Whole Grain Buttermilk Pancakes

My friend Kristen from Food Renegade has very generously written a guest post for High on Health. Kristen’s blog is all about going back to the basics and healing with whole foods which is something we can definitely all learn from. So thanks Kristen for your post, and I can’t wait to make the pancakes!! Here’s Kristen’s post-

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Fran’s recently started writing about the need to sprout, soak, or ferment your grains to make them more digestible. That might sound intimidating, particularly if you want a wholesome, filling, and quick breakfast. So, I decided to share one of my family’s breakfast standards. It’s not complicated at all, and it’s a happy alternative to soaked porridge, eggs, and smoothies.

These delicious breakfast pancakes are made from fresh whole grains, real cultured buttermilk, and you don’t even need a grain grinder.

Why fresh grains?

Because you’ll become addicted, that’s why. When you buy whole grain flour at the store, particularly wheat flour, you’ll notice something — it’s bitter. That’s oxidation at work. Once the grain is ground into flour, it immediately starts to oxidize.

Experts say it takes 6 months for whole wheat flour to go rancid. A person who grinds it fresh will tell you it starts to “turn” in as little as a week. That’s because real freshly ground flour isn’t bitter. It’s sweet.

And, because the grain soaks overnight in the buttermilk, you’ll neutralize the phytic acid and make them more nourishing and digestible.

The Players

• 1 cup whole grain kernels (I’m using wheat kernels here, but you can use 1/2 rolled oats and 1/2 kamut for all the difference it will make to this recipe.)
• 1 cup cultured buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of milk (raw is best!)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp. baking soda

The How-To

The night before you want to eat pancakes for breakfast, put 1 cup of whole grains and 1 cup of buttermilk into your blender.

Add the vanilla and oil, then start your blender! Blend for a good 3 minutes or so unless you’re blessed with an awesome, over-the-top, spectacular, show-stopping blender like the VitaMix that doubles as a grain grinder and ice cream maker because of it’s power and durability. If you’ve got one of those, you probably only need to blend this for a minute or so.

Now, let this concoction soak overnight.

In the morning, begin heating your griddle or skillet to medium-high heat. Add an egg, 1 cup of milk, and blend again. If you don’t see this whirling vortex of whole grain batter bliss, add more milk until you do.

Add cinnamon and salt directly into the vortex whole. This helps avoid clumping.

Add in your baking soda (again straight into the vortex). Keep blending until mixed, then remove your carafe of batter from your base. Minimize clean up by pouring pancake batter directly from the carafe onto the hot griddle. Let pancakes cook until the edges firm up and the insides turn nice and bubbly. Using a spatula, flip the pancakes over and cook for another minute or until cooked through.

Serve however you like them best. For us, it’s layered with almond butter and a dollop of butter from pastured cows on top. Our syrups vary. We either use real maple syrup, or we blend raw berries and pour those over the top.

Oh, and we always serve pancakes with a tall glass of fresh, raw milk or a kefir smoothie.