The perfect lazy summer morning? With cozy pajamas, a newspaper to share, a good conversation, plenty of black coffee, and pancakes of course. Especially pancakes made from scratch that are topped with seasonal fruits like blueberries and strawberries that turn your tongue purple and make your hearts happy.

Doesn’t that sound dreamy? Your next morning should involve pancakes too.

Especially these pancakes. They’re incredibly tasty, packed with wholesome fibers from rolled oats and whole wheat flour, natural sugars from ripe banana, and warming spices. These pancakes are particularly perfect when they are being swirled around your plate on a fork and sopping up sweet maple syrup and juicy fruits.

Of course, pancakes are just slightly boring without the topping of some sort of fruit. My absolute favorite way to top, or fill, pancakes is with fresh blueberries. Besides, blueberries have the health factor going for them – which turns your pancakes into a bit of goodness for breakfast. Bluberries contain one of the highest antioxidants levels of all fruits, vegetables, spices, and seasonings. That means that while your devouring your hot cakes, the antioxidants in blueberries are working to neutralize free radicals and oxidative damage found in your body. Blueberries are particularly awesome due to their chemical compounds called anthocyanins: the pigments that give the fruit their rich color. Anthocyanins have been shown to shown to be very anti-inflammatory and help to lower blood pressure, and make blood vessels more elastic.

Juicy & fresh blueberries + ripe banana + oat & whole wheat flour + warming spices + creamy almond milk = perfectly delicious, lazy summer morning pancakes (that are vegan too!)

Simple Oat Pancakes with Blueberries

Makes about 6-7 medium sized pancakes

1 ripe banana, mashed
2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup oat flour*
¼ cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ cup fresh blueberries for inside pancakes (optional)
1 tablespoon coconut oil or ghee, for griddle

1 cup fresh blueberries to garnish
¼ cup maple syrup, slightly warmed

Method:

To make the pancakes add oat flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg to a large bowl and mix until combined.

In a separate bowl mix together mashed banana, almond milk, and vanilla extract. Create a small well in the bowl of your dry ingredients, and pour wet ingredients into center. Use a spoon to stir until gently combined, being careful not to over-mix. Fold in fresh blueberries if you’d like.

On a griddle, heat up 1 tablespoon of ghee or coconut oil over medium heat. Once griddle is hot, use a ¼-measuring cup to scoop pancake batter onto griddle. Let cook for 2-3 minutes, until tiny bubbles begin to form. Flip and cook an additional 2 minutes or so. Repeat with the remaining of the pancake batter, lowering the heat if the pancakes start to brown too fast. Add an additional bit of ghee or coconut oil if needed.

Keep pancakes warm in a 200-degree oven, or eat immediately, drizzled with maple syrup and topped with plenty of blueberries. Enjoy!

*Oat flour is easy to make using rolled oats and a blender/food processor. Simply grind up ½ cup rolled oats until they form flour.