I’ve made these pancakes for special occasions few times before, and let me tell you, they are delicious. Super healthy, however, they are not. So this morning, my little sous chef and I set out to make a healthier, wholewheat version, sans refined sugar and butter. I’m happy to say, they turned out amazingly well! While not the fluffiest pancakes in the world, they were light, tender, and full of lemony flavour, just the way we like them.
Now, I must admit, I was being a little bit chicken and didn’t go for all wholewheat flour this time around (don’t know what got into me – using white flour is not normally even an option in our house!) Next time, I’d just go all in and use wholewheat flour only. Here’s the version we made this morning…
Wholewheat Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes
- 1 1/2 cups of wholewheat flour
- 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1 teeny tiny pinch of sea salt
- 1/3 cup of poppy seeds
- 2 cups of skim milk
- 2 tablespoons of white vinegar
- 2 organic egss
- 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon of your favourite oil
- 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla
- zest of 4 large lemons
- 1/2 teaspoon of pure lemon extract (optional)
Pour milk into a measuring cup or bowl. Add vinegar and stir gently. Set aside. (Or just use store bought buttermilk instead.)
Measure out all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix well.
In a separate bowl, add all of the wet ingredients, including the homemade buttermilk and lemon zest, and mix well.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently mix until just combined (this is important – do not over mix!)
Cook on a 300 degree griddle, flipping when bubbles begin to form.
Serve with berries and pure maple syrup.
Enjoy!
UPDATE: Since making these the first time, we now always use only wholewheat flour, and the end result is just as delicious. Cutting the pure maple syrup down a little too doesn’t hurt a thing and when in a pinch, chia seeds make for a great poppy seed replacement.
‘Tis the season for all things pumpkin, so today Grae and I decided to experiment with making a healthy, but delicious, pumpkin treat. I must say, we were definitely ‘winging it’, but our version of pumpkin spice muffins turned out great! They’re soft and moist inside, full of flavour, and perfectly sweet. Not to mention, they contain no white flour, butter/margarine, or refined sugar. Yay for that.
Here’s our line up of ingredients… Wholewheat flour, organic old-fashioned oats, ground flax seed, walnuts, pecans, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, pure organic pumpkin puree, grapeseed oil, organic eggs, pure maple syrup, and pure vanilla.
Of course, having a sweet little wispy haired sous chef helps too.
Start by putting the flour into a large mixing bowl.
Add the oats and ground flax.
Be sure to cram as many oats into your mouth as possible when no one’s looking.
Next up, add the baking powder, baking soda, and spices.
Give everything a good stir.
In a separate bowl, pour in the pureed pumpkin.
Add the maple syrup and vanilla…
The grapeseed oil…
And the eggs.
Then give everything a good mix.
Next, add the dry mixture into the wet one.
Mix until just combined.
Then add the nuts…
And gently fold them into the batter.
Prepare a muffin tin by lining it with silicone baking cups or a light layer of grapeseed oil.
Fill the muffin cups almost to the top, but not quite, then pop them in the oven.
Take them out once the tops are cracked and a toothpick comes out clean.
Let them cool for a couple of minutes and serve to your very excited and very silly little munchkin.
Here’s our line up of ingredients… Old-fashioned oats, pumpkin seeds, raisins, ‘just apples’ applesauce (we just used the store bought stuff this time around, but homemade would of course be better), ripe bananas, cinnamon, and organic coconut oil and vanilla (which somehow didn’t make it into the photo…)
To start, my mini sous chef peeled our bananas and popped them into the food processor.
Then she added a capful of pure vanilla…
A generous amount of applesauce…
Some cinnamon…
And a dollop of coconut oil.
Then we blended everything up until it was mostly smooth, with just a few little chunks.
With our wet mixture transferred into a large mixing bowl, Grae added some organic old-fashioned oats…
Some raw pumpkin seeds…
And some raisins…
And gave everything a good stir.
The result was oats that were completely coated in the banana/applesauce mixture, but not ‘wet’ or batter-y (if that makes any sense).
We then dropped large spoonfuls of the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, using the back of the spoon to shape them into little mounds, and popped them into the oven.
Fifteen minutes later, out came these soft, moist little oatmeal mounds. Now… Do they taste like a real cookie? No. Do they taste like a healthy bowl of cinnamon oatmeal compacted into a portable little serving? Yes! And the best part is that they’re not at all crumbly. To the point where I let Grae snack on these while in the Ergo on our recent house hunting adventures because I knew they wouldn’t crumble all over our potential landlords’ floors… Win!
Here are the ingredients for our go to dough, adapted from the lovely 
First, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and set it aside.
Next, add the flour…
And the salt to the bowl of your electric mixer. (This could be done by hand too, of course.)
Put the paddle attachment on your machine…
And give the dry ingredients a quick mix.
Next, measure out the olive oil…
And slowly pour it into the bowl while mixing.
Next, give the yeast and water a quick stir…
And with the mixer on, slowly add the yeast water to the flour/salt/oil mixture. Mix on low until the dough starts to come together in a sticky mass.
Prepare a separate large mixing bowl by drizzling it with olive oil.
Use your hands to pull the edges of the dough downwards and shape it into a ball. Place your dough in the bowl and gently toss it to coat it in olive oil.
Now cover your bowl tightly with plastic wrap. It can be put in the fridge and stored for 3 or 4 days, or it can be used later on in the day. If we’re making pizza the same night, we just leave ours on the counter. 
Now, for my favourite… A very simple roasted veggie pizza. Chop up a bunch of vegetables of your choice (these are my favourites), drizzle them with a little bit of olive oil, and put them in a 400 oven for about 10 minutes.
While they roast, grate some cheese (we use fresh mozzarella or, like tonight, an all-natural extra sharp cheddar) and slice some fresh mushrooms.
Take your veggies out of the oven when they’re slightly soft and just beginning to turn golden in some spots.
With your toppings ready, it’s time to retrieve the dough you made earlier in the day. By now, it should be well over double its original size and soft and spongy to the touch.
Prepare a baking pan by lining it with parchment paper and sprinkling on little cornmeal (this is completely optional, but it does add a nice texture).
Using 1/2 of the dough, press it down into a thin rectangular shape. Don’t worry too much about holes – just patch them up as you go along.
For this pizza, we often use a fresh pesto sauce, which is really yummy. Equally delicious, however, is just a drizzle of olive oil and a tiny sprinkle of sea salt.
Next, arrange the veggies on the dough {stuffing as many of the red peppers into your mouth as possible, if you’re like Gracen}.
Top with cheese (adding some feta into the mix is really good too!} and pop it into the oven.
Remove when the cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden brown and let cool for a few minutes.
Now onto the one Brad prefers… A BBQ chicken pizza. Tonight we used roasted chicken breasts cut into small chunks, raw diced orange pepper and sweet onion, and some white kernel corn (adding jalapeños is really tasty too).
Prepare your pan and dough the same way as before, then spread a thin layer of BBQ sauce onto the uncooked crust (this is one of Miss G’s favourite jobs).
Add the toppings…
Cover with cheese…
And bake ’til golden.
Now although we could have just mixed up our chopped fruit and eaten it as fruit salad, everything is better on skewers, right? Not to mention, making them was the best part – just look at that proud little face. Plus, they’d be great finger snacks for a play date or party… Or just as dessert for a mama and a babe. ☺
Here’s our list of ingredients: Plain organic whole milk yogurt, frozen no-sugar-added strawberries and raspberries, a ripe frozen banana, a handful of baby beets, a few teaspoons of chia seeds, and some whole organic milk.
Another must for this recipe? Supergirl and her super girl baby.
Get started by dumping your frozen berries into your blender. Closing your eyes makes for a better challenge. Nothing Supergirl can’t handle though.
Chuck in your frozen banana. Again, amp up this step by trying it with your eyes closed.
Next, add your beets in one. by. one.
And then dump your chia seeds in too.
Next, carefully add your milk. The more you can get into the blender, the better.
Lastly, add a generous scoop of yogurt.
Blend everything up until thick and bright.
Serve with a straw or a spoon. Or both.
Watch your little superhero gobble it up.
In addition to the blueberries, we gathered up some plain organic whole milk yogurt (with just a tiny touch of honey added), our new 
Gracen started us out by putting the blueberries into the food processor (at least the ones that were lucky enough to not be eaten).
Then she added our yogurt and honey…
And we blended it up for a decent amount of time. That’s it. Tout fini!
With some help, Grae scooped a little bit of the mixture into each mould…
Then snapped the lids on and into the freezer they went.
Here they are. 
In the morning, peel a few bananas. (Grae loves this part.)
Then slice them up.
Place the banana coins on a parchment-lined baking sheet and pop them in the freezer for at least a few hours. 
In the afternoon, once they’re completely frozen through, take the bananas out of the freezer.
Place approximately 1/3 of the banana coins into a good food processor. 
Mix through the chunky stage, past the crumby stage, and right into the smooth, soft serve texture stage. You may have to stop the processor once or twice to mix things up a little with a spatula, but it’s not always needed.
Once the mixture is thick and creamy, stop the food processor and add a capful of good vanilla.
Plus another 1/3 of the banana coins and mix to bring to a soft serve texture again.
Then, add the last batch of banana coins and blend again. If you’re feeling like a vanilla-flavoured treat, you can stop here and serve immediately, or put the ice cream into the freezer for a while for a more hard ice cream texture.
BUUUUUUT, if you want peanut butter and jelly neopolitan-esque treat, divide your ice cream into thirds, leaving one portion in the food processor. Place the two other portions in the freezer in the meantime.
First up, make the jelly flavoured ice cream. Add a spoonful of no-sugar-added fruit preserves…
And a few frozen strawberries.
Then blend until smooth. Pop the berry ice cream in the freezer and give your work bowl and blade a quick rinse.
Remove one of your vanilla-flavoured ice cream portions from the freezer, pop it in the processor, add a heaping tablespoon of all-natural peanut butter, and mix. When blended, transfer the peanut butter ice cream back into your bowl and pop it in the freezer.
While you tidy up a tad, let your toddler ferociously lick the bowl and spoon.
If possible, let your soft serve firm up in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes. Or, if your toddler is like mine, serve immediately to appease the begs for “iceth cleam”.
Enjoy!
You’ll have to excuse our ‘vacation look’… Messy hair, no make-up and comfy clothes is the way to go when in relaxation mode. Plus, you don’t have to look nice to whip up a delicious snack, now do you? ☺
And put it in a pot.
Next, pour in a little water…
And a capful of really good vanilla.
Give everything a little stir…
And pop it on the stove. Cover the pot and let the mixture simmer on medium low for the better part of an hour.
When the fruit is nice and soft, remove it from the heat.
After it’s cooled for a few minutes, arm your little one with giant oven mitts and get mashing.
Eat it while it’s still warm, or transfer it into a mason jar and store in the fridge for later.
Here is everything you need to whip up a batch of your own… A bowl of strawberries (washed and hulled), plain organic full-fat yogurt (the thicker the better), a food processor (or good blender), and some popsicle moulds (these are my makeshift moulds that I love because of their small size – cheap containers with slits cut in the lids). Ooh – and a spoon. Can’t leave that out.
Get started by putting your strawberries into your food processor.
Let them mix until they start to turn into a puree. You can stop while the mixture is still chunky, or blend a little longer for a smoother texture, depending on your child’s preferences.
Take a little taste. If desired, you can add a touch of pure maple syrup or honey at this point and then mix again, but Grae’s enthusiastic “Mmmmmm” and request for more told me that ours was plenty sweet. (Keep in mind that the finished product will be slightly more tart.)
Transfer your strawberry puree into a measuring cup for easy pouring.
Now you’re ready to put the popsicles together. Start by adding a little scoop of yogurt into each mould. (We used plain yogurt because it’s what Gracen is used to eating, but if you don’t mind the added sugar, you could easily use a vanilla, honey, or berry flavoured yogurt. If possible, try to pick a thicker yogurt as it will make the ‘layering’ easier. Greek yogurt would be perfect.) 
Next, cover the yogurt with strawberry puree.
Then add another spoonful of yogurt.
Continue layering until your moulds are nearly full.
Secure the lids onto your moulds and add the popsicle sticks (if needed).
Done! Place your strawberry creamsicles into the freezer overnight (or at least for a few hours)
And now for the best part – let your munchkin slurp up the remaining strawberry juice if there is any. Yuuuuum.
First, we gathered our ingredients – organic baby spinach, olive oil, sea salt, asiago cheese, basil, lemon, a couple of cloves of garlic, and some walnuts. (I did consider using the pine nuts I have stashed away in the freezer, but those things are like gold nowadays, so walnuts it was. On the plus side, my mom, a health fanatic of many, many years recently told me that everyone should be eating a few walnuts a day, so there you go. Our walnut intake for the day is covered.)
Start out by placing your clean, dry spinach leaves directly into your food processor.
Next, add the walnuts…
And asiago. (Parmigiano would obviously be the more traditional choice here, but I like to change things up now and then.)
Next, add a couple of whole raw garlic cloves. Just be warned that the finished result is quite garlicky. If you prefer a more subtle garlic flavour, I suggest just adding one.
Next, give your fresh basil a good whiff…
And then add it to the food processor.
Grind in just a touch of sea salt.
And add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Give everything a couple of pulses first, then turn it on while slowly drizzling the olive oil in. Blend until your desired consistency is reached. We made ours quite smooth this time around, but slightly chunky is just as good.
Next, take a little spoonful and let your toddler dip her finger in.
When you receive enthusiastic nods of approval and shouts for “More!”, you know you’re done.
Transfer into a mason jar for storage in the fridge, or use immediately for lunch (in this case, a warm orzo salad with spinach pesto, roasted red peppers, and toasted pine nuts).
Our line up of ingredients: bananas, all-natural peanut butter, wooden popsicle sticks, and toppings. (Grae picked sesame seeds, organic raisins, sunflower seeds, and organic brown rice puffs, but almost anything would work… Dried cranberries, chopped nuts, and granola would be yummy too.)
To get started, peel a couple of bananas.
And then chop them roughly in half.
Now for the messy part… Spread your peanut butter on the banana halves. (Gracen started by spreading peanut butter on one side, then I’d insert the popsicle stick, flip the banana over, and gently cover the other side.)
It doesn’t have to be perfect, but you want most of your banana covered in a layer of peanut butter by the time you’re through.
Next, take your banana and roll it in the topping(s) of your choice. Larger items, such as raisins, can be added by hand afterwards.
Place your pops on a tray and pop them in the freezer for at least an hour or so.
In the meantime, let your little munchkin {messily} lick the spoon and snack on the leftovers.
Once they’re at least semi-frozen, serve them as a snack or for dessert.
Or heck, why not breakfast?! If there’s ever been a breakfast-appropriate popsicle, this has got to be it.
The best part is that it’s really simple. Here’s everything you need: edamame beans, olive oil, fresh-ground pepper, sea salt, and some cheese (we used asiago).
First things first, run your beans under some cool water for a few minutes to thaw them.
Next, have your sous chef place them all in a large mixing bowl.
Add a drizzle of olive oil…
Your cheese…
A generous grinding of pepper…
And just a tiny touch of sea salt.
Then mix everything together.
Lay your beans out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (who doesn’t love easy clean up?!) and pop them in the oven, flipping them once about half way through.
Take them out when they’re golden brown and have a good crunch to them.
Let cool for a few minutes and serve while still warm. Mmmmm!