These sweet potato pancakes are delicious and nutritious! Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of beta carotene (vitamin A) that keeps your eyesight laser sharp. Made with whole-wheat flour and milk, these pancakes are a good source of fiber and bone building calcium, too. They’re a top “game day” pick for athletes because they provide a perfect balance of protein, healthy fat and whole grains. Go team!
Ingredients:
1 medium sweet potato (10-12 ounces)
1 cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup walnuts or whatever nut you like (optional), chopped
3 tablespoons cornmeal
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1⅓ cups low-fat (1%) milk
1 tablespoon canola oil
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, separated
Maple syrup or agave nectar
Directions:
Pierce sweet potato with fork in several places. Place potato on paper towel in microwave oven. Cook potato on High 3–4 minutes or until fork-tender, turning potato over once halfway through cooking. (Or, preheat oven to 450°F. Pierce potato with fork; place on oven rack and bake 45 minutes or until fork-tender.) Cool potato until easy to handle.
- Scoop out cooled sweet potato from skin and place in 1 cup measuring cup; set aside.
- In large bowl, stir together flour, walnuts (if using), cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In medium bowl, whisk together sweet potato, milk, oil, vanilla, and egg yolks. In small bowl, whisk egg whites until fluffy.
- Add sweet potato mixture to dry ingredients and stir until blended. Fold egg whites into sweet potato batter.
- Heat nonstick griddle or large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Pour batter by ¼ cups onto hot griddle.
- Cook pancakes until bubbles form on top, about 5 minutes. Turn pancakes over and cook a few minutes longer or until underside is golden. Transfer to plate; keep warm. Repeat until all batter is used.
- Serve hot with maple syrup or agave nectar!
Makes 9 servings (2 pancakes per serving).
Nutrition Facts per serving: 170 calories; 6g fat (1g sat fat, 2g mono, 2g poly, 0g trans fat); 50mg cholesterol; 25g carbohydrate (3g fiber, 7g sugar); 6g protein; 240mg sodium; 50% Daily Value (DV) vitamin A; 4% DV vitamin C; 10% DV calcium; 6% DV iron.
Courtesy of Appetite for Life, Stacey Antine, MS, RD, HarperOne 2012.