Healthy Breakfast of Champions

Saturday was pancake day at the Moody home. It was a tradition that my parents established to keep us from consuming too much sugar. Monday through Friday we ate the healthy, high fiber cereals like oatmeal and cracked wheat. Sometimes we had boiled eggs, toast and orange juice. I can't remember having sausage, bacon and fried eggs. My dad, being a medical doctor, wanted us to avoid saturated fats and foods cooked in butter and eat more "heart healthy" foods.

On Sunday, the day of rest, we loved having cold cereal. Like most children when I went shopping with my mother, I tried to get her to buy sweet cereals like Frosted Flakes or Sugar Pops. She always persuaded me to choose something else because she knew that healthy breakfasts were an important way to start the day. She had us eating cereals like shredded wheat (high fiber) or corn flakes (low sugar). My favorite was Wheaties, the “Breakfast of Champions”. With raisins or sliced bananas and a little bit of sugar, it was a real treat for me.

My parents were definitely right about limiting high fat and high sugar foods for breakfast. Parents need to look at the nutrition content on the side of the box. Each teaspoon of sugar has 16 calories or 4 grams of sugar. Some cereals like Kellogg's Fruit Loops or Apple Jacks have as much as 15 grams of sugar in one serving. Do the math: that's like putting more that three spoonfuls of sugar on your cereal! Instead of buying a pre-sweetened breakfast cereal, a better choice would be to buy a whole grain cereal and add some fruit. Even if you sprinkle a little sugar on top, you'll get a sweet flavor and you'll eat a lot less sugar.

The Atwoods of Salem also carried on the tradition of pancakes on Saturday. I tried to make them more healthy by adding ingredients like applesauce, grated apples and mashed bananas. Back in November when I was searching for ways to use pureed pumpkin, I found a great pancake recipe. If you substitute whole wheat flour instead of white flour and top it with a low sugar fruit syrup, it is delicious and could soon become a family favorite. For those marathon runners who need to carbohydrate load, it can also be a healthy breakfast for champions!

Pumpkin Pancakes

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vinegar

In a bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt. In a large bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Stir in the dry ingredients just enough to combine. Heat a griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Spray with a cooking spray. Scoop the batter onto the griddle, using about 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Apple Syrup

1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups apple juice
2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Mix sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon in a saucepan. Add juice and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Serve over apple cinnamon french toast, pancakes or waffles.