Oatmeal Pancakes!

So I really don't like whole wheat flour, or any kind of flour. Carbs still freak me out a little bit if they aren't in their whole grain form. So I had an idea. Oat bran is just ground up whole oats, but you can use it to make a hot cereal just like oatmeal. You only need 1/3 cup of oat bran to make the same amount of hot cereal as 1/2 cup of instant oats. Oat bran has more fiber and protein because the natural shell from the oats is still in the oat bran, and oat bran is less calories... but it has more volume which is why you can use less to make more cereal! Comparing oat bran to quick oats - oat bran has 50% less calories, 66% more protein, and 20% more fiber than quick oats!

So I thought that maybe I could use my pancake recipe to make oatmeal pancakes with a combination of oat bran and instant oatmeal instead of whole wheat flour. Let me just say that I didn't think something so HEALTHY could be so delicious!!!!! I was really impressed with myself because this was my first time ever coming up with my own recipe from scratch =]

Adding the nut butter (whether it's almond butter, peanut butter, or flavored peanut butter) really makes the pancake smooth and creamy. I made a batch without the almond butter and they were kind of gritty, the second batch with the almond butter was smooth just like pancakes, and my third batch I threw in some carob chips with the almond butter blend. So yummy!!! So onto the recipe!

Oatmeal Pancakes

¼ cup oat bran

¼ cup instant oats

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp sea salt

1 Tbsp maple syrup

½ tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 Tbsp of water (mix separately and then add in)

½ cup of unsweetened almond milk (or any unsweetened non-dairy milk you like)

1 Tbsp nut butter (almond, peanut, or flavored peanut butter)

¼ cup of carob chocolate chips (optional)

Mix all ingredients together with a wisk, or hand held mixer until smooth and creamy. Put your pan on medium low and pour pancake batter into pan. Make sure that the tops are bubbling before you flip the pancakes. If the pancakes are still raw in the middle they won't taste as smooth.

This recipe yields about 5 pancakes which is enough for one person (in my opinion). So feel free to double or triple the recipe as needed!

For 60 calories per pancake (including the nut butter!!) you can't go wrong with this recipe! (Most pancake mixes are about 80 calories per pancake before you even add the milk, eggs or oil).

Enjoy!!!! =]