Pancakes are the one meal that I can make (for breakfast, lunch, or dinner) that are unanimously met with smiles, and, if I am lucky, applause. The trick is to make them as healthy as possible while maintaining their inherent deliciousness. Blueberry whole wheat pancakes (with soy flour and wheat germ), Earth's Best chocolate milk, dried cranberries and bananas; organic maple syrup.
waste generated: chocolate milk box and straw
A few people have requested my recipe for crepes - -which is essentially the same recipe as my pancake recipe. I am adding it here, although, as a warning, I usually cook in a "little bit of this, little bit of that" manner. This is good because my recipes are fairly forgiving, but it can be frustrating if you like rules. Here it is:
CREPES/PANCAKES (T is for tablespoon, t is for teaspoon)
2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
2T. wheat germ
1 1/2 T. soy flour
2 1/2 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. salt
2T. sugar (counters the bitterness of the soy flour)
approx. 2 1/4* c. non-fat milk, soymilk, or buttermilk (omit sugar if using soymilk)
3 eggs, beaten
3T. unsalted butter, melted (reduce amount of salt, see above, if using salted butter)
3 t. lemon juice (omit if using buttermilk)
** re: milk. use up to 1/2 cup less for pancakes, depending on how fluffy you like them (I tend to like them thin). use the full 2 1/4 c. for crepes - -the batter will be quite thin (thinner pancakes taste better cold)
Whisk together dry ingredients. Whisk together wet ingredients (except lemon juice!) in a separate bowl. Whisk quickly. The melted butter will start to form tiny lumps in the liquid, - -this is fine, I think it makes the end result lighter and more delicious. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix with a few quick strokes (a few lumps is fine) Quickly whisk in lemon juice.
Allow to sit while heating skillet or griddle. When water bounces off the surface of the skillet or griddle it is hot enough for cooking, if the drops of water just sizzle it is not hot enough). Pour batter to preferred size (small is best with these, they are delicate and cook quickly - -I use a 3 oz. ladle to pour batter) and flip when exposed side shows many bubbles. If you wish to pack them for lunch, allow leftovers to cool on a rack (they will get soggy if packed while still warm) before packing. The cooled pancakes, crepes, also freeze well using the flash freeze method.
3 comments:
Thanks for the recipe!
A question about your wrap n mat. We have been getting away from plastic in general b/c of all the info on it leaching into food etc. Do you feel the wrap n mat plastic has that kind of smell? Or do you worry about that stuff at all? I do want to get one and I am not sure a plastic tupperware container is better plastic than a wrap n mat. Thoughts?
Good question and I wish I had a good answer for you. My wrap-n-mats are about 5 years old and they are made with PVC plastic - - essentially the worst kind of plastic. I believe it would be considered a #3 in the recycling world (aka: not really recyclable) and a possible leacher of hormone disrupter chemicals. It does not and never has had the funky odor obvious with most plastics, however, I'd probably not buy one now considering the health issues and the recycle problems of PVC. Wrap-n-mat does have a new mat with a PEVA liner, more environmentally friendly, but I think the jury is still out on the health issues related to PEVA plastic. So, I'd say it is better than using a plastic bag and throwing it away, but probably not the best option.
Nice blueberry pancakes! I want to try this healthy recipe very soon. Thanks for sharing it to us.
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