"Wake & Make" Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes

Rolling out of bed and seeing every ingredient we need in our pantry feels good. Sometimes the next best thing to 'eating local' is enjoying what we already have. These "Wake and Make" pancakes let us start our day by alleviating guilt from bummer facts like, "Americans waste about "40% of all edible food."

Wake & Make Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes
adapted slightly from Whole Foods for the Whole Family Cookbook
serves 4
2 C. milk (preferably grass-fed, organic whole milk)
3 eggs
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 1/4 C. whole wheat flour
3/4 C. wheat germ
1 1/2 T. brown sugar
1 1/4 t. vanilla
1/4 t. lemon juice
3/4 C. chopped bananas (about 1 1/2 bananas)
3/4 C. chopped pecans (we omitted due to O's nut allergy)
cinnamon to taste- about a 1 t. ground cinnamon max

1. Beat milk, eggs, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

2. Add remaining ingredients, mixing well. May process in blender (let your kiddo press start!). Kinda looks like a breakfast smoothie, eh?

3. Pour a small amount of batter onto greased preheated griddle- blender comes in handy for this.

Then, the moment we've all been waiting for . . .

We'll admit- it's a tree-hugger of a pancake with a subtly gritty taste. If want something more traditional, you may want to try our buttermilk pancakes. Or, you could add 2 TBSP. melted butter and sub 1 cup white flour.

All hail the local egg! These free-range eggs are full of vitamins A & E,

omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin, beta carotene.