I know I said I don’t believe in making New Year’s resolutions…and for the most part I don’t. Rather, I subscribe to the “one step at a time,” make subtle lifestyle adjustments towards the bigger goal approach…particularly when it comes to diet and exercise. Like I said before, regimented calorie counting and restrictions don’t work for me. Nor does completely swapping out “bad” foods for “good” foods.–someone stop the food police! Come on Noom, you can’t tell me a cup of grapes is more satisfying or nutrient dense than half an avocado!

When it comes to weekend breakfast favorites like pancakes, I’m all in. Give me a short stack and a side of bacon (or sausage). As a kid my mom would rely on the old standby box of Bisquick to whip up a stack for weekend family breakfasts, which were, more often than not, a bit on the stodgy side. Same could be said of her “Bisquick” waffles. She always went by the instructions on the box, so the batter tended to a bit thick–it never occurred to her that perhaps she could thin it out with a little more water. Even when she switched over to other brands of pancake/waffle mix like Aunt Jemima or later Krusteaz, the results were pretty much the same. Consequently, we went through A LOT of Log Cabin syrup.

I began making pancakes from scratch when I bought Marion Cunningham’s The Breakfast Book–alternating between her classic and buttermilk pancake recipes for the better part of a decade. When I became a professional pastry chef, I broadened my repertoire of pancake iterations to include cornmeal pancakes, buckwheat blini, blintzes, and crepes. At home, however, I usually stuck with a variation of buttermilk (or yogurt if I didn’t have buttermilk) pancakes, sometimes adding in blueberries, or mashed bananas, or pumpkin puree.

Lately, I’ve been experimenting with different ways to make my pancakes more nutritious without actually swapping out all-purpose flour for whole wheat or some other alternative like almond or coconut flour (both more expensive). Inspired by my new favorite dietician on YouTube Abbey Sharp, who advocates adding things like Greek yogurt, flax, chia, nut butter/powder, and hemp hearts to bump up the fiber and protein content in recipes, I whipped up a batch of tender, fluffy Weekend Pancakes with Chia Berry Compote. Starting with my basic pancake recipe–flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, egg , oil, and buttermilk–I added about a tablespoon each of flax meal and peanut butter power, extra egg white, and substituted Greek yogurt for buttermilk (thinned out with water). To make the pancakes fluffier, I separated the egg and whipped up the whites to stiff peaks, folding them into the batter to lighten the texture.

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For the Chia Berry Compote, I adapted Abbey’s recipe, combining about a cup and quarter of mixed frozen berries with a little lemon juice, pinch of sea salt, and agave syrup to sweetened in a saucepan and bringing the mixture to a boil. I stirred in 2 tablespoons of chia seeds and let the compote simmer for 2-3 mins. to thicken. The compote is delicious served warm over the pancakes topped with a drizzle of maple syrup, or chilled until very thick and spread over peanut butter and toast.

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Packed with protein, carbohydrates, fiber, and healthy fats these pancakes are not only great for a weekend breakfast but any day of the week. You can make a larger batch, freeze, and warm them up for later in the week…or make a batch for Shrove Tuesday on February 16th!

Weekend Pancakes

Yield: 3-4 pancakes

• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/4 t. seal salt
• 1 t. sugar
• 1 T. flax meal
• 1 T. peanut butter powder (or 2 T. peanut butter)
• 1 large egg, separated, room temp.
• 1 egg white, room temp.
• 1/2 t. vanilla extract
• 1/2 t. cinnamon, optional
• 1/3 c. Greek yogurt
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 T. neutral oil (canola, safflower, etc), plus more for cooking

1. Whisk together dry ingredients; set aside.
2. In separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, water, egg yolk, oil, and vanilla, then whisk into the dry ingredients. *If using peanut butter instead of powder, stir into batter.
3. Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks, then gently fold into the batter until just incorporated.
4. Pour batter on lightly oiled heated griddle or pan. Cook on low heat for about 2-3 mins. on each side or until golden and fluffy.

Chia Berry Compote

Yield: 1 1/4 cup

• 1 1/4 c. mixed berries, fresh or frozen
• 1 T. lemon juice
• pinch of sea salt
• 2-3 T. agave syrup
• 2 T. chia seeds

1. Combine the berries, lemon juice, salt, and agave in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Stir in the chia seeds, reduce the heat, and simmer for 2-3 mins.