Oat and Banana Pancakes with Chocolate Chips

I’ve got to admit we’ve already celebrated Valentine’s Day in our house. Since the holiday falls on a busy weeknight, we decided to move our celebration to the weekend. It was nice to not have to cram it in between our weekly commitments. Instead we bookended our festivities with a bunch of lazy family time. Before we had Scarlett, Dan and I never made a big fuss over Valentine’s. I didn’t cared if he spent weeks planning the perfect night and he was happy to not have the pressure. However, I’ve got to admit, we kind of like doing it up for Scarlett. Like most holidays, she’s re-energized our enthusiasm for it. We keep it really simple though–homemade cards, fancy homemade dinner and treats. That’s the simple part. The rest of her world associated with this holiday is mind-numbing. It nearly breaks my spirit to have to churn out all those school Valentine’s. Then I have to deal with the sweets she collects from the school shindig. By deal, I mean try to keep myself from eating them in the dead of the night. (A note to the parents in Scarlett’s class: Please DON’T tape a mini box of M&M’s or Kit Kat on any of  your children’s Valentines!)

When I told Scarlett we were celebrating the holiday on SPC by picking our favourite food, she informed me we’d be making pancakes with chocolate in them. She does have a point. If we’re going to shove chocolate into something for Cupid’s big day it may as well be pancakes. We also might as well flip some fruit and oats in. They’re in the cupboard. Why not?