Commercially Prepared Pancake Mix... What are you really buying?

Finally it's Friday and the weekend is almost here! To my family, Saturday mornings usually entail pancakes served with fresh fruit. Delicious! Most families I know these days plan for breakfast by buying a box of pancake mix from the store. Here at The Crunchy Kitchen my goal is to cook from fresh as much possible but buying a box of commercially prepared pancake mix doesn't really fall under those guidelines in my opinion. Below I have listed a few of the popular brands you would come across in the super market including their ingredients.

Krusteaz Complete Pancake Mix, Buttermilk Ingredients:

Enriched Bleached Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, May Contain Malted Barley Flour, Enzymes, Ascorbic Acid), Sugar, Leavening (Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate), Soy Flour, Dextrose, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oils, Buttermilk, Salt, Mono- Diglycerides (Emulsifier), Eggs.

Aunt Jemima Ingredients:

Enriched Bleached Flour (Bleached Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Sugar, Leavening (Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate), Dextrose, Dried Buttermilk, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil with Mono and Diglycerides, Dried Whole Eggs, Salt, Defatted Soy Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Corn Syrup Solids, Nonfat Dry Milk, Soy Lecithin, Sodium Caseinate, Soybean Oil.

Bisquick Ingredients:

Enriched flour bleached (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin, mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), canola oil, leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate), dextrose, sugar, tricalcium phosphate, salt, datem.

Now - after really reading all the additives in those mixes your perfect picture Saturday morning breakfast has gone out the window! Just a quick thought about additives such as hydrogenated oil these are far more damaging than even saturated fats... and corn syrup solids can contribute to high cholesterol. If you could, wouldn't you rather feed your family pancakes with just a few ingredients? Ingredients you know and trust? Things you can buy at local grocers?

So why not make your own mix? It is so easy!

Ingredients:

1 cup unbleached whole wheat flour

1 Tbsp raw cane sugar

2 tsp non-aluminum baking powder

1/8 tsp sea salt

1 cup non-dairy milk

2 tsp oil

Spray oil such as Organic Olive Oil by Pam (Anything else will result in a mess)

Directions:

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl until well mixed.

Mix in the "milk" and oil and whisk until batter is smooth.

Heat griddle or pan on medium heat.

Spray griddle or pan with Pam. Once hot drop 1/3 cup of batter at a time .

When bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake, flip, and cook the other side for about 2 minutes.

Top with fresh blueberries or fresh strawberries. I serve these without the use of Nucoa Margarine and use Organic Agave Syrup instead.

As a family we really enjoy our pancakes so I choose to make this recipe for the whole month! I pre-make only the dry mix recipe x4 and add the oil and milk when it's time to eat. This makes for a quicker prep time! So remember 1 cup dry mix to 1 cup milk plus 2 tsp oil and your set!

One other great thing about these pancakes being dairy and egg free is the my son can eat the batter which he loves to do!