Banana Oatmeal Pancakes

Here is the double of the original recipe:

• 3 cups all purpose flour (we used wheat and it tasted so good!)
• 2/3 cup wheat germ
• 2/3 cup quick cooking oats (I used just regular oats)
• 2 T. baking powder
• 1/8-1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon (the original recipe would have you add more, just go with what your family likes on this one)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups milk (sour milk worked wonderfully too... if it's got clumps in the milk, make sure to break up the clumps with an electric blender first)
• 2 ripe banana, peeled and mashed
• 6 T. Maple syrup (a little over 1/3 C if you're not into measuring out syrup... yeah... that would be me!)
• 2 T. canola oil, plus more for skillet

In a large bowl, stir flour, wheat germ, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

In a bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add milk, mashed banana, maple syrup, and 2 T canola oil and whisk thoroughly.

Pour milk mixture over flour mixture and stir until combined.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Lightly grease with canola oil. Pour ¼ cup (we do 1/3 cup) batter per pancake. Flip with spatula when tops bubble and edges look slightly dry. Cook until the other side is golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Use a cookie cutter to press out pancakes in any shape your kids like.

Cook's notes: I LOVE to make pancakes in larger batches than what the original recipe would make. A lot of this has to do with saving time in the long run. Honestly, I hate to make pancakes and waffles because they take so long, and typically make a bit of a mess. BUT- when I do have time to make them... I'd rather have a lot leftover.
But what do I DO with the leftover?? The best thing to do is to freeze them so it's a quick fix on the mornings you're wanting pancakes, minus the effort.
This is what works best for us in our home: I place the pancakes that we will not be eating on cooling racks, since this prevents them from getting soggy and flattened. Once they have completely cooled (usually by the end of breakfast), I go ahead and lay them out in a gallon size freezer bag (typically 8 pancakes will fit comfortably in one bag; be sure to get as much air out as possible). I then go ahead and freeze these. So... when you want warm pancakes, just go ahead and thaw them in the microwave. For 2 pancakes, I usually do 30 seconds on high on each side (basically... you just want to make sure that they no longer feel frozen in the middle). Then toast them on your toaster's medium setting (just necessary to crisp it up a little).
This is such a great alternative to buying pancakes in the freezer section because A) it costs so much less! B) it's much more filling and C) you know exactly what's going into your family's body.
Please take note that you can freeze and reheat waffles in the same way, you just may need to adjust the microwave times down a bit.

This recipe yields about 15 pancakes.

I got the original recipe from Healthy Food Ideas for Super Healthy Kids. If you haven't been to this site before, I think it's definitely worth checking out.

Wheat Thins

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups white flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 Tbs sugar (optional)
1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
1/3 cup oil
1 cup water

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix the whole wheat flour, white flour, salt, sugar and garlic powder.
2. In a smaller bowl, mix/beat oil and water together.
3. Add liquid mixture to dry, mixing well, but as little as possible (otherwise the dough becomes too elastic and difficult to work with).
4. Split dough in half and take one half and roll as thin as possible- not more than 1/8” thick, on unoiled cookie sheet . Mark with knife for size crackers desired, but do not cut through. Prick each cracker a few times with fork. Sprinkle lightly with salt or onion salt if desired. Repeat for second half of dough.
5. Bake at 325 until crisp and light brown, about 30 minutes.

Cook's notes: Sugar and garlic are not in original recipe, but original recipe tastes a bit bland without them. I think these are a wonderful alternative to the commercial wheat thins since they are a more sustaining snack. I flip my cookie sheet over to roll the dough out on, as well as to bake them. I prefer to use a pizza cutter rather than a knife to perforate the dough since the knife tends to make the edges more ragged. Just be sure to not cut all the way through, as it causes the edges to burn

Adapted from: Deseret Recipes cookbook.