By Caroline Patrick, Graduate Nutrition Student

October exams stressing you out? No need! I’ve got the remedy. Put on Jack Johnson’s “Banana Pancakes” and take his advice: pretend it’s the weekend and start flipping pancakes. Sargent Choice has got you covered with worry-free banana pancakes that take a hearty twist on the classic. Instead of cutting slices of banana into the batter, the batter is made up of mashed bananas. Once you combine that with whole-wheat flour—BOOM—it’s cake in a pan.

We ate our pancakes with defrosted berries (strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries, to be precise). When our Test Kitchen leader Karen Jacobs whipped out unsweetened cinnamon applesauce to go on top, I went to the flipside (a.k.a. pancake heaven).  If you’re feeling really wild, you might throw in a few chocolate chips for a decadent bite. Peanut butter or almond butter would also be fabulous toppers and make for a satisfying treat.

Fire up the skillet at your next pancake breakfast (or whenever) and throw this recipe on.  You’ll see that you don’t actually need that all-purpose flour because brown is the new white! These are just as delicious, and they’ll actually fill you up, help you keep a steady blood sugar, and keep you full until your next meal. Brain food has never been so smart. So get your short stack stat and then you can ace those tests.  Order’s up!

Sargent Choice Banana Pancakes
Recipe from 100 Days of Real Food

Yield: 10 pancakes

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey
2 eggs lightly beaten
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1¾ cup 1% milk
2 ripe bananas mashed

Maple syrup for serving

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. Make a well (hole) in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the honey, eggs, milk, and 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Whisk together thoroughly, but do not over mix.
3. Gently fold the mashed bananas into the batter with a spatula.
4. Heat a griddle or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Spray with non-stick spray until it is well coated. Using a ½ cup measuring cup, ladle batter on to griddle.
5. When the pancakes have begun brown on the bottom, flip them over to cook the other side.
6. Serve warm with maple syrup and a side of fruit. Other serving suggestions: Peanut butter, applesauce, plain non-fat or low-fat yogurt and fruit.

Leftover pancakes can be frozen.