Updated 7/04/10: I reduced the baking powder from 2 teaspoons to 1 1/2 teaspoons which significantly improved the sodium values without affecting the pancakes. I also dropped to a 1/4 cup serving size which still produces reasonable sized pancakes but allows 12-14 servings per recipe.
I’ve started experimenting with cooking at home rather than buying in for some items. My main goals are to increase my fiber intake and decrease my sodium intake. If I can add some other nutrition as well, so much the better. So this morning I decided to try whole wheat pancakes and for a first attempt it went quite well.
Whole Wheat Pancakes Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
- 2 eggs (well beaten)
- 2 cups of milk (2%)
- 2 tablespoons of applesauce
The kosher salt is used because it has only half the sodium of regular salt and the applesauce replaces oil in most recipes which reduces the fat and calorie content.
Whole Wheat Pancakes Directions
Stir together the dry ingredients, then add the eggs, milk and apple sauce. Stir until the dry ingredients are thoroughly moistened and the batter is relatively smooth. Then cook on a pre-heated griddle (or frying pan) on medium heat until the edges dry up and the top has bubbles. Flip and cook for a little longer to brown.
Makes 12 – 14 servings using a 1/4 cup measure
Estimated Nutrition for Whole Wheat Pancakes
Using the 1/4 cup measure I estimate the nutrition values as follows:
- Calories: 101
- Fat: 2 grams
- Carbs: 14.5 grams
- Fiber: 3 grams
- Protein: 5 grams
- Sodium: 134 mg
The big gain here is the sodium content. Packet mixes have closer to 800mg of sodium per serving. The 3g of fiber is better than regular pancake mix and about equivalent to whole wheat pancake mix. It’s probably saving 100 – 150 calories too depending on your brand of choice.
Estimated Cost
- Whole Wheat: $0.50
- Baking Powder: $0.09
- Kosher Salt: $0.02
- Eggs: $0.50
- Milk: $0.56
- Apple Sauce: $0.10
- Recipe Cost: $1.77
- Serving Cost: $0.15
By my reckoning that’s about a third the cost of packet mixes. Not bad.
Difficulty
2 out of 10 maybe? Beating eggs is as complicated as it gets. It barely takes any longer than using a packet mix.
Reaction
I ate one of the pancakes myself and was pleasantly surprised for a first attempt. They were a little heavier than I was used to and of course had that stronger whole wheat taste, but with a bit of butter and marmalade very nice indeed.
Perhaps more importantly I feed them to my two sons and the both loved them!
Recipe Tweaks
I may try decreasing the amount of apple sauce to see if that makes it lighter. I’m also wondering if I could decrease the salt further to improve that sodium value. Even with the whole wheat this is still pretty light on fiber so the logical thing would be to add something else to the mix to boost that further. Suggestions?
Eoghann Irving is a sci-Fi fan, self professed geek, owner of too many computers and general know it all. Follow me on Google Buzz, LinkedIn or Twitter to chat about this or anything else.
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