Oatmeal Flax Pancakes

I love pancakes. Looooove. I love them so much that I recycled this post from my old blog so I could share it with you! Maybe I am being lazy because I have been out celebrating my birthday all weekend (Actually all three of us here at Two Girls, A Guy had March birthdays. Two of us had big birthdays, but I am not telling you our ages. Nope.), or maybe I just love pancakes so much I wanted you to know you can eat them. They don't have to be bad for you.

Mmmm...pancakes

 I have been experimenting with all sorts of pancake recipes in an attempt to make them healthy without compromising taste. You can have a clean, healthy pancake that isn't loaded with sugar, fat, and starches. I have a few recipes up my sleeve and today I am giving you the recipe for my oatmeal flax pancakes!

Before I share the recipe I want to tell you about oat flour. Its great. Its high fiber and high protein. It also tastes better than a lot of the alternative flours you come across when searching for something to replace white flour. I like Bob's Red Mill Oat Flour. Sometimes, if you are lucky, you can find their products at Big Lots for less than you will even at Wally World. Yep. My second favorite flour is coconut flour. It has a certain richness to it...and it smells good. Or maybe its just me. I'm weird.

I should also tell you about substitutions. See, when you see a delicious pancake recipe that you know is full of sugar and fat, you can make healthy swaps. Forget using oils (except coconut, of course!); how about some greek yogurt or unsweetened applesauce? Maybe canned pumpkin? Take that sugar out. You won't be missing it. Add some banana or a few tablespoons of raw honey if your pancake needs a hint of sweetness. After all, pancakes don't need to be too sweet, especially if you just wait and drizzle a little high quality maple syrup on them later. Mmm. And of course you can swap that regular ol' flour for coconut, oat, etc.

On the other end of the spectrum, you have the uber healthy pancakes that you look at and go: "that doesn't sound too tasty." It happens. Sometimes those recipes are desperately in need of flavor. I suggest adding vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg...really any extract or spice that might dress them up a little. And don't forget you can add some mashed banana if they need to be sweetened a bit.

Okay, on with the recipe! This is a recipe I adapted from Bob's Red Mill. It was actually on the package of oat flour. Basically I removed the oil from the recipe and added flax, vanilla, and cinnamon.

Oatmeal Flax Pancakes
Serves 4

1 Cup Skim Milk or Milk of Your Choice (I like coconut milk)
3/4 Cup Quick Oats
3/4 Cup Oat Flour
1/4 Cup Ground Flax Seeds
2 Tbsp Sweetener of Choice (I use raw honey)
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Sea Salt
1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
2 Eggs, Large
1/2 Cup Plain Nonfat Yogurt
1 Tsp Vanilla


Preheat griddle over medium heat.

Mix milk and quick oats and cook in the microwave according to package directions. Let cool for a few minutes.

While oatmeal is cooling, mix flour, flax, sugar, baking powder, and sea salt. Then add oatmeal to dry ingredients.

Add eggs, yogurt, and vanilla to mixture. Stir thoroughly.

Drop pancakes onto griddle using a 1/4 cup scoop. Cook until golden brown on each side.

Nom nom nom

Top with yogurt, fruit, honey, nuts...whatever you like! Just try to keep it healthy! Enjoy.

Get in my belly

Nutrition on a Budget

Here is something I hear all too often: "I don't have the money to buy the right food and supplements." While it is, unfortunately, much more expensive to buy foods with all-natural ingredients, there are things you CAN do to make the right choices. You might even find that some choices will save you money in the long run! Here are a few tips to make this process more budget-friendly:

Shop Around
There are several websites out there that offer much better prices on supplements, spices, protein powders, bulk dry goods, and oils than your local grocery or health food store. Here are a few of our favorites:

Vitacost-this website offers some of the most competitive prices on supplements, essential oils, coconut oil, gluten-free flours, all-natural shampoos, and natural skin care products that we have seen. They have good sales and offer free shipping after spending $49; you also get free shipping with just $25 in Vitacost products.
Jen: Vitacost has the best price on one of my favorite protein powders, Syntrax, made with 100% whey protein isolate (no concentrates, casein, soy, etc.; just the pure, high-quality, super-bioavailable isolate). I buy just about every health product I need from Vitacost, and they have a great refer-a-friend program: $10 off for both of you! They sell just about every brand under the sun, I can personally highly recommend all of the Vitacost brand products I've tried...and there are many. Price and quality really are amazing here.

Bodybuilding.com-offers some of the best prices for my favorite protein powder, Optimum Whey.

Protein, anyone?

My Spice Sage-has some of the best prices on spices I have ever seen!

Amazon-I always check prices on Amazon before purchasing on another website. They usually have pretty competitive prices.

Buy in Bulk
Investing in a membership at a place like Sam's Club can pay for itself pretty quickly.  They have the best price on almond butter I have ever seen! They also have supplements, bulk fruit and veggies, seafood and more at competitive prices. I also buy baking soda and vinegar there...I use both of those items for cleaning all the time.

Almond butter is more affordable at Sam's!

If buying items in bulk is too much stuff for you, try splitting bulk perishables with a friend!

Jen: I love Ginger's idea here! Granted, I love all of Ginger's ideas, but this one is a winner on more than one level. Splitting with a friend is so economical, and you and your friend can spend some great quality time shopping together while maybe taking a brisk walk around the enormous warehouse store. :-)

Plan Ahead
Plan your meals for the week in advance. This allows you to review sales ads, search for coupons, and plan meals based on what deals you have found. Not only will this lower your grocery bill, but by planning ahead you will be less tempted to make bad choices at the store or eat out as often, which could also save you more money!

Make Your Own
I make my own broth and spice mixes. I know this sounds time consuming but it really isn't. If I buy a rotisserie chicken, I use the carcass to make broth. You can boil the carcass while you are doing other things since it doesn't really need to be watched. I also make some of my own spice mixes, like taco mix, rib rub, and ranch mix. Bonus: making your own means no added preservatives! Just hop on Google and search for a recipe for the mix you want. Most of the items you need are probably already in your spice cabinet!

The Freezer is Your Friend
If you find good deals on perishables, don't be afraid to freeze them. Or better yet, make some meals ahead of time and freeze them for later! Here are a few examples of things I freeze for later.

I love bananas. I like to put frozen slices in smoothies to give my drink a bit of natural sweetness. I can buy three pounds of over ripe organic bananas at my local store for $0.75! I then cut up the bananas and freeze them.

If I find a good deal on tomatoes I will use up some of them by making a big pot of tomato sauce and freezing it for other meals.

Remember that broth I told you about? Freeze it! I have heard that you can freeze it in a cupcake pan to get one cup portions of it but I haven't tried it yet.

 Jen: I couldn't agree more that freezing is an awesome (and oft-overlooked) part of the food prep process! I use ice cube trays for freezing little portions. I'll fill the tray with raspberries, sliced strawberries, and what have you, then top it off with water. Later, I'll throw two or three cubes in with a smoothie and blend it all up in my Magic Bullet. I suppose this is less an economical comment than it is just a fun idea, but there's something to be said about getting cheap berries while in season and enjoying them again some time later. Just be sure to keep them especially freezer-burn-proof!

Take Baby Steps
I understand that this is a big change. Making small changes won't put as big of a dent in your pocket book. Start by getting rid of all of that prepackaged food (drop that box of macaroni and cheese!) and making some fresh meals. Or toss those canned vegetables in favor of fresh. Just start making healthier habits!

Jen: Amen! Being more mindful of food prep in advance can make a big difference both in making healthier and more economical choices. Try to get out of the prepackaged rut; in other words, when you think "prepackaged," don't think "money-saving." Think "health-wasting." This will automatically rid your diet of so many icky preservatives, extra calories, and, in particular, extra salt and refined, bad-for-you carbs. Prepackaged foods are full of these fillers in order to withstand travel time from their source to the store shelf, which could take weeks (nope, I'm not kidding), then they must remain shelf-stable for a long time after that. Buying raw materials for your own recipes ensures that you know everything that's in your food, further ensuring that you know exactly what your food is doing to your body. Finding good sales and buying in bulk are your friends--all you have to do is a bit of planning to get the biggest bang for your buck. Remember, too, that sometimes investing in your health does cost a little more, but this is your health we're talking about, and I don't need to tell you that it's worth that extra effort sometimes!

Ginger's Dairy Free Strawberry Protein Shake (Plus Coconut Oil!)

Here is a quick breakfast that is great for so many reasons: its dairy free, has no added sugars, and its a great way to sneak in all the healthy benefits of coconut oil. It is also a great way to get a protein boost.

1/2 medium banana, frozen
6-8 strawberries, frozen
2 tsp coconut oil
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 cup vanilla almond milk, or to desired thickness

Blend and enjoy!