Pumpkin Pancakes

Staying home today and weathering out the storm?  Have a breakfast or brunch to make for a group of friends and family?  Try making some delicious pumpkin pancakes!  They are so easy to make, and they do not require any extra effort, just a can of pumpkin puree and cinnamon.

Pumpkin is not only a delicious fall flavor, it also has great health benefits!  Huffington Post broke down those benefits for us:

1. 1 cup of cooked pumpkin contains more than 200% of your recommended daily Vitamin A intake, which helps out with vision!
2. Pumpkin is very rich in fiber, and aids in weight loss – so keep sipping those pumpkin lattes!
3. Pumpkin seeds are heart healthy, and help with lowering your cholesterol.
4. “Like their orange comrades the sweet potato, the carrot and the butternut squash (to name a few), pumpkins boast the antioxidant beta-carotene, which may play a role in cancer prevention, according to the National Cancer Institute.”
5. Helps to keep your skin wrinkle free!
6. “Pumpkin seeds are rich in the amino acid tryptophan, the famed ingredient in turkey that many think brings on the need for that post-Thanksgiving feast snooze. While experts agree that it’s likely the overeating rather than the tryptophan lulling you to sleep, the amino acid is important in production of serotonin, one of the major players when it comes to our mood, WebMD reports. A handful of roasted pumpkin seeds may help your outlook stay bright.”
7. A great refueling supplement after a workout – a cup of cooked pumpkin has more of the refueling nutrient potassium, with 564 milligrams to a banana’s 422.
8. Keeping your immune system strong – “One cup of cooked pumpkin contains more than 11 milligrams, or nearly 20 percent of the 60 milligrams the IOM recommends women need daily. (Men should aim for around 75 milligrams.)”

[recipe]

Pumpkin Pancakes

• 1 cup of pumpkin for every batch you make.
• Dash of cinnamon
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• Handful of brown sugar
• Pancake Mix (and anything you need for that)

Directions:

1. Preheat your griddle or pan.
2. Make your pancake mix according to the directions on the box.  Ours only added water.  Pumpkin is very moist and will bring more water content to your recipe.  I used a little less water in our mix because I knew the pumpkin would be very moist (I hate that word).
3. Add in your pumpkin, dash of cinnamon, and suagrs.
4. Mix together until blended.
5. Pour your mix on the griddle/pan and wait until you see bubbles and flip.  Sometime the bottom will cook before the bubbles appear so check after a few minutes so they don’t burn.
6. Remove from the pan and enjoy!

[/recipe]