I had a nice little morning all to myself today. Mal spent last night at Mohegan Sun for a bachelor party and my lazy-pants pug slept until almost 9:30 this morning, so I enjoyed some quiet time to myself. I took the opportunity to participate in a couple of my favorite pastimes: trashy television and baking experiments!
For some reason, I can’t get enough of the Real Housewives of Orange County. There’s just something about them and their whacked-out lives that I love to watch.
Breakfast
Ever since I baked a batch of delicious Chickpea Blondies, I’ve been obsessed with the idea of incorporating beans and veggies into unlikely recipes. There was some spinach in the refrigerator that I wanted to use up, so I decided to include it in a pancake recipe. Why not, right? 
Sweet Spinach Pancake
Serves 1
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup oats
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed meal
- 2 tbsp strawberry preserves
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 cup liquid egg whites
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 handful of spinach
- Cinnamon to taste
Directions:
- Add all ingredients to a food processor (or blender) and mix well.
- Preheat a skillet, spray with non-stick spray, and pour batter in while shaping it into a large pancake shape with a spoon.
- Heat until partially cooked and then flip.
- Once cooked through, top with syrup, peanut butter, or fresh fruit.
On top of my pancake, I spread a spoonful of Barney Butter, which got all melty and delicious. It was the perfect topping. 
Besides the color, I couldn’t taste the spinach at all. The strawberry preserves, cinnamon, and vanilla were the dominate flavors, and the texture was light and fluffy like a regular pancake. Mmm!
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I loved my laid-back morning, but I have a feeling that today is going to be a busy one!
See ya! 
What are you doing for the Super Bowl?
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I too am starting to experiment with hiding veggies in sweeter dishes. Its just a cool idea and will probably pay off when I have kids
That’s a pretty fantastic idea and recipe – might I also just add how much I love that you come up with these single serving recipes? So good for the single people out here!
YES!! A fellow Real Housewives fan =)=) Did you hear they’re doing a season in Beverly Hills?
Hi Tina,
I’m a long-time lurker, and wanted to say I LOVE your blog, pugs and iced coffees too.
I’ll have to try sneaking different veggies into my diet. Your pancake experiement sounds interesting.Thanks for all the great ideas.
Chickpea Blondies!? INSANE!!!
I’m with you on the trashy TV! Right now I’m into Real Housewives, The Bachelor and Millionair Matchmacker. It’s almost embarrassing!
Hi Tina! I am a newbie to your blog and I am in love already! You have such an adorably warm, inviting persona that you draw me in with every post!
I just love my baby spinach also and this pancake looks great for a pre-run meal! Any idea on the calorie count by chance? Or anyone know?
This pancake is genius! I gotta try it on my kids. Very good idea….gotta read about what you guys are up to in NY…
I’ve used spinach in pancakes before, too, and aside from the colour, you really can’t taste the spinach!
I made the chickpea blondies, too, and I love them! I’m even happier because my husband really doesn’t like them so it’s more for me.
K
I just made this recipe, with a few tweaks. I used mixed berries instead of the strawberry preserves. This gave me a blue-ish colored pancake and it tasted of blackberries.
It was so yummy! I couldn’t believe how fluffy it was. I featured some pics and the recipe tweaks I did on my blog. (I also linked to your original recipe.)
Thanks for the great idea!
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