The next installment to my Mega Healthy food series!  Ever since experimenting with my Mega Healthy Honey Olive Quinoa Cake, quinoa has become a baking favorite. Quinoa is ideal because it cooks up especially soft and blends in well with whatever it’s baked in.  These pancakes are not only made with quinoa, they’re deceptively packed full of olive and coconut oil, flax seeds, wheat germ and oat bran.  And my little ones gobbled them up and never had a clue!  And I have pics to prove it.  Come take a look!
*Note: Â Include quinoa for “Die Hard” Healthy Pancakes, or omit the quinoa (see instructions) and still have Mega Healthy ones!
I was fortunate to grow up with a mom who not only was a phenomenal cook, she was also very health-conscious. Â She was always creating healthy treats and food for us to eat. One of them was pancakes. Â At one point my mom experimented with putting sprouted wheat in our whole wheat pancakes and I can still remember sitting down at the breakfast table, about 7 years old, anxiously awaiting some delicious pancakes drenched with maple syrup…and then biting into those. Â Wow, were those ever not good! Â My brother and I hated them and after several times of complaining my mom finally stopped putting the sprouted wheat in them (see, sometimes kids’ incessant complaining does work). Â To this day my brother and I jokingly give my mom a hard time about those particular pancakes. Â But now I appreciate those kinds of things that she did, because it instilled in me a desire to eat healthy. Â And to make healthy eating a priority for my kids.
I developed these pancakes a couple of months ago in an attempt to help my kids get optimal nutrition through a food they already enjoyed. Â I thought if I could make them in such a way that they wouldn’t notice they’re eating quinoa, olive oil, coconut oil, flax seeds, wheat germ and wheat bran, it would be a victory indeed!
And so I after making my first batch, I had my 3 year old sit down at the table to eat his pancakes. And, being 3 years old, he wanted to be unconventional and requested to have his pancake spread with jam and to eat it outside. Â So I spread some strawberry jam on one side of the pancake and he took it outside with him. Â I followed him, camera in hand, eager to see if he would eat it.
This is what I observed:
After a few bites he got up and continued happily eating his pancake while playing and pulling his wagon.
Success! Â I now make these in advance and freeze them to always have on hand to quickly thaw and serve. Â And my 17 month old daughter enjoys eating them as well.
I served these pancakes to my husband – and even my partner-in-crime brother – and they both enjoyed them. Â Both the Little ones and the Big ones enjoyed them – score!
* Note: Â For the standard “mega healthy” version (as opposed to the “die hard” healthy version) you can omit the quinoa if you prefer. Â You’ll still have some mega healthy pancakes. Â If you don’t use the quinoa, decrease the buttermilk by 1/2 cup and add an extra tablespoon or two each of wheat germ and oat bran.
Let’s see if you can tell!
Let’s get started!
Add the eggs, olive oil, coconut oil, honey, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Â Whisk until combined.
* Tip: Â When baking with honey and oil, measure the oil first – that way when you measure the honey it will slide right out without sticking to the measuring cup.
Add the buttermilk and whisk until combined.
Grind up some flax seeds.
In a separate bowl, add the flour, wheat germ, oat bran, ground flax seeds, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and beat until combined and no lumps remain.
Add the cooked quinoa and stir until combined.
Measure the batter out – 1/4 cup per pancake – and pour onto a hot griddle or non-stick skillet.
Cook the pancakes until small bubbles/holes begin to appear in the batter. Â Then flip the pancakes over and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side.
Serve hot with your choice of syrup.
And don’t forget to also try these Mega Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies!
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- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons raw honey
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups spelt or whole wheat flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons ground flax seeds
- 2 tablespoons wheat germ
- 2 tablespoons oat bran
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 cup cooked quinoa (optional: See Note)
- In a large mixing bowl combine the eggs, olive oil, coconut oil, honey, and vanilla extract and whisk to combine. Add the buttermilk and whisk to combine.
- In a separate mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground flax seeds, wheat germ and wheat bran. Stir to combine.
- Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix with an electric beater until combined and no lumps remain. Stir in the cooked quinoa.
- Use a ¼ cup measuring cup to scoop out the batter and pour it onto a hot griddle or in a non-stick skillet. Cook on one side until small bubbles/holes appear in the batter, then flip to the other side and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Serve hot with syrup of your choice.
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Anonymous says
I’m not quite sure how did I stumble across your blog but I’m glad I did. I’ve been thinking of introducing pancakes again to my super fussy 3 year old (tried before but she didn’t like them) and I’m happy to say she ate them! My 9 month old gobbled them up with butter and banana. Thank you ever so much for the inspiration!! I had to do a few tweaks due to having two hungry kiddos this morning. I ground up uncooked quinoa to fine powder and thinned batter out so they were a little more like crepes my fussy older daughter finally ate something else other than vegemite on toast. Yays :)
James says
These are great! I used melted butter instead of olive oil, because olive oil doesn’t like me, whole milk because I didn’t have buttermilk and I always add cinnamon to my pancakes.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Sounds great, James, glad you liked them!
sarita says
hi, they are super healthy. what can I use instead of spelt flour . I am allergic to gluten? thanks
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Sarita! A gluten-free version would require a complete overhaul of the recipe. Several different flours, xanthan gum, etc would need to be used to get the balance of ingredients just right for them to turn out fluffy.
Susan says
I made these last week and they turned out great. The whole family – little kids included – loved these. Thanks!
The Daring Gourmet says
Awesome, I was hoping someone would give these a try! :) I’ve made them several times already and we all really enjoy them. And that’s exactly what I wanted to hear, Susan – that your kids ate them and were successfully deceived – Score! :)
Sugar and Cinnamon says
Measuring out the olive oil before the honey is such a great idea! Getting out the honey is always so hard! Also these look delicious :)
The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks, Sugar and Cinnamon, and thank you for visiting!
Peter says
Here’s a challenge for you Kimberly. My daughter can only eat gluten free and dairy free. What savouries and deserts have you got?
The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Peter! Honestly, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, etc – basically any alternative eating lifestyles – aren’t areas I’ve delved into much at all and they don’t really fall within my culinary scope. There are a TON of resources out there for those very things though. Just a simple google search will reveal countless recipes that fall under each of those categories.