Category Archives: Daily Life with Kids

5 ways to manage athlete-mom guilt

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GUILTY

“I’m going now. I’ll be back sometime after 7:00”

“Okay, no rush”

And with those words from my husband something in me relaxed a little more as I headed out on an evening mountain bike ride with a friend. As I mentioned in an earlier post, without the justification that I was training for a race, I’d let my riding time slide. While part of the reason was that life was just busier, another part of me felt guilty spending a few hours on my bike every so often when it took more time away from family or work.

Whether it be a run, a bike ride, a bootcamp, yoga, a soccer game,  or anything else that gets you out the door and moving it is important to do what makes you happy, energizes you, de-stresses you, and brings you back home a better person than when you left.

When I was first fitting in workouts as a new mom, my transitions from and to exercising were probably faster than they ever were in my triathlon races. I would worry about how my precious young daughter was doing while I was gone, and rush back home as soon as I could, guilty that she was starving or crying without me there. I relaxed a little more when my son came along, took time to enjoy a post-workout shower, and have learned to value the importance and ability of others to take good care of my kids. Now that my kids are a little older and more independent (6 and 8 years old), I’ve realized even more how important it is to continue to include guilt-free exercise in my routine consistently at any age and stage. Here are my two cents worth of tips for what helps to stay successful at it so far….

  1. Balance quality with quantity: As someone who loves endurance sport, training takes time. As most of us don’t have hours upon hours every day to devote to exercise, pick at least one day (or a few if you have time) per week that you can devote more time to exercise or add in some additional guilt-free socializing around exercise. Take the extra time for a post-workout stretch or coffee with friends. Other days you might only be able to squeeze in 20-30 minutes of exercise and that’s okay too, especially when you have the longer days to look forward to. I find balancing my needs to exercise with family/work needs on a week to week basis works best. Even if you love getting your workout in, feeling you have to get in a maximum amount in every day of the week to make it worth it can have to potential to leave you more frustrated than satisfied.
  2. Workout with friends or a group at least 50% of the time. I was just at a motivation conference this past weekend, and one researcher presented on how postpartum women were most successful at maintaining exercise when it involved exercising with others at least 50% of the time, as opposed to exercising on their own all the time. On top of the social support of meeting a friend or a group, it gives you permission to exercise control over your training. If you’ve agreed to meet a friend or go to the training group/class you signed up for you’ll be less likely to delay getting out the door by starting a new load of laundry, writing a few more emails or dealing with a kid squabble instead of getting out the door.
  3. Be timely. Adding on to the point above, notice what times of day you feel best working out as well as how you feel afterwards. I know when I get the chance I love to do a workout first thing in the morning as it energizes me, puts me in a better and more productive mood, and perhaps most importantly increases my patience threshold with my kids, the rest of the day. On the flip side, balancing enough sleep with getting up at the crack of dawn can be tough. Some days a lunch time or early evening workout works best. Like the above points some variety in the daily routine, who is involved and timing can keep things motivating, exciting, and fun. This way, I also get to spend different times of the day with my family and not miss all mornings or all evenings for example.
  4. Let go of being the perfect parent. Everyone has their own perspective on this point but there is a lot of pressure to be the perfect parent these days. What is meant by that is individual and can change daily depending on whose advice you take, but I find when I give myself permission to leave the house a mess some days, or let my kids entertain themselves for a while (even – gasp – watch TV), while I do a workout nearby, the world doesn’t end and everyone stays happy.
  5. Make the choice to exercise guilt-free. This may sound overly simple but my favourite online yoga video instructor says, “BE WHERE YOU’RE AT”. What makes working out so good for us is the ability to disconnect, and recharge with a simple minded focus for that period of your day. Take control of your “me-time” and own it. Just like while you can’t be two places physically at once, focus on only being in one place mentally at a time, enjoy focusing only on your time to move, recharge mentally, stay healthy and get strong!

 

Ride like Yer Mom!

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On Hornby Island, B.C. there is a trail called “Yer Mom”. It makes me smile and think of moms out there riding and I love that it’s a tough trail described on www.trailforks.com as the “Only trail with significant technical features. Large built up drops, gap jumps and skinnies. Most features have a ride around.New optional feature has been added to the trail. Its a 25 foot road gap that enters just passed the skinny to rock-face.”

However, it also makes me chuckle how often my 6 year son Nico will ask while out riding, “Mom, Uncle Geoff could ride that right?” When examining a feature or a descent its a fun way to assess together whether something is rideable. I may reply, ‘yes I’m sure he could ride that!’ or ‘hmmm, not sure that would be safe for anyone to attempt’. Or I may also need to add, “Yes, and mommy could do it too! Want to see?”

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While I appreciate that the importance and value of my son’s male role models to look up to: the older boys at the bike park, family members like uncle, grandpa, and papa, I also take pride in the fact that I can model to my son and daughter that women can enjoy and embrace the technical and physical challenges of mountain biking the same way boys and men can. And that women can go for speed, distance, or strength in any other sport we so chose to participate in!

A friend pointed out to me recently that we are now seeing the first generation of kids riding and racing mountain bikes whose parents raced when they were kids. These parents are often still enjoying the sport competitively, or at least recreationally. The kids that grew up in the 1980s experiencing the beginnings of mountain biking are now raising kids and enjoying the sport alongside them.

I was fortunate and proud to be a member of the amazingly well supported, all-women’s professional mountain bike team, the LUNA Pro Team while racing Xterra triathlons from 2008-2014. After retiring from racing Xterra professionally, I kept running and swimming regularly but found myself begrudgingly saying ‘I don’t have time to ride’. After a certain amount of self-induced bike deprivation I realized how much I missed whizzing along the road, or rumbling down a trail in the woods on my bike. Plus my quads were shrinking, and who wants to lose all that hard earned leg power?! So the balance has swung back and biking has come back up the priority pole. As much as I’m motivated to stay fit enough to ride with my friends, especially my fast girlfriends, I also want to be able to keep up with my kids on their bikes as long as possible. I want to show them that moms don’t need to slow down or stop anytime soon! AND I aspire to be riding the trails as well as my parents, and my children’s grandparents still are in their seventies!

As women, it can be easy to find excuses not to get out there in the still male dominated sport of mountain biking. You’re only too old, too slow, too tired, too busy or too fearful if you continue to tell that story to yourself. It makes me sad when I don’t see more girls at the bike park or women out on the trails. But every time I do I smile and keep up the hope that girls will continue to feel more confident to try riding off-road. And persist long enough to discover the high of flowing up and down the trails on two wheels too! And yes, sometimes mommy can ride the same things as your Uncle Geoff!

Training for the 2010 Canadian Mountain Bike Nationals at the Canmore Nordic Center, Alberta.

Motivation and Momentum through Motherhood

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Yesterday afternoon I was kitted up to ride. Then I dozed off on the couch while my kids played noisily around me. My legs were still hurting from the previous day’s running intervals on the track. It felt so good to just lie still for a while and close my eyes. I could have stayed there and skipped the day’s planned intervals on the bike and had a nice dinner with my family. No one would know or care, and my coach is afar in Calgary. But because I hate the feeling of quitting, I finally got up, had a little coffee to get me going and jumped in the saddle. The week’s intensity had added up and it was one of the toughest workouts I’ve done in a while, physically and mentally.

I believe I’ve been an athlete long enough to know when throwing a day of training out is a good idea, and a rather smart idea in the overall scheme of things. But I also know when I just need to suck it up, take it one step, or interval at a time, and just see if I can do it. And I did it! It feels good, and such days put mental toughness in the bank! Especially after those low moments now and then, when I say, “Why am I still doing this?!”

Seven years ago this month, I won the athlete lottery and was welcomed on the Luna Pro team at the annual team camp aka take a few photos and get spoiled rotten with racing gear. My daughter Zoé was six months old and it was the beginning of, “lets see how this training and racing things goes again after bringing a child into the world”. And here I still am, two children later, and a year away from 40! Really?! Since then I’ve always told myself I will race as long as I’m still motivated, still having fun, and it still works with my values of balancing it with my family. Thanks to the incredible support of the Luna team and my family, I can continue to say yes to all of the above.

March 2008

March 2008

Photo during first Luna team camp in March 2008

Photo during first Luna team camp in March 2008

I know I won’t race for Luna forever (well maybe, some of our team members have outstanding longevity – very inspiring!) or always race Pro, but I’ve learned I love training, pushing whatever my current limits are, and setting racing goals to motivate me. I know it is a lifestyle that I won’t easily give up. I’ll never be content to turn into a couch potato or just exercise 20 minutes a day in my athletic “retirement”.

I’ve also learned to appreciate all the advantages and positives of coming back to training and competition on the other side of childbirth. The first thing I learned was how much energy training gave me back! The demanding first blurry eyed months with a newborn left me feeling more like napping than getting out the door to train. But I was surprised often at how good I did feel once I got going. You are stronger than you think new moms!

Making Racing a Family Affair, July 2011

Making Racing a Family Affair, July 2011

Through ballooning up with twice with two very healthy sized babes in my belly, losing all my core strength and then starting all over again to get my fitness back I’ve learned a little more patience. And that getting back into race shape is most about how you feel, and the satisfaction of having strength, stamina, and speed come back through persistence, and plain hard work. I may never have a flat, six-pack again, such a goal is so passé anyways isn’t it?. It’s not about the numbers on the scale (best to throw that out!), or that go in your mouth – just eat often and well enough to nourish yourself and be reasonable with the treats is my motto. The only numbers I focus on are the training numbers my Coach Cal pushes me to shoot for, without him I would be deferring to my naturally lazy side, ha!

Many ask – how do you do it with kids? To be honest, I don’t know how I would still be doing it without kids at this stage of my life. My kids continually rejuvenate my motivation, put everything in perspective, and give more purpose to everything I do. They teach me to stay in the moment of everyday and focus on what is most important. They are what get me out of bed early in the morning to train so I have more time in the day to spend with them. While my body is stiffening up more with each passing year, Zoe and Nico have stretched me to grow in every way possible, and are my biggest cheering squad!

My fast growing kids, March 2014

My fast growing kids, March 2014

Gift from the Sea by Amy Golumbia

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Ultrarunning mom of twins and holistic nutritionist, Amy Golumbia, recently posted a great blog which is a great reminder of why moms need to take time away to themselves, whether athletically or otherwise. She writes about the book, Gift from the Sea, and her own thoughts on motherhood guilt, trying to do it all, and the importance of taking time to step away, regain perspective, recover and find balance.

She writes, “Of my friends and the women I know, there seem to be two general types. Most of the mothers I know fall into the first category. This woman is constantly on the run but never really fulfilled…..” And later “On the other side of the spectrum, I have a few girlfriends who have figured it out and are great role models for me. They truly walk around with a genuine smile on their face….”

Click here to read the full post, a highly recommended read with some great reminders!

Amy also did one of my athlete-mom interviews which can be read here.

The Biggest Parenting Muscle?

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Like most relatively new parents, I tend to think of my life in terms or pre-kids and post-kids. My husband and I joke about how pre-kids we were in control of our time – we determined when we could relax, when and how long to sleep, or when we could just chill and watch a movie. We also thought we were busy pre-kids!

And while it is always a challenge to get back in physical shape and workout consistently with all the extra (but rewarding!) demands of children, another big muscle gets extremely challenged to grow much bigger when kids come along. It can grow via many different stimulations: a child waking the middle of the night while you’re in a deep sleep, children waking up for the day much earlier than you would like, trying to get kids out the door and in the car in order to be somewhere on time (and then whining in the car while driving!), constant cleaning and picking up food off the floor for the third time in 5 minutes, waiting out a toddler’s tantrum, dealing with sibling squabbles over toys, reading a favorite story for the 5th time in one day, endless questions that begin with “Why”….the list goes on! 🙂

As defined by the dictionary, you know this muscle has grown, stretched, and been strengthened if you’ve increased you’re ability to:

1. Bear or endure pain, difficulty, provocation, or annoyance with calmness

2. Exhibit calm endurance through pain, difficulty, provocation, or annoyance.

3. Be tolerant and understanding.

4. Persevere

5. Calmly await an outcome or result without haste or impulsiveness

Yes, this muscle is called Patience! And I know I’ve had to work on it! Pre-kids, I could easily say I’ll never be THAT parent – the one raising their voice a few octaves too loudly at their kids, pulling them by the arm a little too gruffly in frustration, offering them candy or other junk food, allowing extra TV time – we all lose our cool or drop our intended standards at times – but like anything, we can learn from our mistakes and get better with practice.

Recently I’ve realized this “training” in building patience has transferred over to my athletic life as well. I don’t get as frustrated as I used to if a workout doesn’t go as I’d expected. I’m less of a potty mouth when I screw up technically on the mountain bike. I’m better at dealing with deviations from my pre-race routine. Heck, I’m happy to make it to the start line healthy, prepared and on time! I’m grateful for every OPPORTUNITY I have to workout, train and race. It’s not that I’ve dropped my standards as to what I expect from training and racing hard, but these tests of my patience have just put a new perspective on it all! And yes, mental toughness in sport can be improved and strengthened in quite creative ways if we are open to it!

What are the best gifts for a young athlete?

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Mom, is this day Christmas yet? Mom, can you add Applejack (or the name of another My Little Pony – how many are there anyway?!) to my list for Santa? Mom, does Santa know we’ll be in Montreal for Christmas so he will bring the presents to the right place? Zoe is only 4 but I’ve realized the time has come as parents to seriously go to battle on the war on toys!

I was in Toys R Us the other day and was completely overwhelmed by the number and selection of Christmas present possibilities. With our goal to keep the present number down this year for the kids, I made a few select purchases and got out of there before anything else could entice me to buy it! Once you have kids, it is easy to want to indulge them with things you didn’t have growing up, with things that remind you of your childhood, or because you want them to have it all and have every opportunity there is out there….but can wanting to, and subsequently acting on the desire to give them everything be a bad thing or have potential negative consequences?

How much to give to a young athlete is also a conversation I had with a friend while snowshoeing the other day. Can too many “gifts” or “support” in the form of training and competition opportunities and equipment etc ever backfire for the young developing athlete? Many parents face these dilemmas…here are my two cents worth from personal experience and my background in the science of motivation….

1. Go easy on the external motivators! Contrary to popular belief, rewarding athletes for performance will undermine their intrinsic motivation, motives of fun, satisfaction, and doing activities simply for the pleasure of doing them! I had a friend who told me that while growing up her mom bought her gifts every time she had a good race result. She admitted that it wasn’t the best thing and that she never really enjoyed her sport. The only reason she continued it through college was due to a scholarship. The nature of competitive sports is already full of plenty of extrinsic motivators, awards, medals, prize money, glory, recognition, or making a team. The best “carrots” parents can give their children is encouragement to follow their interests.

2. Avoid gifts that may increase guilt-related motivation. I worked with one athlete who stated he felt he needed to perform because he had all the best and most expensive equipment bought for him by his parents. There is a time and place to worry about having the best equipment such as when athletes reach the level of earning some sponsorship, or are at the very top level where physical abilities are much tighter. Giving athletes equipment and opportunities too early, such as before they’ve learned the value of hard work, persistence, and commitment to goals, can undermine motivation, and lead to the false belief that the best equipment, coach, training camp, team etc can buy performance.  Lance was right about one thing – “It’s not about the bike!”

3. Be the best parent, not another coach! Although with good intentions, I’ve witnessed many parents being overly involved and anxious with their children’s athletic involvement and performances. Aggressive screaming from the sidelines, overanalysing and breaking down a child’s performance in front of them, or always asking “Did you win?!” are not the productive ways to encourage healthy involvement in sport. If a parent consciously or even subconsciously treats a child differently depending on performance and results, the message will be clear – I have to perform for your approval and love. Instead, showing interest with open-ended questions that focus on the process – “How did it go?”, “What went well today?”, or “What did you enjoy most/least about your experience today?” are more supportive without judgment.

4. Gifts of exposure, choice, and responsibility. There are so many sports and activities a young child can be involved in these days, and often we hear talk of over scheduling children to the point of lacking any time for good old-fashioned free play. While every family has to figure out that balance – giving children the choice to try different activities is a great start. Great athletes develop from the perfect blend of nurture, parents showing and providing opportunities to experience various sports, and nature, the child developing an interest to pursue something. Motivation and interest continue to flourish when a child feels autonomous in what they are doing. In other words, participating in something that is their own choice. At certain ages, children can choose the activities they enjoy and/or they can choose the level of commitment. In relation to point number two, at an older age they can also learn responsibility and ownership by saving money to help pay for various expenses in their sport. For example, one mom I know had a teenage son who wanted a really expensive mountain bike. She made him the deal that if he saved for half of the amount, she would pay the other half.

5. Your personal time and genuine interest. As an adult looking back at my childhood involvement in soccer, running, basketball, and volleyball, I think the greatest gift my parents ever gave me was their genuine interest in what I was doing. They took the time to understand every sport and understood the meaning of a bad or a good workout/competition result. They also spent time as spectators, chaperoning and participating alongside us – I have fond memories of weekend family runs and cross-country ski days up the mountain.

Zoe's first bike on her 1st birthday, which she preferred to drop and run away from! Nico is showing more interest in it!!

My Xterra training paradise!

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Forty years ago this summer, my parents discovered Hornby Island, a northern gulf island in British Columbia, and bought some waterfront property overlooking a sandstone beach. After ten years of camping, my parents built our family cabin in 1981, which they have expanded and renovated over the years. With it being only an hour trip, which includes two 10-minute ferry rides from where I grew up in Courtenay, B.C., it has been the ideal weekend and summer vacation get-a-way for our family, and now my parents live here most months during the warm half of the year. Here is how the cabin looks today looking up from the water…..

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Looking back at the family cabin from the canoe

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Beach view to the northeast

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Beach view to the northwest

The sunsets are spectacular and most evenings are spent hanging out on the front deck admiring the views. As kids we spent many nights sleeping under the stars on the deck with our border collie dogs curled up beside us. The sound of the waves lapping against the beach is the best background noise for incredible, restful sleeps. On Hornby, “Peace comes dropping slow” (Wordsworth)

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A Hornby Island Sunset

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Zoe and Nico enjoying dinner with a view!

When we want a break from the rocky, sandstone beach there are three incredible sandy beaches to visit. Here I am at the largest one, Tribune Bay, getting in for an open water swim. The water is crystal clear and it takes me 25 minutes to cross the bay and back at high tide!

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Swim training at Tribune Bay

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Tribune Bay sand castle buidling with Grandpa

Ironically spelled the same way as my brother’s name, Mt Geoffrey Nature Park has some of the most fun single track trails to mountain bike and run on. I can ride trails for over 4 hours without getting bored on Hornby. There are some incredible views and the flowing single track is so pretty, lined with salal bushes, ferns, beautiful green moss and big B.C. fir trees! The trails are all well-signed and maintained, and there are no bear or cougar worries here either!

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Ride with a view – the top of Mt Geoffrey

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Taking a break to enjoy the soft “mossiness!”

Finally, for an island this size, roughly 3o square km, it has all the amenities you need! Many artists make their home here including top potters such as Wayne Ngan, and painters such as Graham Herbert. There is a central island co-op with a variety of restaurants and other small boutique like shops. While its a great place to stay active and do some super fun training, the pace of life is slower and very relaxed on Hornby Island. I plan to bring my kids back every summer to create the same wonderful childhood memories I have of this place….but psssst,  please keep this place a secret! 🙂

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Nico outside “Fibres” where you can find everything hippy and bohemian for Island life!

Can “Selfish-Athlete” and “Guilt-Free Mom” Coexist?

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In the few short years that I’ve been a mom, I’ve come to the conclusion that reading too many books or articles on parenting can make you feel guilty in the same way that reading too many fashion magazines can make you feel ugly. I’m not saying there isn’t a lot of great advice, methods, and techniques out there to learn from but the bottom line is that you have to make anything your own and go with what works for your family and each individual child.

For example, I’ve read a lot about the importance of routines for children whether it be bedtime routines, nap routines, or meal time routines. Unfortunately for me if I followed all that routine advice I probably wouldn’t get out the door too often to train as I’d be constantly interupting a nap time, a bedtime routine, or a specific meal time. Am I being too much of a “selfish athlete” for not structuring my days more around consistent routines for my children’s ultimate security and happiness?

It is a continual balancing act to try and do what is best for the kids while also fitting in my job called training and racing to the best of my ability. I have basically been a “routine-less” mom up to this point. Some days I may train at the crack of dawn (rarely!), the middle of the day when I have a babysitter, and/or a night with my training group. My work as a mental performance consultant is also super variable with changing hours and days each week.

In my routine-less world, Zoe and Nico have adapted very well, and these are the few rules of thumb I’ve followed that help to keep the happy mom, happy kids, happy family ratio the highest….

1. As long as everyone is well rested and happy all is good!  This means most mornings I wake up in the middle of a Zoe-Nico sandwich. Although Zoe sleeps in her own bed, in the wee hours of the morning she often sneaks her way into our bed alongside me without me noticing until I roll into her when I wake up much later! Nico still sleeps happily in the middle of our king size bed and though we’ve had intentions to kick him out since he was about 6 months old, it hasn’t happened yet! We will eventually but are not fixing what isn’t broke yet! With a very busy travel schedule bedsharing is what has worked best for our family and getting kids to sleep is never an issue when on the road!

2. A nap on the go isn’t a bad thing! Zoe took the majority of her naps in the Chariot. Having done nothing differently with Nico he easily goes down for a nap in his crib, somedays two shorts ones, or one longer one. While a crib is likely more comfortable, occasional car, stroller or Chariot naps (especially with the added fresh air) while running, cycling, or cross-country skiing can leave kids just as rested and mom re-energized from a good workout!

3. It is important to be able to workout or go to work guilt-free! In the beginning with Zoe I struggled a lot more with feeling guilty spending time away from her while out training such as on a long bike ride or away for occasional overnight trips for racing or work. With some practice, I’ve become better at being fully present where I am when I’m away from the kids whether it be training or meeting with an athlete. They also do just fine with quality Papa time, grandparent time, or fun play time with our energetic babysitter. Breaks also leave me more excited to come home and play with them, while also strenghtening that muscle called “patience” that every parent learns to exercise the day a new baby comes home!

I know one day life might become more routine. In the meantime, as long as I get to spend quality time with my kids and husband every day, as long as they are thriving (e.g. happy, well fed, and rested), and that I get in my quality “selfish athlete” time, then we will continue our routine of “go with the flow”!

The Evolution of an Active Family

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My “little” brother Geoff arrived in town this week for mountain bike nationals coming up this weekend (pictured with Zoe and her first official cowgirl hat at the Calgary Stampede). Here we are both getting ready for the same race again and sometimes I find it comical that we are still both racing so seriously now that we are both officially in our mid-thirties! I often joke with my parents saying, bet you’re wondering when your kids are going to grow up and focus on “real” jobs, ha!

All jokes aside, I think one big reason we have both lasted this long has been from the continual support and encouragement of our parents. Since the day Geoff and I both joined the local track club at the ages of 10 and 12, my parents have been actively involved in a positive way. First, they have participated alongside us over the years. I have very fond memories growing up of family runs on the weekend with our two border collies leading the way in the trails around our house in Courtenay, B.C. My parents also chaperoned at many track meets over the years, and attended high school basketball games in the winter. Pictured below Geoff and I are riding on Hornby Island in high school, me on my brothers first ever race bike, the good old rigid purple Kona Kula!

When Geoff switched to mountain bike racing in high school, my parents soon followed along and took up mountain biking too. When an injury sidelined my running after university and I took up mountain biking, it was my parents who taught me trail skills that first summer while riding in Courtenay and on Hornby Island! Geoff was also my coach for the five years I focused on mountain bike racing before switching to Xterra.

My parents have been to countless races over the years, and I’ve always appreciated how well they understand what we do. They’ve always understood what interval times mean on the track, and understand our sport involvement (from soccer, track, volleyball, basketball, cycling, to triathlon) well enough to understand what a good or bad day means because they enjoy following it all, especially with plenty of internet race viewing now! Now both in their sixties, they aren’t running much anymore but are both still mountain biking as much as ever!

Now that I’m a mom, I’m even more grateful to my parents support. My mom or both parents have traveled with me to several races and team training camps the past four years in order to help with the kids. As a parent myself, I hope I can encourage my kids in the same way my parents have encouraged us – by simply taking an active interest in whatever sports (if any, no pressure, ha!) my kids would like to pursue. I think taking an active interest in understanding the sport, and encouraging the process and effort is the best thing a parent can do!

My favourite mommy fuel – Pancakes!

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Breakfast is definitely my favourite meal, and growing up I always looked forward to pancakes on the weekend – pancakes with maple syrup, pancakes with fruit and yoghurt on top, crepes with nutella and banana rolled up inside are all so yummy!

In both pregnancies pancakes were what I craved most in the first few nauseated months. And maybe that is why 3 year old Zoe is also a pancake lover now! Thirteen month old Nico has also started enjoying bites of them as well. We make pancakes together in the morning at least 2-3 times per week. Sadly my husband, J-F is not a pancake fan so luckily I’ve produced some kids who are sharing my favourite food!

I love mornings with the kids and the few mornings per week that no one has to rush out the door to be somewhere usually involves making pancakes. They are also great for an on the go snack when you’re in a hurry. Grab a pancake and slap some almond butter on top or roll a pancake up with jam and put in in your back pocket for a ride. I often make a double batch and freeze a bunch for the mornings that Zoe begs for pancakes and I don’t have time to make them. Maybe I’ll shove some in my back pocket to keep me fueled through the Furious 3 stage race that starts tomorrow!

Here are the two tasty recipes we use the most:

Whole Wheat Hotcakes from the Rebar Modern Food Book, also an amazing restaurant in Victoria, B.C.

1 egg, 1.5 cups buttermilk, 1 tbsp melted butter or vegetable oil, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup unbleached flour, 4 tbsp wheat germ, 1 tsp baking powder, 3/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt….you know the drill, mix wet, mix dry, combine and cook!

Oatmeal Pancakes from Healthy Mum, Happy Baby (a great book about eating well while breastfeeding with lots of fast, easy, healthy and delicious recipes). These pancakes are extra filling and will keep you feeling full for awhile!

Combine 1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats, 1 cup plain yogurt, 1 cup 1% milk and 1 tbsp packed brown sugar and let sit 5 minutes. Whisk in 1 large egg and 1/4 canola oil. In separate bowl combine 1 cup all purpose flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp salt. Combine with wet. Cook for about 1.5-2 minutes then flip and cook for 30-60 seconds longer.