Carrot Pancakes with Raisins

I have never been a big breakfast person. I would like to be a better breakfast person, especially since "they" are saying that a well-balanced breakfast is the key to better overall health. It is so difficult to fit breakfast into the morning rush, as I'm trying to get ready, workout, and find my keys (I can never find my keys)! Usually a good breakfast is passed by during the weekdays and I make up for it on the weekends. One thing I barely ever make for breakfast is pancakes, but I recently came across a recipe for lemon ricotta pancakes and I thought they sounded amazing. I set out to make the lemon ricotta pancakes last weekend. However,  when I went to the kitchen to make them I came to find out that - you guessed it - I didn't have any lemons! Ergh! I really need to stock up on those things. Well, I was set on making pancakes, so I decided to make carrot pancakes. I told Greg about my plan and he said it sounded weird, but I told him to trust me on it (even though I wasn't so sure about it myself)! I used the lemon ricotta pancake recipe as a guide, and I made the carrot pancakes. They were pretty delicious & they definitely weren't weird at all. I'll be making them again very soon - but it'll probably have to wait until the weekend. Hopefully you are better at breakfast than I am! Enjoy.

*A few months ago, I realized that I was wasting a lot of pulp from vegetables and fruit when I juiced. This recipe uses a little of the pulp from juicing carrots. If you don't have a juicer, substitute 3 Tbsp. of grated carrots for the carrot pulp and carrot juice.*

Carrot Pancakes with Raisins

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup of all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. of baking powder
1/2 tsp. of cinnamon
A dash of nutmeg
1 Tbsp. of granulated sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. of dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp. of salt
1/3 cup of nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1 1/2 ounces of cream cheese, slightly softened
2/3 cup of milk (I used 2%)
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. of carrot juice
! Tbsp. of carrot pulp
1/2 cup of raisins
Butter or butter spread for the griddle

DIRECTIONS:
Juice carrots according to your juicer directions. Set aside 1 Tbsp. of the juice and 1 Tbsp. of the pulp from juicing. If you don't have a juicer, grate carrots until you have 3 Tbsp. of grated carrots. You can use this in the recipe.
In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, and salt. In a large bowl, beat together the Greek yogurt, cream cheese, milk, eggs, carrot juice, and carrot pulp until well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Stir in the raisins.
Heat 1/2 Tbsp. of butter or butter spread in a griddle set over medium-low to medium heat. Once butter melts, use a measuring cup to scoop 1/3 cup of the batter onto the hot griddle. Cook until the edges come together, about 1 - 3 minutes. Use a spatula and carefully flip to cook the other side for an additional 1 - 3 minutes. Continue this process until all the pancakes are made. Serve with butter and maple syrup, if desired.

Recipe makes approximately 10 pancakes.

Recipe inspired by Lemon Ricotta Pancakes on the Food Network