So after nearly a month without a computer and Internet I’m excited to be back among the blogging. I must say that being unplugged leads to a far more productive mama. In my absence I have spent more time in prayer, been able to reorganize, cooked, cleaned, sewn etc. My house has been cleaner and running a bit more smoothly without my time being consumed online. I do, however, need it to earn my income, so I guess my lesson is that I need to get better about balance. One of my time saving, don’t I feel smart tricks is preparing breakfasts in advance. The boys are happy to reheat burritos and run out the door or to toast some waffles and slurp up a kefir smoothie. We can get several days out of a double batch of my quinoa pancakes. Some mornings I can barely pull myself out of bed let alone prepare a healthy, warm, and filling breakfast, so having a stockpile of breakfast items in the freezer is very helpful.
If you’re not familiar with quinoa you should take some time to get acquainted. Quinoa is a grain, but it is high in protein. It has a slightly nutty texture and taste, plus it’s very filling. The speech therapist brought food flash cards for the turkey this week and we had a good laugh over the fact that he didn’t know what french fries were. This is not saying he’s NEVER had french fries, but it’s such a rarity it’s just not on his radar. He does know what quinoa is and will eat it prepared in a variety of ways. One of his favorites is quinoa pancakes. They cool up nice and thick and are great for those breakfast for dinner nights.
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 TBS honey
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 TBS oil
1 cup cooked quinoa
optional 1 cup fresh or frozen fruit, raisins, nuts, bananas, pumpkin puree, applesauce etc. It’s really easy to add things your family enjoys.
– Combine dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon)
– In another bowl mix milk, honey, eggs, vanilla(if using purees and them now)
– Whisk together wet and dry mixtures, until just combined
– Fold in quinoa and any add ins
Batter will be lumpy
Pre-heat griddle and drop 1/4 cup of batter to make pancakes. I have a size 20 spring loaded scoop that is perfect for portioning pancake batter, but a 1/4 cup measuring cup works good too.
We serve ours up with applesauce or apple butter and a side of fruit. I don’t have to feel guilty because I know the boys are getting a nice serving of protein, their bellies will stay full till lunch and they aren’t hyped up on sugar as they head out to school. We love to make these with pumpkin puree and use clove instead of cinnamon. We usually re-heat them in the toaster oven, but even microwaved these don’t get soggy.
