fibre-licious pancakes

not unlike muffins, my kids LOVE pancakes.  we've eaten them for just about every meal of the day.  i love tripling batches of pancakes & then storing them in the freezer to be taken out & warmed up in the toaster on some chaotic morning.  and not unlike muffins, i have learned how to hide a good dose of fibre-licious veggies.  i learned this enriching principle from the wonderfully creative jessica seinfeld and now i have adopted this strategy to most of my baked goods.  another super strategy i have learned over the years is hiding protein in all of my kids favourites.  especially with my girls, who don't eat very much, every bite must count.  so here are two of our favourite FAVOURITE pancake recipes! even i love the pumpkin pancakes!

high protein pumpkin pancakes
1/2 cup cottage cheese (i use no fat cottage cheese)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup dry oats
2 eggs
1 tbsp canola oil ( is use safflower oil)
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (if you don't have on hand just mix together some cinnamon, nutmeg & allspice)
1 tsp vanilla

blend all ingredients in blender until well mixed.  if batter is not thin enough, add a touch of water or milk (i always end up adding 1/2 cup of almond milk to make it nice & creamy) to get it the consistency of pancake batter.  pour by the tbsp onto the griddle (tbsp make tiny little pancakes, nice for little fingers).  make sure you cook these long enough that the centre gets mostly cooked.  top with real maple syrup (did you know that real maple syrup has micronutrients... i love justifying sugary goodness to my benefit!)
( i double this recipe to have enough for my three pancake-aholics... and there still never seems to be any left).

veggie pancakes
makes 10-12 medium pancakes
1 1/2 cups whole grain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups of milk (i use almond milk)
3 beaten eggs
3 cups shredded veggies*
* many different veggies will work.  i mostly use a combination of zucchini & carrot.  i think sweet potato would be great too. (i puree then in the bullet to give a nice consistency)

preheat griddle over medium low heat.  in a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.  in separate bowl add milk & beaten eggs.  add wet & dry ingredients & stir in the shredded veggies.
add about a tsp of oil or butter to grease (i put olive oil in a spritz bottle just for greasing pans & muffin tins) unless you are cooking on a non-stick pan.  using a 1/4 measuring cup, pour the batter onto the hot pan.  use the back of the cup to help the batter spread evenly.  cook for 2-4 minutes & then flip and repeat.  you'll know when it's time to flip when bubbles rise to the surface. enjoy!

* a neat tip to jazz up the unassuming pancake is to use giant cookie cutters or sandwich cutters from dollarama to cut out neat shapes.