Blueberry Blast

By Brianne Harrison

I’m a sucker for pancakes on the weekend, but I was having trouble finding a good “from scratch” recipe. Most of the cakes I ended up with went tough seconds after they came out of the pan, or they ended up too flat. I wanted a fluffy stack of pancakes that’d soak up a nice helping of maple syrup. And then, I found a recipe for good old fashioned pancakes and my search was officially over.

The pancakes in this recipe come out moist and fluffy every time, and they’re good for snacking on even hours after they’re cooked. This past weekend, I had a little fun with the master recipe and started playing with it. The results were particularly memorable.

Blueberry Whole Wheat Pancakes
1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour
3 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 T white sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
pinch of cloves (optional)
1 c fresh or frozen blueberries
1 ¼ c milk
1 egg
3 T butter, melted

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, cinnamon and cloves into a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg, and melted butter. Mix thoroughly, until smooth. Stir in the blueberries.

Heat a griddle or frying pan over medium heat. Grease lightly if necessary. Scoop the batter onto the griddle or pan, using about ¼ cup for each pancake. Cook until browned on both sides (unlike most pancake recipes, these pancakes don’t start to bubble on top, so don’t wait for that or they’ll burn).

Cooked pancakes can be kept warm in a 200 degree oven. Serve plain or with a good-quality maple syrup.

Quick Tip: White whole wheat is a bit sweeter than regular whole wheat, which can be a little bitter. If you can’t find white whole wheat, you might want to make these with ¾ cup whole wheat flour and ¾ cup white flour, mixed.

Healthy Roundup:
Whole wheat flour is a rich source of B-vitamins, vitamin E, and protein. It also contains more trace minerals and dietary fiber than regular white flour.

Blueberries are high in antioxidants such as vitamins C and E. In fact, they’re among the fruits with the highest antioxidant activity. Certain studies have also suggested that regularly eating blueberries may slow aging (specifically, age-related loss of mental capacity), and researchers at Rutgers University have identified compounds in blueberries that promote urinary tract health and reduce the risk of infection. There’s also some speculation that blueberries may raise your metabolism.

Cinnamon has been said to lower blood sugar, triglycerides, LDL, and cholesterol in people with type 2 diabetes. Cinnamon is also a rich source of antioxidants; can stop the growth of bacteria, fungi, and yeast; and has anti-clotting and anti-inflammatory properties. Talk about a super spice!

Nice and Easy Does It

By Brianne Harrison

After a full day of work and an hour at the gym, what I want for dinner is something fast, healthy, and satisfying. With that in mind, I opened the fridge last night and contemplated my options. The pork chops weren’t completely thawed yet, so I went to plan b: leftover roast chicken.

Protein decided, I reached for one of my favorite, most versatile pantry staples: whole-wheat pasta. A few leaves of fresh spinach, a lemon, and some capers rounded out the dish, which was done in less than 15 minutes with little fuss and very little mess to clean up. Want to try it out? Here’s the recipe:

Weeknight Pasta
Serves 2

1 C cooked chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
1 C fresh spinach (or ¼ cup cooked or frozen. If frozen, thaw before cooking).
Juice of ½ lemon
1 to 1 ½ tsp capers
½ lb whole wheat pasta of your choice (I used regular spaghetti)
salt

Boil pasta according to package instructions and drain.

While pasta is boiling, add about 1 tsp olive oil to a non-stick skillet over medium heat. When the olive oil is warm, add the spinach and chicken and sauté for about 2 min, until spinach is wilted and chicken warmed through.

Add the lemon juice and capers to the spinach and chicken. Saute for another 30 seconds or so. Taste, and add a bit of salt if the dish needs seasoning (it might not, since capers tend to be a bit salty). Keeping the skillet over medium heat, add the drained pasta and toss over heat for another 30 seconds.

Weeknight pasta with chicken? Done.

Healthy Roundup: Lean meat? Check. Whole grains? Check. Leafy green? Check.
Plus: Capers contain Quercetin, a plant-derived flavonoid which may have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Spinach is high in vitamins A (which is an antioxidant that can help protect your heart) and K (which helps prevent osteoporosis), as well as manganese and folate, while remaining low in calories. Spinach also has at least 13 different flavonoid compounds that function as antioxidants and have cancer-fighting properties. Olive oil can help protect you against heart disease and certain cancers. Lemons, naturally, are high in vitamin C, an immune system booster—not a bad thing to have during flu season!