Heart-shaped Pancakes

I know Valentine's Day is done and over, but that doesn't mean you can't have heart-shaped pancakes year round! I made Sweet P pancakes for Valentine's Day along with a blueberry smoothie (it would've been strawberry, but I used them all in the pancakes!).

Shaped pancakes are such a simple and creative way to make meals fun for kiddos. Sweet P loved these heart-shaped pancakes and asked for them again and again and again (so I made them again on Saturday). These were made with a little bit of almond flour (we get ours at Trader Joe's) and SO yummy!

The Recipe: Heart-shaped Pancakes

What you need:
1 1/2 c of whole wheat flour (organic if you've got it)
1/2 c of almond meal/flour (if you don't have/can't find almond meal, use another 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour or oats)
1 1/2 c organic soy milk (or regular milk)
1/4 c water
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 c frozen strawberries (without syrup and organic if possible)
1 organic egg
1 tbsp flaxseed (optional)

Turn on skillet to medium-heat. Drizzle olive oil in the pan. Heat frozen strawberries in microwave for 1 minute. They should soften and make juice. Blend strawberries with immersion blender or leave whole (I wanted them juicier). Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in egg, milk, water and strawberries. Stir until moistened and easy to pour.

Pour into metal cookie cutter to form heart (or cut after you've cooked the pancakes). Allow pancakes to cook for 1 minute, then flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes or until cooked thoroughly. Yields 6-8 medium sized pancakes

I only had 3 frozen strawberries so I added some MonaVie to try to make the batter pinker. It never really did get as pink as I had hoped, but I blame that on the whole wheat flour (and lack of strawberries). The strawberries gave them a good flavor though, so I'd like to try it again when I have more.