway, the point of my post was going to be that I will not swear off cakes and doughnuts and chocolate forever - but I will be better at moderating them, and choosing my battles. I want to eat only the junk food that is the most worth it - like chocolate that I REALLY like. I don't even really like M&Ms, so why do I eat them? I like things like chocolate cake - a really GOOD one, and creme brulee from fancy restaurants. I like to eat Nutella. So I should hold out for THOSE things, rather than just eating whatever cheapo chocolate comes my way. 

And I think that's the key to moderation in all things - ask yourself if it's really worth it to eat that thing that's bad for you. If the answer is "Yes" then eat it, enjoy it, and don't look back. But if the answer is "Well, I'd rather have some expensive Swiss chocolate" or "I like Krispy Kreme donuts better than these grocery store ones" then skip whatever's in front of you and wait for the opportunity to eat something much more enjoyable. You'll find yourself eating those tasty treats in much more moderation. 

And that's all I have to say about that.