Monday, June 14, 2010

The breakfast blues


For the past year, I have been fiddling around with pancake recipes. I used to be a die-hard Krusteaz Buttermilk mix user until I read the ingredients. The label begins innocently enough: enriched bleached flour, sugar and leavening, but it's the remaining ingredients that trouble me. Soy flour(not sure why this troubles me but I am sure with a little research I could pin it down.), dextrose, partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils, and mono-diglycerides (emulsifier). I decided that the "just add water" convenience of this product was just not worth consuming the questionable additives. In my journey to find the right recipe, I experimented with different flours, buttermilk and the ratios of the standard ingredients as well as an amount of batter that will make enough pancakes for my ravenous family. Feel free to use organic ingredients when available. Today I think I found a winner and here it is:


Semi-Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes
(Makes about 18 4-inch pancakes)

3 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons of organic cane sugar or regular sugar (organic cane has bigger crystals for a nice texture)
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 pint of blueberries
butter for cooking

Beat eggs with whisk in a large bowl until fluffy. Whisk in remaining ingredients except butter and blueberries until just combined. It is not necessary to be lump free! Set pan or griddle over medium heat and grease with butter(you will need to add more butter after each batch). You will know the pan is hot enough when the butter sizzles as soon as it is in contact with the surface. Ladle desired amount of batter into greased pan and top with 5-7 blueberries per pancake. Flip when the bubbles start to pop and cook for about one more minute. Serve with REAL maple syrup and enjoy!

Why real maple syrup? I know it is expensive compared to Mrs. Butterworth's but once you make the switch you won't want to go back. Just a comparison of the labels was enough for me. My bottle of the Whole Foods 365 Organic Grade A Maple Syrup requires refrigeration after opening and it has one ingredient: organic maple syrup. In contrast, Mrs. Butterworth's does not require refrigeration yet has an incredibly long shelf life. It's ingredients are: high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, water, salt, cellulose gum, molasses, potassium sorbate (preservative), sodium hexametaphosphate, citric acid, caramel color, natural and artificial flavors. I recommend ditching the brown corn syrup and eating pancakes and waffles less often to compensate for the increase in the price of the syrup. The food conglomerates have created a way to produce cheaper "food" at the cost of quality. Real food costs more, but it is cheaper than the medical care that will be required to treat the diseases brought about by an unhealthy diet and lifestyle. We'll pay now or we'll later!

3 comments:

  1. John started making his own pancakes when we couldn't find any mixes without aluminum. Found out that the baking powder is what has the aluminum in it. So make sure to find baking powder without it for healthy pancakes.
    Caridad

    ReplyDelete

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