I love summertime because the produce is amazing.  Good light fruity breakfasts are always a good thing to me.  I feel like I can get my kids to eat better during the summer as well.  Anything I can make extra healthy for my kids I will!  Our latest creation was lemon vanilla pancakes.

Most pancakes call for vegetable oil in the recipe, I swapped that out for a healthier extra virgin lemon olive oil.  Then I added one tablespoon of vanilla extract and one tablespoon of grated lemon peel.  To get a little more health for my pancake buck I added some flax meal to the batter as well.  They were light, fluffy, cake-y, healthy, and completely devoured by my kids.

You will need:

1 egg lightly beaten

3/4 cup of milk

1 cup of flour

1 tablespoon vanilla

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

2 tablespoons of lemon olive oil

Grated peel of one lemon

1 tablespoon of brown sugar

1/4 cup flax meal (flax meal is better for you than traditional flax seeds because it is much easier on you to digest, so you get more of the healthy benefits from it!)

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (optional) Combine all of your wet ingredients.  Slowly incorporate your dry ingredients until all is well mixed.  Allow the batter to sit for about ten minutes.  This is just about as long as it takes to heat up your griddle, or other pancake cooking vessel.  Cook the same way you would any other pancake.  To serve top each pancake with a dollop of whipped cream and some fresh berries.  Blueberries make a traditional accompaniment to all things lemon, but do not be afraid to try strawberries, blackberries (my husbands favorite), or any other combination of fruits that you have.

 

-Stephanie Wright