Breakfast time is usually a big deal at our house. I try to make sure the little guy gets a healthy nutritious meal to start the day.  I also try to stay away from cereals due to their high sugar content but occassionally a bowl of cereal makes it’s way onto the table.

Since having a child I’ve made breakfast important. I mostly make meals from scratch and make the best attempt to stay away from anything packaged. The chickens have been such a blessing. We’re able to cook eggs most days any which way you can think of and have them for breakfast or “breakie” (what we call it here).

Pancakes are the biggest hit for breakie…just ask my son, he’ll tell you he wants *pancakes*! Before I knew about this recipe I’m going to share; I’d always thought I was making pancakes from scratch.

This recipe calls for whole grains which can usually be found in the bulk bin section of a natural foods store or some traditional markets. Choose from wheat berries, steel cut oats, barley, millet and a few others. There are plenty of options including gluten free ones! The recipe requires the whole grains to be soaked overnight. It is believed that when the grains are soaked, they’re  easier to digest and the vitamins and minerals are easily absorbed. When the grains are not soaked, they cannot be digested as easily and the vitamin and mineral content is slim to none.

The soaking method is based on the Nourishing Traditions diet. I’ve learned a lot about the Nourishing Traditions way from Donielle, at Naturally Knocked Up. She inspired me to learn more about “soaking” methods. Since Fall is in the air these pancakes are a perfect breakie to have in your recipe arsenal to help warm the home & heart.

Soaked Blender Pancakes

1 cup grain of your choice

1 cup of yogurt or buttermilk

1 tsp of lemon juice

Add ingredients to a blender or food processor and mix up creating a vortex. The vortex is key to make sure there is enough liquid… add more liquid sparingly, if there is no vortex (mixture will get too runny otherwise). Whirl mixture for a few minutes in order to break up the grains. After the grains have been ground up let mixture sit overnight (8-10hrs).

In the morning begin mixing below ingredients in blender:

1 tablespoon – melted butter or coconut oil, olive oil, etc.

1 egg

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp of Pumpkin spice or cinnamon

up to 1 tsp vanilla extract and/or sweetener of your choice (optional)

We like wheat berries and quinoa but I’m planning to experiment with different grains this fall/winter. Maybe even mix a few grains up. We’ve been known to toss in blueberries, strawberries or banana into the blender as well.  Remember, to get creative by adding fruit into the  pancake batter and use cookie cutter molds to cook the batter in.  We have a few of the special cutters for pancakes but regular cookie cutters work fine- I use tongs to pick them up.

Always make sure the pancakes cook with holes throughout entire pancake before flipping, especially with these kind. Another great thing about this recipe is there is normally enough batter to cook out and freeze for future pancake breakfasts! We like to top them with fresh fruit and agave. Sometimes, I make a fresh fruit compote and it tastes oh! so! yummy!  What’s your favorite fall “breakie“?

[This post was written by Leslie Quigley.]