Whole wheat banana pancakes

We've been watching speed skaters stuffed into their shiny full-body leotard skins like sausages. And with a gorgeously buffed out Michelle Kwan absent from the rink, the itty bitty teeny tiny figure skaters together weigh all of 175 pounds. It's enough to give someone a little bit of a complex. 

So what do we do about this feeling of over-adequacy in the thigh area? We eat a breakfast of champions! We already know that the experts always say that we should always eat breakfast if we are going through a "lifestyle change" (I try not to use the D word). A Bloody Mary doesn't count, so fat-free yogurt with fresh fruit might seem the most natural choice, but it's winter. It's cold. Pancakes sound so much better.

To make it a little less, well, harmful to our future fit selves, use whole wheat flour, and load the pancakes with fiber and potassium in the form of bananas.

Hey, and if you drown your pancakes with maple syrup, I'll just pretend I didn't see. Besides, pancakes are better than...a doughnut.

Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes

In a large bowl, sift together 1 c. whole wheat flour, ½ c. all-pupose flour, 2 Tbsp. brown sugar, 1½ tsp. baking powder, and ½ tsp salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together 1½ c. milk, 3 Tbsp. melted butter, 2 large eggs, and ½ tsp. vanilla.

Pour the milk/egg mixture over the flour mixture and stir until just combined.

Ladle about ¼ to ½ c. of pancake batter onto a frying pan or griddle that has been lightly greased. Place thinly sliced bananas** on top of the pancake batter in the pan. Let pancake cook until the edges are dry and small air holes have popped up all over the surface, about 1½ minutes. Lift the edge of the pancake to check for golden brown-ness underneath. Turn the pancake over and cook for another 30 seconds until cooked through.

Repeat until all your pancakes are made.

**Obviously, you could be using any sort of fruit here.