As you may know, I have IBS and Crohn's disease, so I have to be very careful with the foods I eat. Keep in mind, I made all of my daughter's baby food, I breast fed and have always cooked organic foods. Being realistic, it will be a challenge introducing your family to healthier versions of otherwise overly processed and white sugar favorites. However, it is possible and will provide your family with better health and eating habits.

My daughter Amirah loves pancakes and we usually eat oatmeal for breakfast every morning. I created an easy recipe for banana oatmeal pancakes as a happy medium.

What you will need:

2 cups of old fashioned oatmeal

2 teaspoons of gluten free baking powder

1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon

1 1/4 cups of unsweetened (or sweetened) Almond milk

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of almond extract

1 tablespoon of grape seed oil

2 ripe bananas

How to make:

First preheat your oven to 250 degrees *Note: this is where you will place the cooked pancakes to keep them warm while you are making the rest. Otherwise, the oven isn't needed if served immediately*

Next take the two cups of oatmeal and put them into a food processor, pulse until they are the same consistency as flour.

Now take a large mixing bowl and put the oatmeal flour into the bowl with the rest of the ingredients and mix together until the consistency is that of batter. It will be thick but that is how it should be.

Now you want to take a 1/4 cup to scoop the batter out and place on a griddle or lightly oiled non stick pan on medium heat. Normally, you don't want to smash pancakes, but I press down on theses slightly as the pancakes are thick. They will get brown on each side and as long as each side is fully cooked you are fine. Place them in the oven and let them sit for a couple minutes if you want to ensure they are fully cooked.

Instead of using syrup I take a hand full of my favorite berries and throw them in a blender. Once they are blended, I toss them around in the skillet until it is warm and pour it over the pancakes. You can also take the whole berries and toss them into the skillet until they are warm, then pour them over the pancakes. I always eat greens with my breakfast and today we had my favorite breakfast potatoes.

I hope everyone enjoys their breakfast and practices serving healthy fun options to eat!

@AshleySirah