Whole Wheat Pancakes with Apple Compote

Do you ever get a craving for pancakes and eggs...for dinner? Well I did today, so that is exactly what I made. We had a few organic apples in the fridge that were too soft to eat raw, so I decided to incorporate them into our meal by making an apple compote topping for our pancakes. This was a pretty easy and fast dinner and Charlie devoured it, so this is a breakfast (or dinner) keeper for sure in our house!

Using all whole what flour makes pancakes very dense, so in order to not compromise the fluffiness of the pancakes completely, I settled on using half whole wheat flour and half all purpose flour. The consistency and fluffiness was just right (which the baking powder helped with too)! These pancakes are dairy free, as I used almond milk instead of regular milk, and I used canola oil instead of butter for cooking them in the pan.  

Whole Wheat Pancakes with Apple Compote

Makes ~12 small pancakes

Ingredients

Pancake Batter:

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

3 Tbsp granulated sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup almond milk

1 large organic free range egg

1 1/2 tsp canola oil

Extra canola oil for cooking pancakes

Apple Compote:

1 pound organic apples, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup water

1 Tbsp brown sugar

Pinch of cinnamon (or to taste)

Directions

1. To make compote, combine all ingredients in sauce pan over low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes.

2. While compote is simmering, preheat oven to 200 degrees. In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

3. In separate bowl, whisk together almond milk, egg and canola oil. Add ti dry ingredients and mix until evenly combined and there are no more lumps.

4. Lightly oil a non-stick pan or griddle and heat over medium heat. Add 1/4 cup batter (or less if you want smaller pancakes) to pan for each pancake; flip when bubbles begin to form on pancakes and edges begin to rise. Cook other side of pancakes for about 1-2 minutes. Keep warm in oven.

5. Serve pancakes topped with apple compote and enjoy!

(Pancake recipe adapted from about.com)

What are the nutritional benefits of this meal? Whole wheat flour is less refined than all purpose flour so provides more fiber and nutrients, particularly B vitamins, vitamin E, folic acid, calcium, phosphorous, zinc, copper, and iron. Canola oil is a more heart healthy option for cooking the pancakes, as compared to butter or other oils, as it is the lowest in saturated fat of any oil, and is rich in healthy unsaturated fats. Using the apple compote as a topping instead of syrup cuts down on added sugar and also provides some fiber and vitamin C!  Serving the pancakes with scrambled eggs adds a great source of protein and choline to the meal.