Lemon Blueberry Pancakes

A simple, nutritious, and, of course, delicious way to start the day off right.

When I think of blueberry pancakes, or blueberry muffins, the first thing that comes to mind is the small, dried, artificial tasting "blueberries" you often find when you buy the product at a grocery store. While I must say it does taste pretty good, sometimes I'm left feeling a bit sick to the stomach with that artificial flavor.

So, when I started making more and more of my own food, I was determined to create a blueberry pancake recipe that would be kind to my body as well as my taste buds.

I did try quite a few ways. The first was pureed blueberries. Sure, the result had a nice texture and look, but it tasted like soggy cardboard. Cardboard mixed with maple syrup, of course.

My next not-so-bright idea? Blueberry juice. I pureed blueberries and strained the bits of skin from the juice, and put only the juice into the pancake batter. The blueberry juice turned the pancakes a funky color, but, again, did almost NOTHING to the taste.

Finally I realized the only way to make it taste good was whole blueberries! After a few trials in which the blueberries either burned, oozed out, or crowded the pancake, I stumbled upon the right ratio of blueberry to pancake. When I reached into the fridge to take out the blueberries that day, a basket of lemons caught my eye. We have a lemon tree that produces tons of lemons year-round, so they are easily accessible to us. If you don't have lemons, just leave the zest and juice out for some regular blueberry pancakes!

So without further ado, here is the recipe.

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Lemon Blueberry Pancakes

Cuisine: American

Course: Breakfast

Dietary Restriction: Vegetarian (can be made vegan)

Author: Prachi Marfatia

Servings: 4-6 good-sized pancakes, approx. 2 servings

Ingredients:

Pancake/Waffle Mix

Or mix the ingredients below:

1/2 cup instant oats(or ground-up rolled oats)

1/2 cup wholewheat flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 - 1 tsp baking powder

a pinch of baking soda

one egg or chia egg

about 2/3 cup milk/milk substitute(more/less depending on batter consistency)

2 tbsp yogurt of choice

Add-Ins:

1/2 cup fresh blueberries(or frozen, thawed)

zest of 1 medium lemon

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tsp any sugar

maple syrup and/or whipped cream, for topping

Directions:

1. Fold blueberries into batter lightly with a spoon or spatula. .

2. Heat a pan on medium heat, then add some oil or butter and coat evenly.

3. Add lemon juice to batter and mix well until combined. With your fingers, rub the zest into the sugar until it is yellow in color. Add this to the batter as well.

4. Pour the mixture(it should be slightly on the thicker side) onto the pan. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, then carefully flip and turn the heat to low or medium-low. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then turn heat back up to medium and cook for 1 or maybe 2 minutes.

5. Remove from pan, top with desired topping, and enjoy!