Whole Wheat Pancakes with Fruit Compote

        

Breakfast is probably my favorite meal to eat and to cook. I mean, for most meals it would be considered wrong to have a pastry topped with sugar and icing as the main dish, but for breakfast...fair game! There are just so many amazing things you can make for breakfast - egg dishes, sweet treats, savory-sweet combos (my favorite). I LOVE it!

During the week we have (really) healthy breakfasts - mostly fruit & spinach smoothies (it's not as scary as it sounds...I promise!). So on the weekends, the hubby and I always try to make time for at least one sit-down, cooked breakfast together as a treat. I love cooking adventures and trying new recipes for breakfast (most of which tend to be not-so-healthy). But on Saturday mornings that are a bit busier, we usually resort to the old standby...pancakes.

I started with my mother-in-law's pancake recipe - which is fantastic! And then, as we were working on eating healthier, I started swapping out and adding ingredients...all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour, a spoonful of flax, etc. And then one Saturday it happened. No milk. And of course I was already half way through making the pancakes. Luckily we had some almond milk (for those spinach smoothies I mentioned before), and I figured it was worth a try. It turned out so great that the hubby said the pancakes were even better than the not-so-healthy ones. So I wrote the "recipe" down, and that's what we've been using since.

Of course we can't just eat the pancakes plain. Who does that?!? We usually top them in maple syrup. Sometimes I even make homemade "pretend" maple syrup. But in an effort to make the pancakes even healthier, I started making a fruit compote. It's quick, easy, and you can use whatever fruit you have on hand - even something that's a bit over-ripe will work. Enjoy!

        

Whole Wheat Pancakes

makes about 7-8 medium pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon (or more if you like!)
• 1 tsp sugar (or agave or sugar substitute)
• 1 Tbsp melted butter (can substitute veggie oil or coconut oil) - optional
• 1 heaping Tbsp ground flax
• 1 egg
• 1 cup + 2 Tbsp almond milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• nonstick spray, butter, or oil to grease pan - optional

Heat griddle or frying pan over medium heat.
Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients, and mix until there are no dry spots (be careful not to over mix!).

If you are using a nonstick pan or griddle, you shouldn't need to grease the pan. If not, once pancake batter is ready, spray griddle or pan with nonstick spray. Pour about 1/4 cup mix for each pancake. Cook until bubbles begin to appear on surface. Flip and cook on the other side for a couple of minutes. Super quick & easy!

Serve with syrup or compote (recipe below).

Fruit Compote

Makes enough to use with 3-4 batches of pancakes. Store in refrigerator.

Ingredients

• 2-3 cups fruit (peeled & diced) - berries work great, or peaches, or apples
• 4 Tbsp sugar -add more or less depending on how sweet your fruit is
• 4 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla

In a small saucepan, place fruit, sugar, water, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir constantly until berries burst. Reduce heat and allow to simmer over medium-low, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Serve warm, or refrigerate for use later.