Shrove Tuesday is here! Depending how you prepare your pancake for today, you can benefit from a whole bunch of health benefits. Of course eating in moderation and portion sizes play a part as well as the ingredients you use.
Pancakes are prepared from a batter and heated on a skillet or griddle. They need to be flipped to ensure both sides are cooked properly. The thinner and flatter the pancake, the less you are likely to eat.
Health Benefits of Pancakes
The batter used to cook pancakes includes milk, a great source protein and calcium. Eggs can supply additional protein. Pancakes made from whole wheat or buckwheat flourare healthier due to the low GI nature of these ingredients, as well as providing fiber, vitamins, antioxidants and minerals. The additional fiber of whole wheat pancakes and added protein from eggs and milk help keep you feeling fuller longer when compared to white flour pancakes.
Adding flaxseed you can make your pancake even more healthy. Flaxseed adds to the fiber content of the pancake. A typical 6 inch pancake should contain 175 calories.
What about the Extras?
Adding extras such as syrup, butter, whipped cream, sauces, powder sugar and fruit can all add to additional unnecessary calories. Fruit is the healthiest extra from this list. Using whole fruits are better than those covered in a sugary fruit syrup. To further reduce unwanted calories which not try a light syrup instead of the regular syrup. A low sugar or sugar-free jam can also help.
Now you can sit back and enjoy your pancake with zero guilt.