Are Pancakes Healthy?

Who doesn't like pancakes?  Most of us love them! Now think about why we love them...  Is it because they are sweet, or is it their soft fluffy texture that makes them so tasty?  Probably both!

Recently during a teaching experience a young person asked me if pancakes were healthy.  He looked at me with puppy dog eyes hoping for my approval.  So are pancakes healthy?  What do you think? Do we really need to ask this question?    

Pancakes are loaded with ingredients such as enriched white four, sugar, baking powder, soy flour, dextrose (sugar), buttermilk, canola, soybean oil, salt, mono-diglycerides, and dried whole egg.  And thats just the pancake mix! What about that "light" syrup you smear over your pancakes?  In Aunt Jemima's "light" pancake syrup there is 19 grams of sugar in just 3 TBsb.  Most people would use double this amount.  As for the ingredients in this "light" syrup: liquid sugar, water, cellulose gum, salt, natural and artificial flavors, sorbic acid, sodium benzoate, carmel color, sodium hexametaphosphate, and sulphites.  Sodium hexametaphosphate? That doesn’t sound healthy! 

The problem with pancakes is that they are loaded with chemicals and sugars.  Pancakes are essentially fried flour covered in butter or syrup.  They resemble more of a desert than breakfast.  Pancakes are also about 95% carbohydrates.   Not complex carbohydrates (the good kind) but rather the refined simple type.  Simple refined carbohydrates (white bread, rice, PANCAKES) are a poor food choices.  Simple refined carbohydrates will give you an instant burst of energy; within an hour your energy levels will plummet and you will be looking for something else to eat.  Complex carbohydrates (such as oatmeal or whole grain cereals) take longer for the body to break down and will regulate blood sugar levels keeping you full for hours. 

The verdict?  Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  People who eat breakfast are less likely to become obese, develop diabetes, and have high cholesterol.  In addition, people who eat breakfast are less likely to be hungry during the rest of the day and are, therefore, less likely to overeat.  Making a smart breakfast choice will keep you healthy.  However, making a poor breakfast choice, during the most important time of the day, will reverse any of these positive effects.  If you choose foods such as pancakes or white bread, you will most likely crash mid morning and find yourself looking for another coffee.  Nevertheless, if you strategically plan your breakfast (properly fuel your body) you will have high energy levels to sustain you throughout the day. 

If you are going to eat pancakes I recommend making your own.  This way you can avoid all the unnecessary chemicals and sugars.  This pancake recipe is a tasty, high in complex carbohydrates (the good kind), protein, and low in sugar.  Give it a try, I’m sure you will love it!  

Recipe  Combine all ingredients in a magic bullet or small blender

.5 cup dry oatmeal

.5 cup fat free cottage cheese

4 egg whites

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 packet Stevia* (2 packets for sweeter pancakes)

Directions 

Blend everything except the oats. Once you have a smooth liquid, add the oats and blend for only a little bit, you want the batter to be a little bumpy. 

If you're going to add fruit (like blueberries), add them whole to the batter after you blend it or your batter will be too liquidy.  I usually let the batter sit for a couple minutes, to thicken up a bit. Cook in a pan coated with no stick cooking spray. Makes about six 4-5 pancakes. 

Top with fat free yogurt or fresh fruit - Enjoy

Total Calories for entire recipe - Under 500 Calories! 

Nutritional Info

Servings Per Recipe: 6 

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 47.5

Total Fat: 0.5 g

Cholesterol: 0.8 mg

Sodium: 146.1 mg

Total Carbs: 4.6 g

Dietary Fiber: 0.7 g

Protein: 5.8 g