The holidays are fast approaching and whether you have kids or not, you may have a few extra days off over Christmas. I don't know about you, but when I have a few extra hours in the morning, I make more time for my favourite meal of the day -- breakfast. I eat breakfast every day, but on weekends and days off, I take a few extra minutes to prep this amazingly delicious pancake recipe.

When people see pancakes that aren't white and fluffy and instead an off-white shade (indicating a non-bleached, non-white, non-refined flour) with a little more substance, they get the heebie-jeebies! Why? Well, they automatically assume healthy pancakes equate to tasting like "tree bark." Never fear, because these pancakes are "boyfriend approved" (which also means kid and spouse approved). If ever there is a recipe I'm not 100 percent certain on taste-wise, I test them out on the average greasy-spoon-bacon-and-eggs lover.

This recipe is definitely not short on taste. I have acquired a knack for taking unhealthy recipes and converting them to tasty and nutritious ones. No one will ever know the difference! (Doesn't the photo just make your mouth water?)

Recipe after the jump...

Banana Cranberry (Healthy...Shhh!) Pancakes

1/2 cup ground almond flour
1 cup spelt flour (gluten-free option: brown rice flour)
2 tbsp of sucanat sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2.5 cups of almond milk (or more, to your desired thickness)
3 whole eggs
2 sliced bananas (slice them like pepperoni pieces on a pizza)

Method:
Mix all the dry ingredients together, then add the wet ingredients, excluding the banana (Hint: You want the batter to be the consistency of wallpaper paste), combine until there are no visible dry clumps.

Heat skillet or pan to low-medium heat. Melt organic coconut oil or butter -- enough to cover the surface. Pour the mixture onto the pan and decorate the top with five or six banana slices (you must do this before you flip them). Each pancake can be about the size of the palm of your hand. Typical refined-flour pancakes will start to form a bubble on the top and this is when you flip them, but dense, healthy ones don't give you the same obvious signs. Flip after about five minutes, or sneak a peek to make sure it's browning nicely on the bottom.

Sprinkle your pancakes with dried cranberries and dress them with some agave syrup or organic maple syrup.

Jazz it up!
Whenever I make pancakes, I like to change it up a bit. Here are some tips:

Cinnamon: You could add 1 tbsp to the batter, which will give it a sweeter taste without the calories. Cinnamon is a blood sugar balancer and keeps cravings away.

Vanilla Extract: You could add 1-2 tsp for an essence of vanilla.

Nuts: Up the ante on the good fat! Chopped pecans, slivered almonds or sunflower seeds are best. About 1/4 of a cup is ideal, otherwise you will end up with "scrambled" pancakes that are impossible to flip.

Raw Oats: My fave -- this really takes it up a notch in terms of how dense the pancakes will be. My preference is for a "meaty" pancake that keeps me satisfied for at least 3-4 hours. Oats are an excellent source of fibre and proven to lower cholesterol. Some people have trouble digesting oats, so you could always soak them in water overnight as this will release some of the enzyme inhibitors and increase the digestibility.

EnJOY!

Joy McCarthy, owner of Joyous Health, is a certified holistic nutritionist and health coach with a passion for inspiring people to eat well, live well and feel more joyous on a daily basis. Joy welcomes your questions or comments and although you may not receive a response, your submission will certainly be read and may be selected as a topic for a future column.