Power Packed Pancakes

So many of us look forward to the weekend when we can have a hearty breakfast. In some homes it’s all about the pancakes but in others the breakfast table is filled with a little bit of everything from eggs, to bacon, toast, avocados and fresh fruit.

You probably know that breakfast is extremely important. Feeding yourself in the morning gets the fires of metabolism going and helps you burn calories more efficiently over the rest of the day. Skipping breakfast and eating later in the day results in a higher BMI and increased weight gain.

What you eat is as important as eating itself. Typical American breakfasts with the exception of eggs are carbohydrate heavy. This doesn’t leave much room for balancing with fat and protein.

This is especially true for pancakes. Your standard white flour pancakes are devoid of fiber, nutrients, fat and protein. White flour acts like glue in your digestive system and can lead to improper elimination and constipation.

So the question is, how can you get your pancakes to be more nutritious?

It just takes a little doctoring up.

I’m sharing my rendition of breakfast pancakes with you. These are a supplement to your traditional good-ole-fashioned pancakes. I’m not going into pancake alternatives in this post. These will look and taste a lot like regular pancakes their just more nutritious. Chances are good that your kids will eat them.

Healthy pancakes, just what the doctor ordered.

I start with a pancake mix – I mostly use Pamela’s Gluten-free baking and Pancake mix. I recently tried Trader Joes Gluten Free buttermilk pancake mix and was very pleased with the result.

I follow the directions on the bag or box.

If it calls for eggs I add either eggs or ground flax seeds. Ground flax seeds act as a great egg replacer and add fiber to the mix. The conversion is 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds per egg. I grind the flax seeds and put them in a measuring cup. I add water to just cover the ground seeds and let sit for a few minutes. The seeds will absorb the water and become gooey like egg white.

If it calls for oil I either use coconut oil or grape seed oil.

If it calls for water I use unsweetened almond milk. (This makes the batter creamier and more nutritious. You can add any alternative milk you like.)

Then I add:

1 scoop of protein powder (this can be whey protein or any straight protein powder you have. It should not be a protein powder combined with other vitamins in it. I will add vanilla or chocolate based on what I have in my kitchen.)

½ teaspoon cinnamon
5-10 drops vanilla flavored liquid stevia
½ cup of frozen blueberries

I mix all the ingredients and then add the blueberries at the end.

Stir the batter and cook up just like you would regular pancakes.

Drizzle with pure maple syrup when done.

-Be Happy, Healthy, and Holistic

Dr. Purcell

PS: Sometimes in place of blueberries I peal an apple and chop up in small pieces to make apple pancakes.

PPS: I usually triple the mix and cook enough pancakes to have some leftovers in the fridge. That way you can pop in the toaster the next morning and enjoy without all the mess. It’s all about the planning