Variations on a theme - it's pancakes again ...

I am off today. It's Sunday and I very often work, but today I'm free and I am making my ideal Brunch - pancakes. There are many ways to fool around with this staple - make them thin and crepe like, thick and American stack-like or what I do, which is somewhere in the middle. You can use different flours - this is wholemeal, but I've had quinoa flour, coconut, oat, gluten-free and back in the '60's when our Mom was a bit of a hippie - buckwheat. All good, though the coconut needs work!

I also add chia seeds (I add chia to porridge, coconut milk and all sorts of unexpected dishes) and I know it adds some extra texture and goodness, I tried to make these as tasty yet as healthy as possible and because of this, there is no milk, but I do add vanilla to the water for flavour. Greek yogurt works well with this too and adds protein to the dish.

You can get 6 medium sized pancakes out of this mix - the whole dish (incl maple syrup & pecans) comes in at about 333 calories each.

Ingredients

Pancake Mix

• 1 cup w/m self-raising flour

• 1 tbsp chia seeds

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 2 organic eggs

• 1 cup water with 1 tsp vanilla essence

• 1 tbsp butter (for greasing the pan)

• 1 chopped banana

• 1/4 cup toasted pecans

• 150 g blueberries

• Maple Syrup

Mix dry ingredients together, then add the wet, using a whisk to thoroughly mix together

Melt the butter in the pan and when foaming pour the excess into your mix - this cures your pan for the easy cooking of your pancakes - you should be able to flip them after turning once! Turn once the edges start bubbling.

Stack your pancakes with a layer of blueberries, banana & pecans. Finish with a good amount of maple syrup - this is a breakfast that will set you up for the day.

Serves 3