Breakfast, the most important meal of the day. Literally meaning to break fasting, if you are anything like me you go to bed thinking about this. A meal that will satisfy you and set the tone for your entire day. To achieve something that I can feel good about eating but still feel like I have treated myself I have combined the world of “comfort” and “health.” Making substitutions when possible and of course something that I struggle with daily, portion control. I find that this recipe involves a combination of both those concepts. These ricotta whole-what pancakes are so incredibly easy and so delicious that you won’t even notice we substituted all-purpose flour for whole wheat. And ricotta cheese is dairy right? So in a way we are hitting multiple points of our food pyramid for the day. Top it off with a side of fruit and I feel like we are off to an amazing start.

These pancakes came to life when I was pregnant with my daughter last year. I was on the border of being diagnosed with gestational diabetes, and in order to keep my sugar at bay I started becoming more aware of what I put into my body. I started to cut things out of my diet, and always felt like I was settling and eating things that were doctor “approved,” but not actually enjoying them. So as any good chef (or in my case home cook) would do, I started researching and testing. I found out that by substituting simple things in recipes I can still make enjoyable but healthy-er versions of my favorite foods. By combining ricotta cheese with a wheat flour base I was still able to make a fluffy and delicious pancake, which didn’t sacrifice taste, and didn’t put my health in jeopardy.

So let’s make your new favorite pancakes!

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 2-3 minutes per batch

Materials:

• ¾ cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tbs baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbs. sugar
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 3 eggs separated into whites and yolks
• 1 tbs vanilla extract
• ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Unsalted butter/ vegetable oil for frying
• Maple syrup (optional)

Process:

1. In a medium sized mixing bowl combine the whole wheat flour, baking soda, sugar, salt, ricotta cheese, egg yolks, and vanilla. Mix well to combine. Don’t panic if the batter feels thick. It will be perfect once you add the egg whites.
2. In a separate mixing bowl add in your egg whites and using a handheld mixer mix until you get stiff peaks.
3. Fold the egg whites into the flour and ricotta mixture, trying not to deflate the egg whites. Since wheat tends to be quite tough the egg whites will help our pancakes be fluffy and perfect. 
4. In a skillet add in a tbs. of butter. or splash of vegetable oil. Keeping the heat on medium add in about ¼ cup of the mixture for each pancake. Note this batter is thicker so you may need a little help from a spatula to shape your pancakes. (Watch the video below to see how I maneuver mine.)
5. Cook 1-2 minutes on each side, or until fully cooked through and enjoy!
6. Maple syrup optional.