Sweet Bananas and Dark Chocolate Whole Grain Pancakes

These delicious pancakes are a comfort food for me. It feels like indulging in dessert for breakfast, but the ingredients are wholesome Real Foods and I feel good about consuming them. The whole grains and potassium rich bananas are a great way to start the day.

Being sensitive to certain foods like the white flour and large amounts of white sugar that can usually be found in pancakes, I normally avoid them. With this healthy version though, I don’t feel I have to deprive myself at all!

I love a little homemade whipped cream and don’t mind enjoying an occasional dollop, as well as the antioxidant loaded dark chocolate. Moderation is the key. Make sure the heavy whipping cream you use has only one ingredient, cream and nothing else.

If you don’t care for whipped cream, try the pancakes without an additional topping or use a little maple syrup instead. They look so Yummy!

THE SATISFYING HEALTHY INGREDIENTS

Starting with a medium bowl, whisk an egg slightly and then add some buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla. Whisk until everything is combined.

In a separate bowl, add whole wheat flour, oat flour, Ceylon cinnamon, organic cane sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk the dry ingredients until they are light and evenly combined.

Note: Organic Cane Sugar is much less processed than granulated sugar and retains a lot of its nutrients. Being organic, damaging pesticides are also eliminated.

Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture and stir together gently until just combined. Be very careful not to over mix, to help keep the pancakes tender.

Heat a lightly greased pan or griddle on medium low heat. Do not let the pan get too hot or the cake won’t be able to cook thoroughly before it starts to burn. I like to use coconut oil to grease the pan, but you can use butter if you would rather. With a small measuring cup, spoon the batter onto the well heated pan.

Drop pieces of chopped banana onto the cooking pancake. Make sure the pieces of banana are not too thick or they’ll burn when the pancake is turned.

When the pancake is golden brown flip it over and cook until it’s brown on the second side. Then as the second side cooks, drop a handful of chocolate chips and a few more pieces of banana onto the top of the pancake. When the second side is brown, move it to a plate and as the chocolate chips slowly melt, top the pancake with a dollop of whipped cream.

Finally, serve and enjoy! Chocolate and bananas are a classic combination and one of my family’s favorites.

To make the whipped cream, add a little vanilla and a very small amount of sugar to some heavy whipping cream and whip it with a hand mixer. HERE is the recipe.

Whole grains are great sources of many nutrients, including the B vitamins and the minerals iron, magnesium and selenium. The whole wheat flour and the whole grain oat flour are both also good sources of fiber. It is said that fiber is the foundation to a healthy diet, so enjoy these healthy pancakes soon.