Jan 28th - National Blueberry Pancake Day

Today is National Blueberry Pancake Day, so I wanted to share with everyone an amazing AND healthy recipe for Oatmeal Buttermilk Pancakes with Wild Blueberry Sauce.   Personally, I'm not a huge fan of pancakes, the main reason being that I don't like syrup.  It goes back to my childhood when I got sick from eating it, so it's basically a mental block, but one that I don't think I'll let go of anytime soon.  Another aspect that leaves something to be desired for me, is the consistency of pancakes.  I love waffles for the crunch factor, and I normally put peanut butter on my waffles.  It's actually quite good!  With pancakes, however, they tend to be a boring piece of fluffy flat dough.  As with any good mother, I've made my fair share of pancakes regardless. 

These pancakes changed me.  In addition to the basic ingredients, they are also made with whole wheat flour and oats.  The added bulk, especially from the oats, made for a more flavorful and dense pancake.  It also gives you a little bit more to chew on and doesn't just dissolve in the syrup like regular pancakes. Another flavorful component of these delectable flapjacks is the buttermilk.

On a side note, why does buttermilk make everything taste so good, but yet on its own, taste absolutely horrible?!  We have some leftover in the fridge and I'm continually reminding my milk-loving son that he really doesn't want to drink the buttermilk.  Meanwhile, as the pancakes are bubbling and browning, you can have the simple blueberry sauce simmering on the stove.

Frozen wild blueberries, sugar, and fresh lemon juice meld together over medium heat until the glistening berries pop.  Cinnamon is stirred in at the end to finish the sauce.  Not overly sweet, but a perfect balance. A great benefit of this recipe, according to Health Magazine, is that the vitamin C in the blueberries helps your body absorb more of the plant-based iron in the oats.  So feast up and enjoy these oatmeal pancakes with blueberry sauce on today's National Blueberry Pancake Day!

Oatmeal Pancakes with Wild Blueberry Sauce

(from Health Magazine)

For pancakes:

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 cup low-fat buttermilk

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 large eggs

2 large egg whites

1 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk

For sauce:

2 cups frozen wild blueberries, thawed

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Soak oats in buttermilk in a small bowl for 15 minutes.  Combine flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, baking soda and powder, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl.  In a separate large bowl, whisk the 2 eggs with the 2 egg whites together and then stir in the 1% milk.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir.  Then add the oatmeal/buttermilk mixture and stir.  Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray.  Pour about 1/2 cup of batter per pancake onto hot skillet, and cook 2 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked.  Flip and cook 2 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned.  Transfer to a plate; keep warm.  Cook remaining batter in batches.  Meanwhile, combine the blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan.  Cook over medium heat until berries pop.  Stir in cinnamon.  Spoon blueberry sauce over pancakes; serve.  Makes about 12 pancakes.