1) I LOVED everybody’s Food Network substitution ideas from Monday (especially the PBS ones), but alas - the roommates decided to opt for a modest cable package. Since I save much moolah by living with 37 other people, I deferred to the majority. Honestly, I’m kinda looking forward to seeing my beloved Mets again, not to mention the cool sophisticate stylings of a certain Timothy Gunn.
2) WOW, I was off with the Syesha A.I. prediction. If she manages one more week, thus deposing one of the Davids, I’m moving to Siberia and opening a speakeasy. (Note: The move has nothing to do with Idol. I just think it would be cool.)
Now – the food!
While I’ve always been more of a French toast fan, The Boyfriend and I have been on a massive pancake kick lately. Starting with Betty Crocker’s super-easy, super-quick, five-ingredient flapjack recipe, we’ve had them every weekend for the last month, plus a few nights for dinner, as well. The problem is, pancakes aren’t the leanest things in the world, especially after a few pounds of butter and liters of syrup are added.
Enter Cooking Light’s Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes. They’re not tremendously leaner than standard diner 5-inch pancakes, but they’re so tasty, you wouldn’t want to mask the warm, welcoming flavor with too many add-ons. What’s more, the whole wheat dealie will make you feel better about flapjacks’ general lack of vitamins and minerals.
As always, the recipe’s listed below, but I did my own nutritional calculations, since I found two big problems with Cooking Light’s numbers:
1) Though the recipe claims to make 12 pancakes, it’s actually more like ten. (Maybe 11 if you stretch the batter.) Overestimating the serving size is standard for CL, and it’s been a constant issue with their meals. Beware.
2) CL included butter and maple syrup in their addition. I left those out of the equation since I usually go butterless, and prefer Aunt Jemima’s Light Butter-Flavored syrup for some strange, chemically-imbalanced reason . If you’re a butter person, expect to add about 33 calories and 4 grams of fat per teaspoon. Two tablespoons of pure maple syrup will pile on another 100 calories.
Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes
Makes 10 pancakes
Adapted from Cooking Light.
3/4 cup all-purpose flour3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 large egg white
Cooking spray
1) In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl or pyrex measuring cup, whisk together buttermilk, oil, egg, and egg white. Pour wet ingredients into dry ones. Stir until combined and the dry ingredients are just barely moistened.
2) "Heat a nonstick griddle or nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat." Using a measuring cup or your judgment, pour 1/4 cup batter on to the hot surface. Repeat until you've filled the skillet with pancakes. (You'll probably split this into 2 or 3 batches.)
3) Flip pancakes when their edges look lightly browned and many bubbles appear on the surfaces facing you. Continue to cook until both sides are lightly browned. Serve with butter and syrup or Aunt Jemima. (Because why not?)
Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
115 calories, 2.5 g fat, $0.20
Calculations
3/4 cup all-purpose flour: 341 calories, 0.9 g fat, $0.07
3/4 cup whole wheat flour: 305 calories, 1.7 g fat, $0.36
3 tablespoons sugar: 139 calories, 0 g fat, $0.06
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder: 2 calories, 0 g fat, $0.05
1/2 teaspoon baking soda: negligible calories and fat, $0.01
1/2 teaspoon salt: negligible calories and fat, $0.01
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk: 147 calories, 3.2 g fat, $0.98
1 tablespoon vegetable oil: 124 calories, 14 g fat, $0.06
1 large egg: 74 calories, 5 g fat, $0.17
1 large egg white: 17 calories, 0.1 g fat, $0.17
Cooking spray: negligible calories and fat, $0.03
TOTAL: 1149 calories, 24.9 g fat, $1.97
PER SERVING: 115 calories, 2.5 g fat, $0.20
