After years of delicious indulgence, I’m breaking up with my
long term breakfast sweet, Poptarts. It
was the discovery of their sneaky deception that led me to this drastic
departure. They lured me in with their
preparation ease and portability then sealed the deal with their tempting
flavors. But no more. Last week I glanced at the 200 calorie label
and something sinister caught my eye, “Serving Size – 1 pastry”.
Who eats one poptart?!?
That is 400 calories for breakfast!
The name is “Poptarts” not “Poptart”!
That implies more than one! They
are packaged in pairs.
Thus began my search for new breakfast options for the gal
who has an hour commute and eats in the car.
Oatmeal and cereal are great, but spoons are more than I can navigate at
the same time as Westpark, 59, 610, 45, and Beltway. (For you non-Houston residents, that is 3
major highways and 2 toll roads.)
I came across a recipe for some “clean” zucchini, banana
pancakes that inspired my creative juices.
I don’t know much about clean eating other than the 15 second rule, but
I figured I could rework my homemade pancake recipe to something a little
heartier and healthier. And that is just
what I did. I substituted whole wheat
flour and oatmeal for the white flour, honey for white sugar, and added grated
zucchini and mashed banana. A delicious
result. I often eat pancakes without
syrup and enjoy them very much as they have a touch of sweetness already. This version was also enjoyable without the
extra calories.
My recipe makes 12 pancakes, so I bagged them in servings of
2 and put them in the freezer after they had cooled completely. If you don’t let them cool, condensation will
freeze in the bag, and you will have soggy pancakes. Last night I moved one bag from freezer to
refrigerator. This morning, I popped
them in to the toaster, just as easily as the evil poptarts. Grabbed my travel mug of coffee and pancakes
to go.
Hearty Zucchini Banana Pancakes
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 small zucchini, grated
1 banana, mashed
1 egg
3 tablespoons honey
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
Makes 12. ~238
calories per serving of TWO pancakes
Yes. I know it has 3 tablespoons of butter. I said they were healthier, not healthy. But I’m considering dropping the butter next time. We’ll see.
