This post was created in partnership with Dannon Light & Fit. I have been compensated for my time commitment. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.
We’re only on day away from Christmas and the month is flying by! I’ve been crazy busy with year-end projects and all the usual stuff that goes into running my business, but it’s finally time to slow things down and start focusing on family. We’re luckily not hosting the big event this year, but I’m still looking forward to being in the same place as all my favorite people.
Does your family have a special holiday tradition that involves cooking? For us, it’s all about Christmas brunch. Sometimes it’s just a few of us, sometimes it’s everyone crammed into the same house. But no matter how big the crowd is, we love setting up a brunch buffet and taking our time with a morning meal after opening gifts. You’ll typically find biscuits & gravy, sausage and bacon, casseroles, fruit, and more. This year, I’m contributing these Banana Cream and Cardamom Pancakes to the lineup.
It’s been a great make-ahead breakfast option but it’s easy to dress up a little bit for something like a holiday brunch! Keep reading to see why.
Breakfast Routines During the Holidays
It’s easy to find yourself out of your “normal” routine this time of the year. But through my work with intuitive eating and really tuning into how my body feels and how food affects it, I’ve learned that having something for breakfast is a really key piece for feeling my best. Skipping breakfast can set me up for an entire day of feeling hungrier than usual. Have you ever had that happen to you?
Being busy and short on time is just reality. It’s not always practical or realistic to think we can cook a breakfast meal from scratch every day. That’s where something like pancakes can come in handy. They store well in the fridge or the freezer and can be made in large batches on the weekend when you have more time.
I wanted to create a pancake that’s really thick and fluffy – I like the thinner ones too, but when I’m aiming to get a busy day started, I need a little more balance in my meal. Cooking these pancakes with Dannon Light & Fit Original Greek Nonfat Yogurt and milk brings in some of the protein that adds to the fullness factor. Plus, the texture is amazing when you stack them up!
Cooking with Cardamom
If you’re not familiar with using cardamom in recipes, I’m clearly biased but I think it’s worth at least one round of experimentation. It’s one of my favorite spices to cook or bake with because it’s so aromatic and a little can go a long way.
I also recently learned that cardamom is the third most expensive spice by weight. So that somewhat explains the slightly higher price tag, but again, if you purchase a small amount you can avoid wasting it as well as keeping in the price very affordable. I actually don’t recommend storing large quantities of spices anyways, because they aren’t quite as potent or flavorful once they’ve aged in the pantry from 6+ months (or more).
This is just one way to combine flavors to create something more unique or interesting with a basic recipe like pancakes. Healthy choices don’t have to be boring. With a balanced variety of delicious flavors, Dannon Light & Fit has better-for-you options that also fit your active lifestyle.
And for anyone curious, the other two expensive ones are vanilla pods and saffron. I was looking for vanilla beans for a different recipe recently and the sticker shock for two of them – TWO OF THEM – just about made me want to cry. Needless to say, there were no vanilla beans in that recipe.
Banana Cream & Cardamom Pancakes
I still wanted to include the classic spices like cinnamon and vanilla. So I adjusted the amount of each until I could still taste the cardamom, but not be so overwhelmed with just one flavor. From there, I topped each stack with chopped pecans, fresh berries, and an extra scoop of Dannon Light & Fit Banana Cream Original Greek Nonfat Yogurt.
The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend increasing intake of nutrient-dense foods, such as fat-free or low-fat dairy products, like yogurt. Yogurt is nutrient-dense, and many yogurts are a good source of protein and calcium. Greek yogurts typically contain more protein than regular yogurts. Plus, when you have fun flavors like Banana Cream, it makes it easy to find new ways to incorporate it into meals and snacks like this.
Here’s the full recipe!
Banana Cream and Cardamom Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 container Light & Fit Original Greek Banana Cream Nonfat Yogurt
- 1 1/4 cup milk, whole
Garnish
- Additional yogurt
- Sliced bananas
- Toasted pecans
Instructions
- Heat a non-stick skillet or griddle to medium heat. Whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cardamom). Mix the wet ingredients (eggs, oil, vanilla, yogurt) together in a separate bowl.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, then stir in the milk. Do not overmix until smooth, allow some lumps to remain in the batter.
- Drop the batter onto the hot griddle in 1/4 cup portions. Cook approximately two minutes on one side or until bubbles form in the batter and the edges appear firm. Flip once and cook for one additional minute. Remove from the skillet and hold warm.
- Continue with the remaining batter. Before serving, top pancakes with additional Light & Fit Banana Cream Original Greek Nonfat Yogurt, toasted pecans pieces, sliced banana, or additional cinnamon or cardamom if desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
I’m excited to cook up a batch of these for my family on Christmas morning, as well as enjoying the leftovers for a quick breakfast on a busy weekday. Versatile recipes like this are so helpful this time of the year, but you can be sure I’m relying on them the rest of the year as well!
What are some of the family traditions you look forward to for the holidays?
For more delicious meal and snack ideas with Dannon Light & Fit Original Greek Nonfat Yogurt, follow @Lightandfit on Instagram and use the hashtag #LightandFitRD #LightandFit.