The Story Behind International Pancake Day

It is the eve of February 24th and why is that of so much importance, that I would write about it? It is important because tomorrow is a day I love to celebrate. The folks in New Orleans and some other places around the United States will be celebrating Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday. In Latin America, they are celebrating Carnival – sounds fun! In England, Ireland and Australia people will be celebrating Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day. No matter the term, everyone is celebrating the same day-- the day before the beginning of Lent.

When I first found out that there was a day specifically designated to eat and celebrate pancakes I rejoiced. I love pancakes and I know it started as a wee child when my mom would make all types of scrumptious pancakes for me and my siblings and even better, she’d make them into our favorite shapes. What’s not to love about a pancake shaped like Mickey Mouse?

I recently decided to do a little more research into Pancake Day because I noticed that it is not on the same day each year. I was intrigued about where it started, why it started and the customs and traditions around this fabulous day. Initially, I did not realize that it was synonymous with Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, both terms I was familiar with.

It seems that the Pancake Day originated in the UK, where they call the day before Lent Shrove Tuesday. The word shrove is the past tense of the verb shrive, which means to obtain absolution from one’s sins through Confession and doing penance. English Christians were expected to shrive or confess all sins prior to the beginning of Lent.
In Christian beliefs, Lent commemorates Jesus' 40 days of fasting in the wilderness, and observant Christians mark this period by fasting themselves. In the UK, a tradition evolved of making and eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday because it was a clever way to use up the “rich” ingredients that were given up for Lent - milk, butter and, particularly, eggs - which may not be eaten again until Easter.

I was impressed to discover that Pancake Day actually has a deep spiritual background, it is not simply a random holiday created by some Pancake Lover.

Join me in eating pancakes on this Pancake Day. You can look back to the archives of February 2007 to find some of my favorite pancake recipes. You may also want to do some research of your own and discover the countless varieties of delicious pancakes from all around the world. Have you ever had Blintzes, Crepes, Puff Pancakes aka. German Oven pancakes, Latkes aka. Potato Pancakes, Pioneer pancakes, or Swedish Pancakes??

Don't worry if you don't have time to make pancakes for breakfast. Pancakes are fabulous any time of day. Visit your local pancake house for lunch or whip up a batch of pancakes for dinner. Enjoy!!


To Your Best Health,

Melissa Guthrie
BSc Nutritional Science
BSc Exercise Physiology
ACE Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor
New Leaf Certified Metabolic Technician
Triathlete/Runner
Healthy Cooking Enthusiast

Have You Heard About The ULTIMATE Grocery Shopping Tour?

The Ultimate Grocery Shopping Tour

The Key To Healthy Eating is Healthy Shopping

Saturday February 21st 1pm - 3pm

Embark on a fun-filled, educational adventure through the untamed isles of the supermarket guided by your personal nutrition coach, Melissa Guthrie. In this exciting 2 hour workshop, you will learn how to decode the deceptive food labels that mislead you (i.e. The SIX Sickening Ingredients), how to easily replace your favorite "not-so-healthy" foods with delicious & nutritious alternatives, how to get the entire family eagerly engaged in healthier eating, how to cut your grocery bill significantly, and how to save precious time by trekking the perimeter path, and more!

All participants will receive: The ULTIMATE Grocery Shopping Guidebook.

Who: You, your children (8yrs or older), your spouse, your friends, your neighbors, etc.

When: Saturday February 21st 1pm - 3pm

Where: Mesa, AZ (exact store location TBA upon your RSVP)

Fee: $25 per individual or $40 per household (2 people: husband/wife, parent/child, roommates, etc) RSVP deadline is Friday Feb 20th at 9pm.

RSVP accepted by phone to 1.800.775.0712 xt 7015 or email mmguthrie@hotmail.com

To Your Best Health,

Melissa Guthrie

BSc Nutritional Science

BSc Exercise Physiology

ACE Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor

New Leaf Certified Metabolic Technician

Triathlete/Runner

Healthy Cooking Enthusiast

Putting Love & Passion in Your Valentine's Day Meals

It’s Valentine’s Day, so I thought it would be timely to share a few fun ways to put some Love & Passion into your meals.

Homemade Heart Shaped Pizza
I love homemade pizza!! My favorite crust is a honey whole grain crust that I make in the bread machine.

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups warm water, 110 – 115 F
¼ tsp sea salt (optional)
2 Tbsp honey
2 to 2 ½ cups whole spelt flour *
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp active dry yeast
1 Tbsp cornmeal

Directions: Put ingredients into the bread machine pan in the following order: 1. warm water, honey, flour. 2. make a small well in the flour, and pour yeast into the well, then cover over with flour. 3. sprinkle salt right along the wall of the bread pan, so it is as far from the yeast as possible. Now place the bread pan into the bread machine and select dough setting, press start. When dough is finished, remove dough from bread pan, let rest 2 or 3 minutes. Pat and genltly stretch dough into ~ 14 inch heart. Spray a large cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray then sprinkle with cornmeal. Press dough onto cookie sheet.
Preheat oven to 500F. Put pizza dough into oven for 5-10 minutes until dough is starting to firm up and lightly golden. Remove dough from oven and top with your favorite pizza toppings. Return pizza to oven and bake until cheese is melted and crust in golden brown.
*Note: spelt flour is a whole grain, highly nutritious flour that can be found in the health food section of your grocery store. If you do not have spelt flour, then I recommend using 1 ½ c whole wheat flour and 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour.
** If you prefer a thin crust pizza, then divide the dough into two and make 2 smaller, thinner pizzas.

HEART-y Pancakes
My favorite pancake recipes are actually already posted here in the archives (see International Pancake Day post 02.16.07)
Pancakes can easily be made in the shape of a heart or in the shape of letters to spell a Valentine message like LOVE, LUV, KISS, I (heart-shape) U, etc.
You can also do some creative mix-ins like chopped strawberries, raspberries, or dried cranberries. You can put pureed strawberries, raspberries, or beets into the batter to create perfectly pink pancakes. Top pancakes with light whipped cream and berries for an extra lucious flair.


Luscious Love Muffins
Strawberries have long been associated with love and passion. They are heart shaped for heaven’s sake! These Strawberry Almond muffins will steal your heart at first bite. Using heart-shaped muffin tins will make these delights even more LOVELY.

Strawberry Almond Muffins
½ cup applesauce, unsweetened
¾ cup honey
2 eggs (or 1 whole egg + 2 egg whites)
1/3 cup skim milk*
1 ½ tsp pure almond extract
1 cup whole spelt flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
¼ tsp sea salt
2 cups strawberries, chopped
¾ cups slivered almonds**

Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the applesauce and honey. Add the eggs and blend until fluffy. Mix in the milk and almond extract. In a separate bowl, sift the flours, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and blend until just combined. Fold in the strawberries and almonds. Fill muffin cups to the top and bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. You can test to see if muffins are done by inserting a toothpick into the center, if it comes out clean their done. Yields: approx. 12 muffins
*non-dairy milk such as soymilk can be substituted
**if you do not have almonds or are allergic, any other nut or grapenuts cereal can be substituted.


Heart-Throb Eggs & Toast
1 slice whole grain bread
1 egg
Salt & Pepper to taste
Use a 3-inch heart shaped cookie cutter to cut a heart shape out of the center of the bread. Spray a griddle or frying pan with non-stick cooking spray. Place the bread in the pan and break the egg into the cutout of the bread. Lay the heart shaped bread on the pan and toast it on both sides until golden brown. When the egg is cooked on the bottom and before the bread becomes too brown, flip the egg/bread to toast the other side and finish cooking the egg, about 1 minute. Yield: 1 serving


Strawberry Crush
6 ice cubes
16 fresh or frozen strawberries
½ cup frozen limeade concentrate
½ cup water
Place ice cubes into blender and pulse until crushed. Add the remaining ingredients and puree until smooth and thick. Pour into tall glasses with a long straw (if you find valentine straws – even better) Yield: 2 servings


Purple Passion Shake
1 cup grape juice
1/3 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt
1 cup fresh or frozen blackberries
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup crushed ice
Place all ingredients in blender and puree until smooth.


Love Potion
½ cup frozen or fresh strawberries
½ cup frozen or fresh raspberries
1 cup white grape juice or apple juice
Place all ingredients into blender and blend until uniform in color. For thicker potion, add more fruit. For thinner potion, use more juice. Garnish with cherries. Sip with the one you love.



I hope this gives you some ideas to make your meals extra special on this Valentine's weekend. Remember healthy cooking = healthy eating and even on holidays there are fun, creative ways to have fabulous food in a healthy way.


To Your Best Health,

Melissa Guthrie

BSc Nutritional Science

BSc Exercise Physiology

ACE Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor

New Leaf Certified Metabolic Technician

Triathlete/Runner

Healthy Cooking Enthusiast