Mmmm Monday: Oatmeal Pancakes

As the Spring arrives and the weather warms up the trees will begin to run with sap. It's the time of year when freshly collected, freshly evaporated maple syrup becomes available at small maple syrup festivals all over Ontario. Yum!! If you've never had fresh, real maple syrup, we encourage you to splurge and get some this year. You won't regret it. It's absolutely delicious! The problem is, you can't just sit down and eat a big bowl of syrup. We have a solution, one of our favourite recipes here at Hill Giant Farm- oatmeal pancakes. They're simple, they're fast, they're nutritious and they're delicious. The recipe is found below.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups quick cooking oatmeal
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup milk
1 tsp honey, sugar, or syrup
1/4 cup white flour
1/4 whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup walnuts (optional)

In a large bowl, combine oats, plain yogurt, milk, and honey/sugar/syrup. Stir in flours, baking soda and salt. Add beaten eggs and mix well. If using walnuts, add them now. Your batter should be fairly thick. If not, add a bit more oatmeal or flour.

Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat. Spoon batter onto the griddle- about 1/4 cup per pancake. Cook until the bottoms are browned and the bubbles on top start to pop (about 3 minutes). Flip and cook until other sides are browned (about 2 minutes). Add additional milk if the batter becomes too thick.

Serve hot with: maple syrup, apple sauce, blueberry sauce, fresh fruit, jam, fruit curd, or any other topping you desire. Not able to eat the whole batch? No sweat. These pancakes are delicious cold with jam spread on them and rolled up. An easy lunch to send with the kids, or for yourself.

Nutrition Facts (per 1/2 cup of batter)
Calories: 150
Fat: 2 g
Fibre: 4 g
Protein: 5 g

Enjoy!