To be honest, I’ve never been able to get on board with the “healthy pancakes” trend. I gave protein pancakes a few tries with no success, which led me to determine pancakes simply aren’t meant to be health food; they’re to be enjoyed in all their buttery, syrupy goodness on a Sunday morning when it’s perfectly acceptable to enter a carb-and-sugar coma after breakfast.

But last weekend I woke up thinking about oatmeal pancakes. I don’t know what inspired the idea, but a quick Google search revealed it’s not an original one. Still, I loved the idea of using oatmeal to make the recipe more nutritious and more filling without completely giving up the flavor and texture of traditional pancakes (as was the case with every protein pancake recipe I tried).

Are these pancakes diet food? I don’t know; I doubt it, but I don’t really do “diet food” anyway. I do know they have a lot less flour and a lot more fiber than regular pancakes, which means you can eat fewer of them while still filling up. Plus, I find that these don’t need to be loaded with butter and syrup (major sources of calories and fat in a typical pancake breakfast); the chocolate chips provide plenty of sweetness. So far I’ve enjoyed these pancakes sprinkled with a shake or two of cinnamon sugar, smeared with a sliver of butter or just plain – all have been equally delicious.

To make these even more nutritious, use whole-wheat flour instead of regular and feel free to increase the oats to flour ratio; I plan to play around with the recipe a little more the next time I make it – I’ll be sure to update if I have any success!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Adapted from AllRecipes

Makes 6-8 pancakes

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tbsp. white sugar

1/2 tbsp. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon (optional)

3/4 cup skim milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 egg

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Place the rolled oats in the bowl of a food processor and blend until finely ground. Place in a large mixing bowl with the other dry ingredients (except for chocolate chips), and mix until well-combined. Add the milk, vanilla, oil and egg and whisk until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Meanwhile, heat a nonstick or lightly-oiled skillet over medium heat. Scoop batter onto heated skillet and cook to desired doneness (I usually turn mine when bubbles have formed over the entire surface of the pancake).

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