Recipe for Sweet Potato Pecan Pancakes

Here is an easy recipe that throws a healthy twist on a classic breakfast. Featuring white whole wheat flour and chopped pecans, these pancakes are a tasty way to add more protein, iron, calcium and other nutrients to your first meal of day. Make it a well-rounded meal by adding cottage cheese and mandarin oranges on the side.

Grocery Shopping List

Pecans
Skim milk
Low fat cottage cheese
Eggs
1-16 oz can (unsweetened) sweet potatoes or yams
Mandarin oranges
Pantry ingredients: baking powder; pumpkin pie spice; canola oil; salt; vanilla extract; all-purpose flour;
white whole wheat flour; dark brown sugar

Ingredients

¾ cup white whole wheat flour
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup chopped pecans, divided
2¼ tsp baking powder
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or ½ tsp cinnamon and ½ tsp allspice or nutmeg, with a pinch of cloves)
¼ tsp salt
1 cup skim milk
¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tbsp canola oil, plus more for the pan (est. 3 tbsp for greasing)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 (16 ounce) can of unsweetened sweet potatoes or yams, liquid drained and solids mashed together

Instructions

Combine flour, half the pecans (2 tbsp), baking powder, spice(s) and salt in a large bowl. In a medium sized bowl, combine the milk, sugar, oil (1 tbsp), vanilla extract and eggs. Add these wet ingredients to the flour mixture and mix until smooth. Stir in sweet potatoes.

Heat a griddle or sauté pan. Pour enough canola oil to grease the griddle or pan. Spoon about ¼ cup batter (per pancake) onto your hot cooking surface. Flip each pancake when bubbles start to form on the surface and the edges look cooked. Cook about 1 minute more, or until both sides are golden.

(Turn down the heat if the pancakes start to brown too quickly.) Repeat with the remaining batter until all batter has been used, using additional oil to grease the pan as needed. Sprinkle pancakes with the remaining pecans.

Notes

White whole wheat flour will produce a lighter whole grain pancake. If you can’t find it, try using equal parts whole wheat and all purpose flour (the recipe calls for 1¼ cups of flour in total).

Yield

4 servings (¾ cup each)

Nutrition Information Per Serving

Calories: 310 calories
Protein: 8 g
Sodium: 345 mg
Carbohydrate: 37 g
Fiber: 3 g
Fat: 15 g
Sat Fat: 1.5 g

Make It a Meal

Starch: 1 serving pancakes
Protein: ½ cup 1% cottage cheese (80 calories)
Fruit: ½ cup canned mandarin oranges, in their own juices (35 calories)

Use of Leftovers

Freeze leftover pancakes and reheat them in a microwave whenever you need a quick breakfast.

This article originally appeared on MGHBeFit.com, an employee wellness program sponsored by MGH Nutrition and Food Services.