Pancakes are one of my all-time favorite breakfast foods. They were a regular in my house growing up. We probably had them at least three times a week. As a teenager, I would often make them for my brother, Daniel, when he came home from the neighbor's farm for breakfast. We always used the Aunt Jemima original pancake and waffle mix. This is the kind that you add milk and eggs to before pouring the deliciousness onto the griddle until they were a gorgeous golden brown. They really are delicious!!! However, in my quest for healthier alternatives, I have realized that pretty much anything you buy that comes in a box is not really nutritious. Homemade, from scratch, with “real” whole wheat flour is the best way to go. My friend, Emily, recently shared a vegan pumpkin pancake recipe with me that I have been dying to try. Since I have this snow day to thank for the opportunity to make a homemade breakfast for my family, I decided today was the day to give it a try.
My first time ever
made from scratch, non-Aunt Jemima pancakes. Unfortunately, I don’t have the success
story I was hoping for. I could not get them to cook all the way through, and
they were gooey in the middle. It could
be that I mixed the batter too early before I actually cooked them. Charlotte
decided that today was a day she would sleep in late, so the batter sat for
quite a while before I actually poured them out. Charlotte loved them, but
Steve and I were not big fans. I was very disappointed, but I will try again. I am
on a quest for a better recipe, which I will hopefully share with a raving
review. Although I strive to find vegan recipes, whenever possible I am still a
big supporter of the chicken egg. My next go-round with pancakes will probably
contain some great ingredients, including the egg. We only buy free range or cage free organic
eggs unless we know where they come from. One of my older brothers gives us eggs from
his chickens during the summer months, and we love them. Nothing
compares to an egg from a chicken that has had the freedom to roam the fields and
has not been confined to a small space. The difference is in the color and
taste. I will warn you, eggs from free range chickens tend to have blood spots
in them, but don’t panic. It’s not going to hurt you. But if they bother you,
just scoop them out before you add the eggs to recipes or fry them up. I know
growing up, when we would chase the chickens around, we were always told to stop, because it would cause blood spots in the eggs. When you see those little spots, just think about all the fun those chickens had running around or being chased
by crazy kids. What a life :o)
In addition to the Aunt Jemima pancake mix, I also grew up
on Log Cabin syrup. It is made with several different ingredients (including
sugar), which seems odd when you think about maple syrup. By its very nature, maple
syrup should be straight from nature. S,o
why would it contain more ingredients other than 100%, straight up, sticky
goodness of pure maple syrup? Aunt Jemima is another one of the syrups I grew
up on, which also includes many added ingredients, including high fructose corn
syrup. I have transitioned us from these
very processed syrups to straight up, 100%, no added ingredients maple syrup. I also
have a bottle of organic maple agave syrup sitting in my pantry. If you are making the switch to a pure syrup,
this might be a good transition for the kids as they get used to less of a sugary
sweet tasting syrup and a more natural tasting one. Agave has its own critics,
but if you are using it to transition your family to a pure maple syrup, it’s
much better than the alternatives out there, and I say go for it. Just get to
that pure 100% maple at some point.
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