This month’s Recipe Redux theme is DIY (do it yourself) Kitchen Essentials – something you may have purchased in the past but now make from scratch and keep stocked in your kitchen.
I was so excited about this theme. The toughest decision I had was to decide on whether to choose my cereal bar, pancake/waffle mix, strawberry jam, or banana bread. I love to make and share my thoughts on all of these recipes but decided to go with my Whole Grain Pancake and Waffle Mix. After about two years of perfecting the mix, you can call me Aunt Jemima! Additionally, when I was a kid, I woke up pretty much every morning to the sweet smell of my mom’s pancakes. She was clearly not concerned with my sugar intake because by the time I was done preparing my plate, I would say that my pancakes were swimming in syrup. YUMMY!
I was first inspired to make my own mix when I got the King Arthur’s Whole Grain Baking cookbook. They had a great base mix that seemed so easy that I should try it. I did and never returned to the “mix in a box” again. What I liked about the mix was that it was not too far from a standard pancake/waffle mix recipe. I knew my kids would not notice a huge difference and readily eat them. This is always an important consideration in any recipe change that I make.
The King Arthur recipe had all the basic ingredients of a nutritious whole grain mix: whole-wheat flour, oats, and simple white flour. But, after my first time making it, I decided that I was too lazy to ground up the oats every time I made the mix so I (happily) eliminated the oats because if I did not, then I would not make the mix. I figured eliminating that step and making the mix was better than not making the mix at all.
Next, I wanted to step up the nutrition because my kids eat them EVERY morning. This led me to toss in some ground flaxseed and almond meal to increase the fiber, which had been lost when I eliminated the oats, and increase the proteins, so my kids would not be eating a breakfast of only carbs. These two changes did not change the color, texture, or taste of the base mix. And guess what, I also took the sugar out of the recipe! Ann really questioned me on this because she said sugar was needed for the baking process. She tried to cite some chemical properties of sugar that the pancakes/waffles need but I had been eating these for over a year without the sugar so I just nodded to acknowledge her food chemistry expertise and moved on. LOL! But in just one pancake, she is now a believer. My kids put enough maple syrup (we use the real stuff!) on there that I did not feel that we needed more sugar added to the mix.
Now that I have perfected my mix, I make the mix in huge batches that last me at least a month or two and store the mix in an airtight plastic container. I also make my pancakes/waffles in huge batches so that I can store them and re-heat them for my kids. See how you can do this, too, with my Cook-N-Freeze method.
This mix, adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking, offers a great alternative to store-bought boxed mixes which often don't offer a whole grain option or have added ingredients that are not necessary. You can make it in bulk ahead of time to keep Saturday morning breakfast quick and easy. Or put the mix in a container with instructions to give as a gift to a friend.
| Servings |
| 5 cups of dry mix |
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This mix, adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking, offers a great alternative to store-bought boxed mixes which often don't offer a whole grain option or have added ingredients that are not necessary. You can make it in bulk ahead of time to keep Saturday morning breakfast quick and easy. Or put the mix in a container with instructions to give as a gift to a friend.
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Make Ahead:
Mix It Up:
Make a big batch of this pancake / waffle mix so you can make from scratch whenever mood strikes... Click To Tweet
