If you Want to Avoid Gluten but Not Tradition, Choose Healthy Pancake Recipes

On those mornings when you have some “me” time – when you don’t have to be somewhere first thing in the morning – then, if you’re like me, you’re craving pancakes, or waffles.  Although I don’t have Celiac’s Disease, the autoimmune issue that makes gluten harmful to your internal system, my mom does, and in the process of checking on my own sensitivities, I did discover that I do have a certain level of gluten intolerance, which means I can’t be eating as much gluten and/or wheat-based foods as much as everyone else tends to.  And so when I make pancakes, I much prefer to use a healthy pancake recipe, and by “healthy” I mean gluten-free.

Since society’s knowledge and awareness of Celiac’s and various gluten- and wheat-based allergies has grown so much over the last decade, there’s a plethora of gluten-free healthy pancake recipes out there for every wheat or gluten-based food you can think of.  So how do you choose which one to make for your pancakes (or waffles) then?  Unfortunately there’s no easy answer:  start by looking into the expertise of the source you may potentially use, see how the ingredients jibe with your intuition, and then you have to simply rely on trial and error.

Homemade healthy pancake recipes?

If you fancy yourself a purist, I wouldn’t want to be a buzzkill to your going the homemade route.  But keep in mind that while making traditional gluten- or wheat-based pancakes from scratch may be fairly basic, making homemade healthy pancake recipes – aka gluten-free – gets much more complicated.  Usually two or three flours are involved for homemade healthy pancake recipes,

typically among them are rice flour, tapioca flour, and potato flour or starch.  You’re going to have a lot of flour bags, and eventually you’re going to need a lot of flour containers, so that your kitchen doesn’t become caked in a white film.  Maybe i’m exaggerating the challenges of keeping multiple gluten-free flours on hand for baking and breakfast foods, but let’s just say that having a flour container tip over while the lid is loose does not produce an especially fun result.  The advantage of homemade gluten-free pancakes or waffles comes down to control- you know exactly what’s going into your mixture – quality ingredients; and exactly what’s not going in- refined sugars, chemicals, etc.

Or  pre-made healthy pancake recipes?

Along with the explosion in awareness about Celiac’s and wheat allergies and the like has come a tremendous growth in the gluten-free food place, and that’s actually a good thing.  While many of them remain quite expensive -which often prompt some to say: “I’m going to make this from scratch” – it’s really a time vs. money issue:  maybe it’s worth it to spend a little extra, but save a lot of time in the kitchen.  You may disagree with that angle, but I’m open to counter-opinion.  As you have probably gathered, I come down on the pre-made healthy pancake recipes side, and that means a handful of top contenders in the category of gluten-free pancake mix:  Arrowhead Mills, Bob’s Red Mill, King Arthur Flour, Namaste Foods, and Pamela’s, among others, but those are some of the best known these days.  Your choice here may come down to brand loyalty, but it should come down to ingredients and consistency:  does the mix contain added sugar?  how many ingredients are required?  when you mix it up, does it come out better on some occasions than others, or is good or even great every time?  Do your research, both online and in the kitchen, and it will become clear quite quickly which healthy pancake recipe is yours; then claim it.  In the end, you shouldn’t need to sacrifice health for taste, or vice versa; with solid healthy pancake recipes, you can have your pancake, and eat it too.