Moving away from packaged items and overly processed foods as much as I can (with my current resources) I decided to “clean up” my son’s favorite meal.
After a few misses, most notably buckwheat pancakes- which everyone hated(YICK!), I found simple from-scratch recipe from allrecipes.com that looked easy enough to make even healthier. They turned out fluffy, though not as light as white flour pancakes seeing as whole wheat (ww) flour is much more dense. Also, a lot cheaper in the quantities I needed!
I was able to add in a few healthy things, and also leave out some of the not so healthy stuff. 
Basic Recipe:
(add any fruit in the batter or topics you like!)
1 cup whole wheat, or flour of your choice. I used 1/2 ww, 1/2 white all purpose flour
2 Tbs baking POWDER (this will help the pancakes fluff a bit)
Dash of salt
2 Tbs sugar, or equivalent of whatever sugar substitute you like
*whisk dry ingredients briefly
Add 2 Tbs no sugar added apple sauce (in place of oil)
1 lightly beaten egg (or egg substitute like Egg Beaters)
1 cup of milk of your choice (any fat content, almond, soy or rice milk)
Mix together. Add flour if the batter is too thin for you liking, likewise with milk if it’s too dry. Pop onto your griddle as normal!
I added chocolate chips for Hellboy this day.
*VIOLA* A healthier alternative to America’s favorite breakfast!
Makes 4-6 medium size pancakes. Double the recipe for more.
TIP!~ If you have an empty ketchup bottle, keep it! After it is cleaned, you can dispense the perfect amount of batter on the griddle this way and store any left over batter for the next day!! 
Notes:
1/2 tsp of MILLED flax seed can be added for extra fiber!
I did half/half with my flour because I only have the most basic whole wheat flour at my disposal. The consistency is just too dense and grainy with the type of flour I have to do all ww. Unbleached flour is of course much healthier as it has not been processed and lost most of it’s nutritional value. I used what I had.
I am still learning the differences in how food is processed, so I will just share some links so you can read and decide for yourself what flour you’d prefer to use.
http://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t–1026/types-of-wheat-flour.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_grain
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/whole-grains/NU00204
I have transitioned my family into a simplified version of a “clean eating” diet. Namely, I try to by as fresh and whole of foods as I can find with my limited resources. If I must by packaged foods, I make sure that the ingredients have as little chemicals and man made ingredients as I can get with that product. For things we consume quite a bit of, I have tried to create my own versions of these recipes.
I am working on an upcoming post on ways I eased us into eating this way and how I incorporated some healthier options for us. I have LOTS of recipes, tips and tricks that I have picked up and want to share!
*Also coming up:
~My Favorite DIY Laundry Detergent!
~DIY “Febreeze”
~All Natural & CHEAP Fabric Softener
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