Healthy Pancake recipes

/in /by

Pancake Day!

Happy Shrove Tuesday all! Pancake day can typically be a day of overeating and piling on the sugar, so I thought I would give you a couple of healthy recipes so you can enjoy the pancakes without the guilt. The main issue with the pancakes is that they are typically made with white flour, which is devoid of nutrients and fibre and produces an insulin spike which causes the body to store fat. Then we add a shed load of sugar, which causes another insulin spike and adds a bit more onto the wobbly bits!

It’s really easy to make pancakes healthy. Firstly, don’t buy the pre made mixture as it is full of white flour, loads of additives, sugars and sweeteners and it’s really easy to make them from scratch, so don’t be lazy. Secondly, substitute white flour with whole meal flour or oats. Both of which have a much lower GI and will reduce the insulin spike and wobbly bits.

 

So a couple of batter recipes:

The basic:

4oz of whole meal flour

Half pint of milk

1 egg

Pinch of salt

Method

To make the batter using a blender or food processor, put the milk, egg and salt into the bowl and blend thoroughly. Then add the flour and blend again for about 30 seconds.

To make the batter by hand, put the flour and salt in a bowl. Using a balloon whisk, beat the egg in a jug with the milk, then pour this into the flour and whisk in until the batter is smooth.
Let the batter stand for 30 minutes if possible.

To cook the pancakes, heat a little oil in a suitable pancake pan and, when hot, pour in about 2 tablespoons of batter. Tilt the pan so that the batter coats the base of the pan evenly.
Cook for about 2-3 minutes, then loosen the edge and either toss or flip the pancake over with a spatula, then cook the other side for 1 minute.

Oatmeal pancakes

• 3/4 cup rolled oats (instant or regular)
• 3/4 cup wholemeal flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups milk or soy milk
• Oil

Lightly oil your pan with vegetable oil. Preheat the pan over medium heat. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. Gradually add your milk and mix until all of the ingredients are well blended. The batter should be lumpy but well mixed.

Using a soup ladle, drop about ¼ cup of the batter for each pancake onto the preheated pan. Cook for about 90 seconds, or until bubbles appear and burst on the surface of the batter. Flip and continue to cook another 1-2 minutes on the other side. Continue until all of the batter is used. Pancakes should be golden brown.

 

Filling ideas:

·         Blueberries. Add fresh or frozen blueberries to the mixture before cooking and serve with natural or Greek yoghurt.

·         Banana and peanut butter

·         Loads of fruit and yoghurt- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries etc. Add some honey

·         Add chopped nuts such as walnuts and pecans  and raisins to the batter before cooking.

·         Chopped banana and honey

Enjoy!!