Chocolate Pancakes

Chocolate pancakes?  Why?  Here are my many reasons for making chocolate pancakes:

1.  They are full of whole grains
2.  They are delicious
3.  My kids absolutely loved them
4.  My husband loved them
5.  Cocoa is a powerful antioxidant and full of nutrients
6.  I didn't have to fight my kids to eat them
7.  Because they are so dark...no one knows if I burned them or not (just kidding!)

Chocolate Pancakes

3 C milk
2 eggs
1/4 C vegetable oil
2 1/2 C whole wheat flour
2/3 C unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Dutch Process Cocoa)
1/2 C sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 T baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Mix together milk, eggs and oil.  Add flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Mix on high speed for 2 minutes.  Bake on greased, preheated griddle.

Home-made McGriddles??? What???

 Alright, let me start this post by admitting something...my children have eaten at McDonald's for breakfast...more than once...actually more than twice.  They have a Nana who treats them to breakfast at McDonald's on special occasions, and they LOVE it!!!  One of the things they love most are the McGriddles.  Many of you may be ignorant as to what a "McGriddle" actually is, so I'll give you a brief description.  They are tiny pancakes that have the syrup already baked inside of them so they can be hand-held.  They are very sweet, but leave you with a waxy film in your mouth (not really sure why and a little too scared to ask).  Anyway, my kiddos think they are divine.  Enter my problem...they are supremely unhealthy.  So, why do I want to make them so much?

1.  They are hand-held and thus can be carried out the door in a hurry (not that we are ever late)
2.  They are delicious
3.  These "McGriddles" are somewhat healthy, made with whole grains
4.  There is no sticky film in my mouth
5.  I can control the amount of syrup in their pancakes and they don't complain!!!

So, how do you do it?  Simple.  Pour out a small amount of batter (less than 1/4 C because they spread out when you add the syrup).  Drizzle syrup IMMEDIATELY in the more central area (it oozes out if you get it too close to the edge).  Let it bake and flip it over!


Go here for the recipe:

Nana's Whole Wheat Pancakes

Baked French Toast (prepared the night before!)

Does anyone else out there have crazy Saturday mornings?  I know I always post about our Saturdays during soccer, but seriously...games from 9:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. make for a very busy Saturday.  Anyway, that aside, because we are gone for so long and because we have to all be out of the house early, I like to do easy, quick breakfasts, but I also like to have energy-sustaining ones.   I tried out a recipe that is going to be a new favorite at our house for sure from now on.  Why?  Because you make it the night before!  Then, the next morning, you get it out, bake it for 35-40 minutes while you are getting the kiddos up and at em' and then they eat a carb-loaded, delicious breakfast and they are out of the house! This was so easy and so yummy!




Baked French Toast

1/2 C butter
1 C brown sugar

Melt butter and mix in brown sugar.  Spread evenly in the bottom of a 13X9 pan.  Layer whole wheat bread over the brown sugar/butter mixture in the pan.

Mix the following:
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
1 1/2 C milk

Spoon half of the egg mixture over the whole wheat bread.  Use the spoon to make sure each and every piece is covered with the egg mixture.  Layer the second piece of whole wheat bread in the pan.  Cover that with the second half of the egg mixture.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake for about 35-40 minutes.  Serve with maple syrup, my favorite syrup or powdered sugar.  Yum!!!

The Absolute BEST Buttermilk Syrup

My friend, Sara, gave me this recipe and said it is "the best buttermilk syrup" you will ever eat. I tried it and I have to say, "this is the best buttermilk syrup I've ever eaten." Everyone who has tried it (which is my entire family and extended family) says this is the "best buttermilk syrup they've ever eaten".

Buttermilk Syrup

1 1/4 C white sugar

3/4 C buttermilk

1/2 C butter

2 T corn syrup

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. vanilla extract

In a large sauce pan, stir the sugar, buttermilk, butter, corn syrup and baking soda. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. After boiling starts, boil for another 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. During this time, it will boil very high in the pan and it will also start to turn a golden brown color. When time is up, remove from heat, add vanilla. Let sit until cooler...but serve warm!!!

Note: The actual recipe calls for 1 1/2 C sugar, but I decreased it 1/4 C and we still loved it!

My "go-to" whole wheat pancake mix

Growing up, I had the mom who gave us "brown bread" when all of my friends had white.  I quickly ate that brown bread sandwich as fast as I could because I was so embarrassed and didn't want anyone to see me (yes, these were the days when self-consciousness is at an all-time high) Oddly enough..."brown bread"...or "whole wheat" as I like to refer to it now, is all I make these days and I count myself very blessed indeed to have had such a forethinking mom.  Needless, to say, she got me the wheat grinder and gave me some of her favorite "whole wheat" recipes...which, to this day, I use.  One of them is for the most amazing whole wheat pancakes you've ever had.  I've posted about these before, but since EVERY SINGLE person who eats them, wants the recipe, I thought it was appropriate to re-post this pancake recipe.
This is my "go-to" pancake mix. Most of my pancake varieties have this base to them. They are fluffy, very fluffy (especially considering they are WHOLE WHEAT)! Everyone who tries them switches to this recipe for their morning breakfasting of pancakes. They really are delicious.  So, here it is again...my "go-to" pancake recipe.

Nana’s Light and Fluffy Pancakes 

11⁄2-13⁄4 C whole wheat flour, sifted

1 T baking powder

1 tsp salt

1⁄4 C brown sugar

2 eggs, separated

11⁄2 C milk

2Toil

Heat the griddle. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar. Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until they form soft peaks when the beaters are lifted. Beat the egg yolks, milk and oil. Add the yolk mixture to the dry ingredients and blend. Fold in the egg whites. Bake on a hot, greased griddle. Serves about 4 people, depending on the size of the pancakes. I usually double the recipe because my family devours it.

Note: I make about six times the amount of the dry ingredients and keep it in my refrigerator for quick access to pancakes. Then, when I want to make pancakes in a hurry, I get 1 1⁄2 -1 3⁄4 C of the dry mix (depending on how much flour you used) and then mix in the yolk mixture. I beat this really well to get rid of any settled chunks of brown sugar and then fold in the egg whites...it is great and QUICK!

**L** Use 1% or skim milk

P.S. I ALWAYS double this...ALWAYS! Then I keep the batter in the fridge and PRESTO: breakfast.

P.P.S.  Stay tuned for the absolute BEST buttermilk syrup recipe EVER!!!  I'll post it next...its a gift from my friend Sara to me...and me to you!!!

Apple Cinnamon Waffles

Remember my apple-hating two-year-old...yep, all I have to say is "SCORE" again! He delighted in every single bite of these apple-infused waffles this morning. You can even see the chunks of apples. As I said with the pancakes, if you have kids with "texture-aversion" make the batter the night before so the apples are soft. Then, sit by and watch them devour chunks of apples before your eyes!!!

Apple Cinnamon Waffles

4 C whole wheat flour

2 T baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 C brown sugar

6 eggs, separated

2 1/2 C milk

1/4 oil

3 apples, chopped with a chopper into small pieces

11/2 tsp. cinnamon (or to taste)

Sift flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together. Separate eggs. To the yolks, add milk and oil. Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks when the beaters are lifted. Beat the yolk mixture until thoroughly combined. Add the yolk mixture to the dry ingredients and blend. Fold in the egg whites. Bake in a greased or non-stick waffle iron until golden brown. Serves 4-6, depending on the size of the waffle iron.

**L** Use 1% or skim milk

You can add more apples and more cinnamon as desired.

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

I've been wanting to make these for a long time.  It uses my classic whole wheat pancake recipe, but with chopped apples and cinnamon and guess what...they are divine!  They were DELICIOUS!!!  So, if you like apples and cinnamon...you'll love em'!

I'll give out my apple cinnamon waffle recipe later this week!

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

3 C whole wheat flour

2 T baking powder

1/2 C brown sugar

4 eggs, separated

3 C milk

1/4 C oil

2 Granny Smith apples (peeled and chopped into small pieces with a chopper)

1 tsp. cinnamon

Heat the griddle. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar. Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until they form soft peaks when the beaters are lifted. Beat the egg yolks, milk and oil. Add the yolk mixture to the dry ingredients and blend. Fold in the egg whites. Stir in apples and cinnamon. Bake on a hot, greased griddle. Serves about 4 people, depending on the size of the pancakes. I usually double the recipe because my family devours it.

Note: You can add a little more apple and a little more cinnamon as desired. If your kiddos don't like the crunchiness of the apples, let the batter sit in the fridge for about 24 hours and the apples will be nice and soft!

P.S. You can turn this into waffles really easily by adding 2 eggs, 1 C of flour and decreasing the milk by 1/2 C. I'll show these in another post.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

I saw a recipe for these on Pinterest...my new favorite place to waste significant amounts of time on the internet. Anyway, I decided to try these with my all-time favorite whole wheat pancake recipe and all I have to say is "WOW". There really isn't another word because when you combine fluffy whole wheat pancakes with brown sugar, butter and cinnamon and then top with a thin layer of icing...what else would you say. You might say, "that doesn't really sound like a healthy breakfast". And...you might be right because once you top those pancakes with frosting, what's underneath doesn't matter quite as much. However, when you remember that what is underneath is a pancake made from whole wheat flour...you don't feel quite so bad. Just think of it as a healthy alternative to a cinnamon roll...that helps with the justifying part. Anyway, I figure, I can make these for holiday mornings and thrill the souls of my troops and not feel too bad about it because compared to what they might normally eat on a holiday morning...we are still doing alright!

I used this recipe for the pancakes: it is my all-time favorite pancake batter: Nana's Light and Fluffy Pancakes

Then, in another container, I melted 3 T butter. I stirred in 1/2 C brown sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Then, I poured this mixture into a squeeze bottle (you can use any type of squeeze bottle). Pour your pancake batter onto a hot griddle and squeeze the brown sugar mixture in a swirl pattern (if you want...you can also just do dots of the brown sugar mixture all over and that is a little easier). Bake until golden brown, on both sides. Top with your favorite frosting. I used this cream cheese frosting that I used in this recipe: Pumpkin pillows with Cream Cheese Frosting. You will want to make WAY less of this frosting, though. I just used some I already had leftover in the fridge because this makes A LOT! Yummy!!!

Stacey's Energy Bars

I have this wonderful friend, Stacey Allen, who opened my eyes to nutrition while we were all in graduate school. She is a dietitian and her kids snacked on things like frozen peas, carrot sticks, etc. Needless to say, she is perfectly thin and healthy. Now, on to the recipe we loved...my friends and I always saw her snacking on these "energy bars". So, we tried one and they are SO good! We all got the recipe and all made them for us and for our husbands to eat. Now, fast forward to last week (four years later), my husband said, "Hey, remember those granola bars you used to make in Denver? I really loved those. Could you make them again?" I had all but forgotten those bars, but my husband remembered. Now, they do have marshmallows in them, but other than the marshmallows, they are relatively healthy, delicious, full of protein and actually help stave off my husband's hunger (which is quite the accomplishment). So...I've been making them and they've been disappearing as fast as I can make them.

Stacey's Energy Bars

Melt the following over low heat:

1/4 C butter

1/2 C peanut butter

1-10 oz. pkg. marshmallows

Add:

2 1/2 C Rice Krispies

2 C quick oats

Stir in:

1/2 C peanuts

1 C dry fruit

Let cool and eat.

Almond Cranberry Granola

I am a real granola-lover, but it is so expensive!!! Can I get an "amen" from any other granola-lovers out there??? This granola is easy to whip up and saves granola-lovers a lot of money. It is healthy, delicious and my kids LOVED it!

Cranberry Almond Granola

3 C old-fashioned oats

1/2 C slivered almonds

1/3 C brown sugar

1/3 C maple syrup

1/4 C vegetable oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp. flaxseed

2/3 C cranberries

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Mix all ingredients together EXCEPT cranberries. Pour onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for about an hour, stirring every fifteen minutes or so.

Home-made Oatmeal

As I promised, here are the pictures of my home-rolled oats and oatmeal! You start with oat groats...what are oat groats? If you haven't checked my blog a lot, you may not know. Some grains, (i.e. barley, oats) have hulls that must be removed before we can eat them. The whole grain - the hull = groats. So, you start with the groats, which I got for .89 a pound!!! Talk about cheap! (Once you buy the machines required for whole grain cooking...you make up the money so fast!!!) You pour the groats into the machine, crank it up and out come your rolled oats! The cool thing is, you can adjust the size of the rolled oats. So, if you don't have a lot of time, roll them very thin and you have quick oats (what I made this morning before school). If you have more time, roll them thick and cook them longer...SO COOL!!! And...they aren't processed, so all the vitamins and minerals are fresh as can be!!!! I have the Marga Mulino Flaker. Oh...another cool thing...it doesn't just roll oats! Tomorrow, I'll try wheat and let you know how that goes! The possibilities are limitless!

Marga Mulino Flaker

Oh, and yes, that is my four-year-old grinding the oats...as you can tell it is REALLY hard to grind ;)

Really? Cheese waffles???

Sounds gross...but they are AWESOME!!! I made them for my family because I was tired of the "I need more syrup" argument every morning that we had waffles. I was also tired of the "we need more brown sugar on our oatmeal or nine grain cereal" argument. I thought it might be nice to have a meal that requires no sweetener of any kind. Enter...cheese waffles. I had read about cheese waffles probably at least a year ago and really, the thought of cheese waffles wasn't even slightly tempting. However, in my quest for non-sugar breakfast alternatives, cheese waffles sounded started to sound slightly appetizing. So, I decided to give it a go and lo and behold...my family loved them! I added bacon to them, too, and they are very similar to a bread omelet...which may not sound good, but these are really quite tasty. The best part...NO SYRUP!!! That means that there was very little mess and they could eat them while they walked to school...AWESOME!!!

P.S. I buy already cooked and chopped bacon in bulk at Costco...it is GREAT and saves time and mess! You can freeze it, which is what I do and just throw it in your recipes.

P.P.S. This recipe could quite possibly be wonderful with syrup...I haven't tried it yet...and I'm going to try to NEVER let my kids get wind that syrup is ever a possibility with these waffles.

Pumpkin again!!!

These pancakes were inspired by my friend Stacey Allen. She introduced me to pumpkin pancakes about five years back or so. She gave me these pancakes, or something very similar to pancakes made from this recipe, and I fell in love instantly. I LOVE pumpkin pancakes. This is a recipe straight from my cookbook...on page 19.

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 C whole wheat flour

2 T sugar

1 T baking powder

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 C canned pumpkin

1 egg

2 T butter, melted

1 C buttermilk

1-2 T milk (or to desired consistency)

Optional: 1/4 - 1/2 C chocolate chips (I didn't add these and my kids still raved about them)

Mix dry ingredients (flour, sugar, banking powder, pumpkin pie spice). Mix together pumpkin, egg, butter and buttermilk. Mix wet and dry ingredients and add milk to desired consistency. Stir in chocolate chips, if desired. Bake on a heated, greased griddle or skillet. Makes 8-10 pancakes.

Pumpkin Waffles

The best part of wakin' up... Okay...continuing with my autumn-lovin' pumpkin theme...here is a recipe I'm surprised I didn't already have. I'll post my pumpkin pancakes later this week...but honestly, that recipe I've had for a while. It wasn't until this morning that I first tried pumpkin waffles and boy-oh-boy were they a hit this morning! Yummy! Now, because this recipe makes so many waffles...I'll save the majority of it in the refrigerator. Later this week, I'll pull out the batter and heat up my waffle iron and PRESTO...a hot, fresh breakfast of pumpkin spice waffles. You can't beat a whole-grain breakfast that incorporates vegetables and takes less than one minute to make.

Pumpkin Waffles

1 C canned pumpkin

1/4 C brown sugar (can add 2 more T if you like them a little sweeter)

4 eggs

1/4 C oil

2 C buttermilk

2 T baking powder

1 C milk

3 1/2 C whole wheat flour

1/2 T pumpkin pie spice

Mix all together on medium high speed for 30 seconds, then high speed for 1 minute. Bake in a preheated waffle iron.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Heaven for breakfast

So, school has started and let me tell you...it has gotten crazy. I try really hard to be a morning person, but between trying to work out and get myself ready (because I'm still walking my kids into their classrooms and I don't want to frighten any children) and waking my sleep-deprived (still used to summer schedule) children, and making lunches and getting my girls' hair done and waking up my two boys and walking to school...breakfast has been difficult to squeeze in. As "supposedly" the most important meal of the day, a breakfast of a pop-tart on our walk to school is decidedly sub-par. Yep, they seriously ate a pop-tart for breakfast, an organic one mind you, which only means they didn't like it and I had to threaten to get them to eat even half of it. So...I decided to do something today that would make tomorrow easier. I made muffins and froze them. I KNOW they will like them because they tried them today and LOVED them...and seriously...they are chocolate chocolate chip. How could you not like them? So, maybe it isn't cracked wheat cereal, but it is at least whole wheat. We'll get into our hot cereals again next week...but I do think I'm going to make these again and freeze them for those mornings where time just gets away from me.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins

2 1/4 C freshly, finely ground whole wheat flour

1 C sugar

1/2 C cocoa

2 eggs

1/2 C vegetable oil

1 T baking powder

1 C milk

3/4 C chocolate chips + 1/2 for the tops of the muffins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together all ingredients except chocolate chips. Mix on low speed for 1 minute and on high speed for 2 minutes. Stir in 2/3 C chocolate chips. Spoon into greased muffin tins. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Makes about 14-16 muffins.

P.S. Notice the tiny little hand expectantly waiting for the muffins??? I love those little hands even more than I love the muffins.

Where have you been all my life??????

I went to a barbecue the other night and we were discussing, of all things, pancakes and one of my friends said, "I had banana pancakes and they were AMAZING!'. My other friend then exclaimed, "I've had them, too and they are incredible!!!". As you can imagine, as a true banana-lover, I felt a little excluded from the banana pancake world. How have I lived for 25 years (wink, wink) and never been properly introduced to banana pancakes??? Well, I decided to remedy this little situation as quickly as possible. So, for those of you out there, like me, who are naive when it comes to banana pancakes...I have a recipe that will knock your socks off. My mom says these are the "BEST" pancakes she's ever had in her life. If you are a banana fan...you will LOVE these!!!

Mouth-Watering Banana Pancakes

2 medium very ripe bananas mashed (about 1 C)

1/4 C brown sugar

2 eggs

1/4 C oil

2 C buttermilk

2 C whole wheat flour

2 T baking powder

Mash bananas and add oil, eggs brown sugar and buttermilk and mix. Add flour and baking powder. Mix on medium/high speed until thoroughly mixed (about 30 sec. to a minute). Bake on heated, greased griddle or skillet. Makes 16-20 pancakes.

A Healthier "more multi-grain" Twist on an Old Favorite

We all know how much I love to fill my little tykes' bellies with whole grains first thing in the morning. There is just something about knowing that my kids have started the day with B-vitamins, fiber, iron, magnesium, etc., etc. I decided to try something new with my waffles today. Enter my old friend...nine grain cereal. Yes, it is true, I use this stuff as much as I use paper towel. I know I've plugged it many times, but truly, can you beat a cereal made of red wheat, white wheat, rye, barley, steel-cut oats, corn, millet, flaxseed and buckwheat. Plus...the place I get it, it costs 50 cents a pound!!! I LOVE THIS STUFF! Okay, enough rambling...this waffle recipe was snarfed up by my kids and I'm sure your family will love it, too.

Look closely at the pictures. One common misconception about whole wheat is that it is dense...look closely...do those waffles look dense to you???

Multi-Grain Waffles

3 C whole wheat flour

1 C nine-grain flour (nine-grain cereal ground into flour, see instructions below)

2 T baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 C brown sugar

6 eggs, separated

2 1/2 C milk

1/4 C oil

Grind nine-grain cereal on the finest setting in a coffee grinder until you have 1 C of nine-grain cereal flour. You can't grind it in a wheat grinder because of the oil in the flaxseed. Stir together flour (both whole wheat and nine-grain cereal flour), baking powder, salt and sugar. Separate eggs. To the yolks, add milk and oil. Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks when the beaters are lifted. Beat the yolk mixture until thoroughly combined. Add the yolk mixture to the dry ingredients and blend. Fold in the egg whites. Bake in a greased or non-stick waffle iron until golden brown. Serves 8-10, depending on the size of the waffle iron.

P.S. you can easily half this recipe, but I love to keep it big, feed my family, then store the leftover mix in the refrigerator for an easy breakfast all week long.

P.P.S. I have to apologize again for my rudimentary blogging knowledge and my amateur photographs. What can I say...grains are my thing...

Another 100% HEALTHY hot cereal

Now that we know a lot of those "healthy" hot cereals out there are a bit less than "healthy", we need more choices for breakfast. Remember my dear sweet friend, the Nine-Grain Cereal...well this fabulously nutritious cereal is very easy to make and yummy, too. My children literally devoured it and loved every bite of it. You can see the many types of grains in this picture. The nine grains are: red wheat, white wheat, rye, barley, steel-cut oats, corn, millet, flaxseed and buckwheat. You can't beat that combination for a whole-grain start to your morning!!! It is prepared in exactly the same manner as the Hot, Creamy Ground Wheat Cereal.

Hot, Creamy Ground Nine-Grain Cereal

1 C coarsely ground nine-grain cereal flour

4 C water

Pinch of salt

Grind 1 C wheat in a coffee grinder (so it is coarser) on one of the coarsest settings until evenly ground. Mix one cup of ground wheat flour and 2 ½ C water in a pan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for 7-10 minutes, stirring constantly and adding 1/2 C water every couple of minutes. Makes 5 C of creamy cereal.

What's in your "Healthy" hot cereals???

If you are like me and had very well-meaning, concerned mothers, you ate a lot of "healthy" hot cereal as a child. Hmmm...what was really in that hot cereal? Let's examine that. I'll try not to name names, but the hot cereals I ate, advertised right on the front of the box an ingredient called "enriched farina". First, lets discuss farina...what is it? Farina is made from some of the germ and endosperm of the wheat. Hmmm...what is missing? Well, the rest of the germ and the bran!!! Some of these cereals even BLEACH the farina!!! So, why are the germ and bran so important? Well, here is a simple little tutorial on wheat...

The wheat kernal is composed of three main parts.

The germ is the smallest part of the wheat kernal. It is removed to create white flour. It contains: B vitamins, magnesium, iron, zinc, and phosphorus.

The endosperm is the biggest part of the wheat kernal. It has the most protein and contains complex carbohydrates and B vitamins.

The bran is the outside of the kernel and contains almost all of the fiber. It contains magnesium, B vitamins, iron and zinc.

Whole wheat products leave both the bran and the germ in tact. The bran and the germ are removed while processing flour to make it white.

So, in those "healthy" cereals...we have eliminated many B vitamins, iron, and fiber. So, what do companies do to remedy this problem? They "enrich" it by artificially adding back some of those nutrients. So, if our parents fed us these cereals, believing they were filling our little bellies with whole grain cereals, how can we avoid being duped with our own kids? First of all, make sure the first ingredient is WHOLE wheat flour. If it says enriched wheat flour, bleached wheat flour, unbleached wheat flour...chances are it is NOT WHOLE wheat. Its tricky, I know, but just make sure it is WHOLE wheat. It will usually advertise on the front when it is 100% whole wheat.

OR...YOU COULD JUST MAKE IT AT HOME!!! This is a recipe that will be in my next cookbook. I made it this morning and it is DELICIOUS and has ALL parts of the wheat kernal. Oh, and only 77 calories per cup!!!

Hot, Creamy Ground Wheat Cereal

1 C coarsely ground whole wheat flour

4 C water

Pinch of salt

Grind 1 C wheat in a coffee grinder on one of the coarsest settings until evenly ground. Mix one cup of ground wheat flour and 2 ½ C water in a pan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for 7-10 minutes, stirring constantly and adding 1/2 C water every couple of minutes. Makes 5 C of creamy cereal.

Chia, Whole Wheat, Barley Pancakes

Yet another way to sneak in the chia...these pancakes are very similar to the Whole Wheat Barley Flax Pancakes. I substituted the ground chia seeds for ground flax seeds. I also added vanilla, doubled the recipe, and ground the whole wheat and the barley separately, instead of together. These were so good and had one absolutely amazing quality. I ate one, without syrup, and was full...I mean totally and completely satisfied! "Okay", you may say, "well, maybe there are lots of calories in that one pancake." Think again, Buster! There are only 103 calories in each pancake! So, oddly enough, 103 calories later, I am 100% completely satisfied!!! My weight is down about three pounds and I feel great!

Chia, Whole Wheat, Barley Pancakes

2 C whole wheat flour

1/4 C chia flour (2 T ground in a coffee grinder)

1/2 C barley flour

2 T baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 C + 2 T brown sugar

2 T vegetable oil

2 1/2 C milk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

4 eggs, separated

Stir together all flours, baking powder and salt. Add brown sugar, vegetable oil, milk, vanilla and egg yolks. Mix until thoroughly combined. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Fold beaten egg whites into mixture. Bake on greased, hot griddle.

Makes about 20-24 pancakes.

P.S. Some of the weight-loss is definitely due to the taper...my legs are no longer as swollen from the crazy distance-running. However, the appetite suppression and some of that weight-loss (due to the appetite suppression) is, I would like to believe, due to Chia.

P.P.S. To grind the chia seeds use a small coffee grinder. They are about 15-20 bucks and work great for grinding flax and chia seeds. DO NOT use a wheat grinder...the seeds have oil in them and will ruin your wheat grinder!!!

P.P.P.S Other nutrition facts per pancakes, if you make 22 with this recipe:

2.1 grams fiber

15 grams carbohydrates

3 grams fat

4 grams protein