Friday, January 15, 2010

There is no investment more important then the health of you and your children



As a mother of two children, an educator, and a health councilor; I live by the expression, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Our children’s health is being greatly compromised by lifestyle, environment, diet and exercise. You'd be amazed at how many mothers are unaware of the damage they are doing to their bodies (and their children’s bodies) when they feed them over processed, pasteurized, and microwaveable foods loaded with partially hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, antibiotics and unpronounceable food additives.

My best advice to creating life long health is to get your children into the kitchen. My kids love creating their own recipes and feel an amazing sense of pride and accomplishment when they have created something really delicious. They love measuring, mincing, slicing chopping, kneading , spinning lettuce, whipping and folding, baking, and mostly eating. It is a great way to get your children to experiment with various cuisines and it increases their nutrition and enables us to spend quality time with them.

My kids love these pancakes and what's best is they can prep them the night before. The more time they are in the kitchen the less time they are on the computer or watching TV.

Sofia's overnight pancakes
These are flour-less and taste absolutely delicious!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups organic quick oatmeal or rolled oatmeal slightly ground
1 cup rice milk
1 apple juice
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon baking powder - no aluminum
1 teaspoon baking soda - no aluminum
1 teaspoon of flax
1 teaspoon of wheat germ
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs beaten
1/4 cup coconut oil

Directions:In a medium bowl mix together oats, milk and juice . Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning blend in all other ingredients. Let stand 20 minutes. Adjust batter consistency with milk or apple juice. Portion batter using 1/4-1/3 measuring cup and cook batter on a hot skillet with coconut oil. If using a skillet to make pancakes cook pancakes until bubbles appear on top, flip and cook until lightly browned on both sides. Serve with fruit of your choice for garnish or before cooking fold in blueberriesraspberries or sliced bananas. YUMMY!!

Can be Casein-Free and Gluten-Free (check for gluten-free oats).