How To Make Whole Wheat Pancakes

Whole wheat flour is better for your health than normal all-purpose white flour. Why? Basically – whole grains are better sources of fiber and other important nutrients, such as selenium, potassium and magnesium. So if you want to make your pancakes healthier use whole wheat. I like these pancakes just the same as normal ones, they are great! Maybe even better. But if you feel that pancakes made 100% out of whole wheat flour are a little bit to dense and not so soft (it can happen) you can use a combination of both flours. For instance use 3/4 cup whole wheat and 1/2 cup all purpose flour. You will also notice that we are substituting sugar with artificial sweetener in this recipe. You could also skip the sugar in pancakes altogether. You either have to adjust your tastebuds a little bit or use a sweet topping. But I can tell you from personal experience – your taste can change. I started using less salt and less sugar in my diet. At first I felt that my meals are not salty or sweet enugh but after a while your taste adjusts and they taste fine, just healthier. And food that you used to think is normal is suddenly to salty. Well anyway.. Lets get started with the recipe! :)

Whole wheat pancake recipe ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk (you can add more if necessary)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon artificial sweetener (you can also use brown sugar, honey or no sugar at all)

This recipe serves 4.

Making pancakes and pancake batter is easy, there is no way you can make “mix everything together” hard :)! But if you want instructions then follow this…

Instructions

1. Sift together flour and baking powder.

2. Take a bowl and beat together the egg, milk, salt and artificial sweetener.

3. Stir in flour/baking powder until you get a nice even batter with no flour lumps. Is the batter to thick? Add some more milk, but don’t overdo it… another 1/4 cup is max. Batter should be thin enough so you can pour it on the pan but still so thick that it is not runny.

4. For cooking you can use a griddle, a skillet, a normal pan etc… if it’s not non-stick – spray it with cooking spray. Even if it is non stick you can use some cooking spray if you want. You will notice the difference in the look of pancakes and decide for yourself which ones do you like more.

5. Wait for your pan to heat up, use medium heat. Don’t start making pancakes while the pan is still cold or your first pancake will be a throwaway. You can test it by pouring a small drop of batter on to it. If it makes “sssssss….” sound, it’s hot enough.

6. To make one pancake you pour about 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan.

7. Cook until you see bubbles on top, this usually takes about 1 1/2 minutes. Then turn the pancake around, and continue cooking until it turns golden brown.

That’s it, you have just learned how to make whole wheat pancakes.

Oatmeal Pancakes

Oatmeal pancakes recipe came into vogue during the “whole grain” craze of the eighties and nineties. Their popularity has never gone out of style. While they may have become a super food during that time when Americans were looking for ways to cut out the fat, sugar and simple carbohydrates, they stayed popular because they taste just so darn good! And when something is good for you and is as delicious and as satisfying as oatmeal pancakes, well, what more do you need?

The nice thing about this recipe is that you can make it just about any time because the ingredients are staples in every pantry. You will find you have no need to purchase instant pancake mix in a box, these pancakes so much better than the stuff you “just add water”.

Oatmeal

This recipe does not involve white flour, a substance that is not very good for you and is about as close to refined sugar as you can get. The fiber content in oatmeal is much higher than in all-purpose flour, and since the recipe does not call for eggs or milk, those watching their cholesterol will find this a healthy offering for breakfast or snacking. The Irish-style, steel-cut oatmeal is a good choice for this recipe because it is hearty and flavorful, but regular or instant rolled oats will do just fine as well.

Oatmeal pancake recipe ingredients

• 3/4 cup rolled oats (instant or regular)
• 3/4 cup oat flour (see note below for oat flour instructions)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups vanilla soy milk (may substitute plain soymilk or almond milk)
• Margarine or oil for skillet preparation (yields six pancakes)

Instructions

To make oat flour, simply place ¾ cup of whole or instant oats in a blender or small food processor and blend until the oats are reduced to a flour consistency.

Lightly oil your griddle or skillet with margarine or vegetable oil. Preheat the griddle over medium heat. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. Gradually add your soy 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 griddle. 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.

Serve with syrup or honey. For variety you may add chocolate chips, dried fruit such as raisins or cranberries, or fresh fruit such as diced apples or blueberries. Broken pieces of pecans or walnuts also add flavor and texture.

Bon appétit!

Low Calorie Pancakes – a Recipe for People on a Diet

Pancakes are an American favorite. Whether they are smothered in butter and syrup, dusted with powdered sugar, or topped with a mound of fruit and whipped cream, they are available in virtually any American restaurant that serves breakfast. They have also been prepared at home by loving mothers and grandmother’s for decades. Pancakes made at home have a distinct advantage over the ones made in a restaurant. Small tweaks to the standard ingredients can take what is typically a once in a while indulgence to a weekly or daily staple. The difference between using full fat ingredients, and whole wheat flour versus white flour, won’t be evident in the taste, but may show up as a smaller number on the bathroom scale.

Don’t let a long list of ingredients intimidate you. These low calorie diet pancakes are not only easy to make, but are easy on the wallet as well as the waistline.

Low calorie diet pancake recipe ingredients

• 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup of all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 2 large eggs (or equal amount of egg substitute)
• 1/2 cup of fat free skim milk
• 1 cup of reduced fat buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1/4 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 140 degrees F. This is for keeping all of the pancakes warm until the entire batch of batter has been used.

2. Preheat a large, nonstick skillet over medium low heat. Using a nonstick surface will allow the pancakes to be grilled without the aid of fat, such as butter or oil. If the batter sticking is a concern, use a light layer of fat free cooking spray.

3. Whisk the all purpose and whole wheat flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the vanilla, honey, eggs, buttermilk and skim milk until combined.

4. Carefully add the wet mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Be careful not to over mix the batter, as this will create tough pancakes. The batter should remain a little bit lumpy.

5. Using a 1/4 size measuring cup, carefully ladle the batter onto the hot grilling surface. Once the upper surface begins to bubble and the grill side is a nice golden brown, the pancake is ready to flip. Once both sides are golden brown, remove and place in a glass baking dish and keep in the 140 degree oven until all of the batter has been used.

Serving Options for Low Calorie Pancakes

Feel free to top these healthy, low calorie diet pancakes with any assortment of fresh fruit and reduced fat whipped cream. Maple syrup is a fantastic topper, but experiment a little with other types of syrup such as apricot or strawberry, which are naturally low in fat and calories.

Gluten Free Pancake Recipe

There is a surprising number of people who may love pancakes but “pancakes don’t love them”. Wheat flour, which is the staple of pancakes, contains a protein called gluten. Gluten can cause certain health issues for some people. For instance, anyone with celiac disease should eat gluten free foods because for them gluten can cause damage to the small intestines. There is also a condition called dermatitis herpetiformis, which is an allergy to gluten that causes an itchy red rash.

There are some grains that don’t have gluten like rice, corn, buckwheat, soybean, and many others that we don’t normally think of cooking with. But if you love pancakes it is possible find a good gluten free recipe using one of these other “flours”.

Gluten free recipes often vary from version to version. The one below is a little complicated only because it has more ingredients than most pancakes and some may be hard to find anywhere other than health food stores. Following the recipe I have listed some ingredients you can substitute if you can’t find these harder to find ingredients.

Gluten Free Pancake Recipe Ingredients

• 1 cup rice flour
• 3 tablespoons tapioca flour *
• 1/3 cup potato starch **
• 4 tablespoons dry buttermilk power ***
• 1 packet sugar substitute
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon xanthan gum ****
• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 cups water

* Tapioca flour is used as a thickening agent
** Potato starch is the result of separating the starch from potatoes and then turning into powder form. It is also used as a thickener like cornstarch.
*** Buttermilk powder combined with water is used as a substitute for buttermilk if you don’t have it on hand.
**** Xanthan gum is a gluten substitute used to make bread, pasta, pancakes and other recipes that are flour based.

All of these items can be found in health food stores, but some regular supermarkets may carry tapioca flour and potato starch.

The baking powder will help the pancakes rise and be fluffy like a normal pancake.

Instructions

1. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl (rice flour through xanthan gum).

2. Whisk in the eggs, water and oil till they are blended well with as few lumps as possible.

3. In a skillet that has been heated over medium high heat. Cook the pancakes till they get bubbly. At this point, flip them and cook until nice and golden on the bottom.

Variations

If you have buttermilk in the house, substitute that for the buttermilk powder and water. Use the same amount of buttermilk as water.

If you are unfortunate enough to not only be allergic to gluten, but are also lactose intolerant, you can substitute the buttermilk for soy milk.

Instead of the artificial sweetener you can substitute a teaspoon of honey or concentrated fruit juice, or even be daring and use real sugar.

This is it, I hope you enjoy this healthy gluten free pancake recipe.