This post has been brought to you by our friends at Valley Fig Growers. When you think of meal prep, what comes to mind? Maybe making big batches of whole grains, and chopping vegetables to make last minute assemblyacinch?With a New Year comerenewed opportunities to eat well and feel great.Enter #MealPrepMonday. At Valley Fig Growers, we believe that eating well doesnt mean sacrificing flavor and partnered with our friends at Bobs Red Mill to prep for the year ahead through the SMART goal (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-Based) of meal prep.Working aheadsetsyou up for success during the week.Andcooking with nutrient-dense ingredients like our California Mission Figs or their Organic Whole Wheat Flourthe idea behind this month-long collaboration came from wanting to get back into gearofhealthy eating after an indulgent holiday season in a way that is realistic, totally doable, and delicious.Weve tapped a few of our favorite home cooks and bloggers to share adifferent recipeand their meal prep tips each Monday during January,featuring Bobs Red Mill OrganicFarroor Organic Whole Wheat Flour andBlue Ribbon Orchard Choice California MissionFigs from Valley Fig Growersso stay tuned! We are always looking for a good hack tooand thats where our idea forwhole wheatsheetpan pancakes comein. Pancakes for us are somethingusually only relegated to weekend breakfasts whenwhenwe can linger at the table with our coffee and not feel rushed to get to work or drop off the kids at school. Could we make pancakes forrushedmornings that wouldonly need a quick reheat and change up theweekdayroutine? Baking thewhole wheatpancake batterin a sheet pan is a quick hands-free way to take care of breakfast for the week(orthis recipe would be a winner forlarge crowdbreakfasts). Theres nothing hard about making the fig swirl, just steep, pulverize in a food processor, spoon on, and swirl. Youll love the natural sweetness of California Figs andhoneyin a topping thats really fun to swirl with a chopstick.Come Monday morning, all you need is a few minutes (and maybe a big cup of coffee) to get this breakfast on the table.

Whole Wheat Sheet Pan Pancakes with California Fig Swirl

Makes15servings Ingredients California Fig Jam

• 2 cups(10.5 ounces)Blue Ribbon Orchard Choice California Figs, stemmed
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoonground cinnamon
• Dash of kosher salt

Whole Wheat Pancake Batter

• 2 cups Bob's Red Mill Organic Whole Wheat Flouror Bob's Red Mill Organic Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoonbaking soda
• 1 teaspoonkosher salt
• 1/4cup granulatedsugar
• 2large eggs,room temperature
• 2cupsbuttermilk
• 4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

Method Make the Jam: steep the figs in the boiling water with the honey, vanilla, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt,for 10 minutes, giving the bowl a good stir to incorporate ingredients. Drain and reserve the soaking liquid. Place the figs in the bowl of a food processor and slowly stream in the soaking liquid while the figs are being pureed. You can transfer the fig jam to a squeeze bottle, pastry bag with round tip, or plastic bag (youll cut off inch off the corner for a squeeze bag), or you can use a spoon to decorate with jam. Do a practice run on a paper towel or empty plate to ensure whatever method you chose will work with the vessel and jam. Preheat the oven to 450F. Linean 18x13 half sheet pan with parchment paper and coat with cooking spray. Whisk together the whole wheat flour, baking powder,baking soda,salt, and sugar in a large bowl. With a different whisk and in a separate bowl, beatthe eggs andthen whisk in the buttermilkand butter. Pour the liquid ingredients into thedry ingredients. Dont over-mix, but instead stir untiljust combined(it will be lumpy but the flour should be mixed in). Transfer the batter to the prepared sheet pan. Squeeze or spoonsmall mounds (think tablespoon increments)ofthejam 1/2 inchapart, polka dotting the batter. Drag a chopstick through the mounds of the jam to create the swirl. Place the sheet pan in the oven onto the center rack and turn down the heat to 400f. Bake for 15minutes or untilthe top of the pancakesprings back to the touch and atoothpick comes out cleanof crumbs.Slice and serve.