Eating for One – Personal Vanilla Pancake with Strawberry Syrup

I do a lot of cooking that makes a ton of portions. Sometimes I forget how to eat like a normal person. Normal as in I don’t need to make a lot of food. Or buy a lot of food. I can eat like everyone else, I can make less food, bake less. Kind of weird concept for me. Not one of those things I learned. Here is my Eating for One – Personal Vanilla Pancake with Strawberry Syrup.

First let me say eating should be fun. I get in such a rut almost all the time with eating the same meal day-after-day, same breakfast week-after-week that it is just not fun anymore and then I start thinking about snacking. So not good, because once I start snacking I can’t, or just plain don’t, want to stop. The same goes for dinners – a non-fun meal for me. I eat the good stuff throughout the day and normally have a semi-plan for dinner. Semi-plans never work out correctly for me. I am so disciplined in everything else that when I give myself that little inch, the mile isn’t too far off.

In comes the Eating for One. I have a super-hard time making only enough for little ole me. I love making lots of stuff and then being able to fill my freezer. It is fulfilling to have leftovers – strange but true. So I have decided to give myself a challenge or at least conquer my large-scale cooking issues and create some one-meal wonders. Or at least things that are interesting and not too difficult and too much going into them. Because lets be honest – if it takes too long after work, I am so not going to do it.

This first meal is a breakfast for dinner meal. My mom is the queen of pancakes, it is what she used to make us all the time on the weekends when we were little, and now she makes them for my niece and nephews. If they are staying with the grandparents it is understood that she is making a pancake or French toast. It is just going to happen. Well I had to go searching for ingredient portions on things and I think I got them pretty accurate for the pancake, but I do not have her awesome ability to know when to turn / flip the pancake, or actually flipping it without making a huge mess. The mess still tastes awesome but looks crappy.

The most amazing part of a pancake is the topping. When I was little I used to love tons of butter and syrup, then it was applesauce only (consequently my mom also makes the most amazing homemade applesauce), then it was peanut butter only. I am back to maple syrup, but with my sugars so out of whack I don’t smother like I used to. For the topping of my vanilla pancake it was fresh strawberries in maple syrup. OMG, strawberries cooked (microwaved) in pure maple syrup is the most dreamy thing ever. I loved this so much I want to make it again! Or make the strawberry syrup and poor over ice cream? Mmmmm!

Personal Vanilla Pancake with Strawberry Syrup

1/3 C Bobs Red Mill Oat Flour
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
2Tbsp Vanilla Bean Paste
1/3 C So Delicious Dairy Free Vanilla Almond Plus Milk

8 Large Strawberries, washed and quartered
3 Tbsp Maple Grove Farms 100% Pure Maple Syrup

1. Wash and quarter strawberries.
2. Put strawberries and maple syrup in a microwave safe cup and stir.
3. Microwave in 30 second intervals stirring each time it stops. Mash strawberries with fork after two minutes.
4. In a small bowl combine all pancake ingredients.
5. Place pan on burner and turn to medium high. Spray with non-stick spray.
6. When pan is hot pour mix and let sit and bubble.
7. When sides begin to loosen from side carefully flip.
8. Turn down burner 1 or 2 degrees and let pancake sit.
9. Carefully slide onto plate and pour strawberry syrup.
10. Enjoy!

Stats: (half the calories came from the maple syrup)
Calories: 480
Total Fat: 4g
Sodium: 55mg
Carbs: 101g
Protein: 9g

This is a So Delicious Fast & Fresh Dairy-Free Time Trials Recipe Contest entry. If you like So Delicious on FB.