Foodie Friday: Pumpkin Flax Pancakes

Photo credit: Michelle Loy. Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

As we head deeper into fall, I am excited to get reacquainted with some of those fabulous fall foods. Over the last month or so I've been a pumpkin junkie including pumpkin in breakfast, lunch, or dinner in a variety of ways. One of my favorite uses for pumpkin is in pumpkin pancakes. What could be better than eating a vegetable-infused pancake? These pancakes have just the right balance of sugar and spice...and everything nice! They truly hit the spot for me and my fam. I also love that pancakes are wonderful make-ahead foods. It's easy to make extra pancakes that I can freeze in a freezer-safe ziploc bag for later use. I just pop them out of the bag and into the toaster. In just a few minutes, I have a tasty and satisfying breakfast to enjoy. Here's to fall!

Pumpkin Flax Pancakes

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Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 Tbsp ground flaxseed

2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp salt

1 3/4 c 1% milk

1 c pure pumpkin puree (fresh or canned - If using canned, be sure it is 100% pure pumpkin not pumpkin pie filling.)
1 egg

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 Tbsp vinegar

Olive oil cooking spray

Directions:

1. Stir together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil, and vinegar in a bowl.
2. In another bowl, mix the flour, flaxseed, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and blend together with a rubber spatula until just combined.
4. In a large pan over medium-high heat, spray with cooking spray. For each pancake, pour or scooop about 1/4 cup of batter onto the pan. (I usually can make 3-4 pancakes at a time in a large pan.) When bubbles begin to form on the surface and the edges begin to look a little dry, gently flip the pancakes. Cook another 2-3 minutes until done.

*Notes: You can also use whole wheat baking mix instead of the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. If using fresh pumpkin, be sure that you are using the right kind of pumpkin (eg, sugar pumpkin). Pumpkins that are used for carving jack-o-lanterns will not work.  You can also substitute 2-3 tsp pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and ginger.

Serves: 6 (2 pancakes each)

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 256   Carbohydrate: 40 g   Fat: 8 g   Monounsaturated fat: 3.3 g   Protein:  10 g   Cholesterol: 39 mg   Fiber:  7 g  Sugar:  8 g   Sodium:  535 mg

Excellent source of: omega-3 fatty acids, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin D, vitamin A, magnesium, and zinc.

Good source of: vitamin B6, B12, vitamin E, calcium, and iron.

*This recipe is high in sodium. Most of the sodium comes from the baking soda, salt, and baking powder. The sodium content could be reduced by nearly 200 mg by leaving out the salt.