In the middle of December, I booked a single-night stay one weekend at a charming little hotel in the Los Angeles area to attend my close friend’s wedding reception dinner. When I arrived that afternoon and carried my suitcase up the steps of the impressive stone entryway, I paused to marvel at the festive fir garlands intertwined with twinkling white lights strung around the two-story wooden doors before walking through them to check in.
Inside looked like even more of a magical holiday fairytale. A gigantic Christmas tree sat in the lobby, red and gold glass ornaments hanging from every branch with more tiny softly glowing white lights generously interspersed between, and crimson red poinsettias adorned the grand marble staircase circling upwards to the hotel guest rooms on the second floor. As much as I wanted to simply stand and soak it all in, I headed over to the front desk to grab a key and find my room before I needed to change for the black tie gala that evening.
When I greeted the helpful person sitting behind the counter, he inquired whether I was there for the private event. When I responded no, he politely shared that the event would last late into the evening and start again with breakfast in the morning, so I might hear a bit more noise compared to their usual quiet and peaceful atmosphere.
Smiling, I reassured him that wouldn’t bother me one bit, and he looked a little more relaxed as he handed me the key and pointed out the elevator. Even so, I hoisted my suitcase and climbed the marble stairs, fully intent on using every moment I could to admire the magical Christmas decorations throughout the hotel.
The following morning, after repacking my suitcase and closing my room’s door behind me, I walked back downstairs to return the key and drive home. As I reached the final flight of steps, my eyes lit up as I smelled a familiar cozy aroma…
Freshly cooked pancakes!
The entry to the private event’s dining room sat directly in front of the marble staircase, and I spotted a few people standing in a buffet line holding white plates and peeking underneath each chafing dish’s lid. A few of them had loaded scrambled eggs, hash browns, and bacon onto their plates… But far more people had stacks of fluffy blueberry pancakes generously doused in maple syrup sitting on theirs.
As tempting as it was to stop by the hotel’s main dining room and see if I could order the same pancakes there, I realized it’d be a better idea to drive back home before traffic picked up on the freeway… So with a little internal sigh, I wheeled my suitcase past the stunning Christmas tree and out of the grand entryway, loaded it into my car’s trunk, and pulled out of the parking lot.
But since I was still recalling (and therefore craving!) the hotel’s pancakes a few days later, I whipped up a batch of these Healthy One-Bowl Blueberry Pancakes for myself back at home. They’re incredibly easy to make, supremely fluffy, and packed full of sweet juicy berries — exactly the way I love my pancakes!
However, unlike the hotel’s recipe… This one contains no heavy cream, refined flour or sugar, and each stack of pancakes is 137 calories!
Continue reading & see the rest! ›› Healthy One-Bowl Blueberry Pancakes
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