Healthy and Green Living

With all of nature’s bounty from which to choose ingredients, preparing food that purifies and detoxifies your body should be an ongoing delightful adventure. If you do the main part of your shopping in the produce aisle, buying fruits, vegetables and whole grains and keeping packaged foods to a minimum, you’re on the right path. Here is a scrumptious recipe to get you started.

Breakfast Apple Pancakes
These ginger-spiced pancakes are terrific, and they’re ready in just 20 minutes.

2/3 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup unbleached flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups fat-free plain yogurt
3/4 cup fat-free egg substitute
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 apple, shredded

1. Coat a large, non-stick skillet with non-stick cooking spray and heat over medium heat.

2. In a blender or food processor, pulse the whole wheat and unbleached flours, cornmeal, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, yogurt, egg substitute, honey and oil until just combined. By hand, stir the apple into the batter.

3. For each pancake, spoon 2 or 3 tablespoons of the batter onto the skillet. Cook until lightly browned and cooked through, about 2 minutes on each side. Repeat with the remaining batter.

These pancakes are good for digestion, improving liver function and colon health. Apples contain pectin, a kind of water-soluble fiber that sweeps the intestines clean of toxins. Whole wheat flour and cornmeal are also rich in fiber.

Makes 12 servings

Per serving: 137 calories, 5 g protein, 25 g carbohydrates, 3 g fat, 1 mg cholesterol, 223 mg sodium, 1 g fiber