During the holiday season I make an extra effort to make sure that my family starts their day with a healthy breakfast.   Why? Well, despite our effort to be healthy in our home, treats and goodies during this season tend to end up on our plate. Therefore, I want to make sure that their first meal of the day is super nutritious.

My oatmeal apple spice pancakes have become a favorite recipe in our home during the holidays.  I just love the way the aroma from this super easy and delicious recipe fill up the house on cold mornings.   I make them with a kamut pancake mix because the flour contains a very high amount of whole grain per serving.  It’s a also a great source of fiber and provides such a hearty texture to the recipe. Any instant oatmeal works well, so feel free to get creative! Sometimes I will buy the flavored apple spice oatmeal and it works so well in this recipe. If you don't typically buy apple pie spice, you may substitute a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg.

This is what you will need:

1/2 cup of kamut pancake mix

1/2 cup of instant oatmeal

1 teaspoon of apple pie spice

1 tablespoon of honey

1 tablespoon of canola oil

1/2 cup of unsweetened apple sauce

1 cup of low-fat milk

First, place the dry ingredients (pancake mix, oatmeal, and apple pie spice) together in a bowl and mix well.

Add milk and applesauce and mix well.

Add they honey and mix well.  It's at this point when I decide whether to add more milk.   The mixture should be pretty close to what your usual pancake mix looks like, but it will look grainer due to the kamut and oatmeal.  For thinner pancakes you may want to add about 1/4 cup of milk.

Pour batter onto a lightly oiled griddle or pan, about 1/3 cup per pancake.  Turn when bubbles form on surface and the edges begin to dry. Since the recipe calls for a whole grain and oatmeal, the pancakes will have a heartier, denser texture.

Top off these delicious pancakes with just a bit of real maple syrup (real maple syrup lacks the high fructose corn syrup, which is not good for you) and banana slices.....and for added calcium have a glass of cold milk with them - just perfect!

To learn more about milk as part of a healthy lifestyle Link to The Master of the Glass Half Full on Facebook or follow on Twitter.

Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaign with the California Milk Processor’s Board and Latina Mom Bloggers.

Have you tried Kohlrabi?

My cousin Rocio recently shared her recipe for a delicious summer coleslaw with the items from her CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box – one of which was Kohlrabi.  It was so good, we just had to share!

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups of Kohlrabi, peeled and shredded  (with the protective larger skin removed in medium to large size bulbs, small kohlrabi bulbs generally do not need to be peeled)
• ½ cup of shredded Turnips
• ½ cup of shredded Carrots
• ½  head of Cabbage
• 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil Mayo
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

Use a cheese grater or food processor to shred the peeled kholrabi, turnips and carrots.  You can do it the old fashioned way, with a simple knife, but the grater and food processor will save you a lot of time.  A mandolin slicer was used to shred the cabbage.

Combine all the shredded veggies in a large bowl. 

The veggies release enough water to make the mayo combination nice and creamy.   You can add mayo, salt and pepper to taste. 

Why do we love this simple recipe?  The ingredients are good for you!

Carrots – are high in Vitamin A and beta carotene, fiber, calcium, potassium and other trace minerals.

Kholrabi – are high in vitamins A and C and minerals potassium and calcium.

Turnips – are good source for vitamin C, potassium and calcium.

What is Kohlrabi?

These tasty green or purple colored turnips can be eaten raw or cooked and are similar in taste to broccolli stems.   The folks over at Green Earth Institute give this unusual looking veggie a big thumbs up.

“With only 36 calories, one cup of raw kohlrabi has nearly 5 grams of fiber and is an excellent source of Vitamin C and a good source of Potassium. Kohlrabi contains important phytochemicals such as indoles, sulforaphane and isothiocynates. Indoles are believed to be potentially significant anti-cancer compounds and are found in other cruciferous vegetables, including broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower. These plant compounds are not destroyed in cooking, and the bioactivity of indoles may actually be increased by cooking.”

To learn more about this fun veggie and try in some recipes, visit:

• Kohlrabi recipe from the Green Earth Institute
• How to use Kohlrabi