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

International Pancake Day

Celebrate International Pancake Day February 21st

I first learned about International Pancake Day as a college student. I was working at a small private fitness center as a Health and Fitness Specialist which included everything from being a personal trainer & group fitness instructor to membership advisor to writing a health & fitness newsletter and much more. As I was doing research for the newsletter one day I learned that there was a day designated to celebrate one of my favorite foods – PANCAKES. I believe one of the reasons I love pancakes so much is because of my Mom. I remember growing up my Mom would fix pancakes on the weekends, either Saturday or Sunday. She never made boring old pancakes, my Mom was always making meal time fun. One of her favorite things to do was to make different varieties of pancakes everything from Buckwheat pancakes to Banana pancakes to pumpkin pancakes & more. To top it off she rarely if every just made plain old round pancakes – she’d make pancakes in the shape of letters for each of her childrens’ names, she’d make animals shapes (like pigs, dogs, snakes, & fish) and of course the famous Mickey Mouse pancake complete with fruit loops for eyes and a raisin smile. How could a kid not love pancakes like those?

With my new awareness of this ever important and seemingly unheard of Pancake Day holiday I took it upon myself to spread the good news. I decided to throw an International Pancake Day party (every February 21st or as close to that date as possible). The first year I let all of my friends and neighbors in college know and invited a busload of people to the party, the invitation was open to anyone I bought the ingredients for and made the pancakes and required nothing from my guest except that they bring their favorite and/or creative pancake topping. This included everything from the standard maple syrup to fresh fruit, peanut butter, fruit butter ie. Apple or pumpkin butter, jam, ice cream, whipped topping, chocolate sauce, applesauce, yogurt, honey, etc. I typically make 3 or 3 varieties of pancakes – 1 batch plain multi-grain pancakes, 1 batch of fruit flavored like banana or blueberry, 1 batch of savor dinner (meat & cheese) pancakes and a pan of Oven Pancakes (aka. Puff pancakes). Then I’ll make a few sweet pancakes at the end for dessert like chocolate chip or rocky road pancakes. The first annual event was a raging success and so the tradition was set. To date the biggest party I’ve thrown served well over 75 pancakes to a swarm of poor starving students.

My mom’s example creative culinary expertise coupled with my passion for food & nutrition led me to always seek ways to “healthify” recipes. So I’ve created and/or adapted several scrumptious and supremely healthy recipes for pancakes. I hope you will enjoy them as you celebrate International Pancake Day and throughout the year. (Feel free to email me for additional pancake recipes and look for my pancake cookbook on bookshelves in the near future).

Melissa’s Multi-Grain Pancake Mix (AKA MG’s Perfect Party Pancakes)

This recipe makes a huge batch of pancake mix which can be stored for future use (a great healthy alternative to Bisquick or Krusteaz) .

3 cups spelt flour (or all-purpose flour if spelt is not available)
3 tsp baking soda
4 ½ tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oat flour
1 cup 7 grain cereal (avail in health food section of grocery store or health food market)
1 cup cornmeal
4 TBS wheat germ

In large mixing bowl, sift the spelt flour with baking soda, baking powder, salt. Add in the remaining flour, cereal, cornmeal, & wheat germ and stir until thoroughly blended. Store mixture in an airtight container and refrigerate.

Yield: 7 ½ cups, enough for ~ 7 batches of 10 pancakes


Multi-Grain Pancakes
Per Batch (10 pancakes)

2 eggs or 1 egg + 2 egg whites or 4 egg whites (egg substitute also works well)
½ cup nonfat plain or vanilla yogurt (light or nonfat sour cream can be used)
½ cup lowfat buttermilk or skim milk (non-dairy milk works also)
1 cup pancake mix

In medium bowl, lightly beat egg with yogurt and milk. Add pancake mix and stir until smooth. Ladle batter (~1/4 cup) onto warm skillet.



Variations:

Blueberry – stir in ½ to 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries into batter before cooking

Almond Berry – stir in ½ tsp almond extract, ¼ cup slivered almonds, & ½ cup fresh or frozen berries into batter before cooking

Cranberry Orange – add ½ cup fresh or dried cranberries, 1 TBS orange juice concentrate & 1 tsp orange zest to batter before cooking.

Apple Walnut – stir in to batter ½ cup finely chopped apples or grated apple, ¼ cup chopped walnuts, & ½ tsp cinnamon.

Banana Nut – stir into batter ½ cup mashed banana, plus ½ cup finely chopped banana chunks & 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Savory Dinner Cakes – stir into batter 1/3 cup chopped green onions, ½ cup lowfat cheddar or mozzarella cheese, ½ cup finely chopped ham, Canadian bacon, or reduced fat turkey sausage.



Cottage Hotcakes

½ cup cottage cheese, lowfat or nonfat
½ cup wheat germ
2 to 4 TBS honey
1 egg (or equivalent substitute)
2 TBS applesauce, unsweetened
1 cup milk (1%, skim, or non-dairy alternative)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup spelt flour, oat flour, or all-purpose flour
Optional: ½ tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp nutmeg, & dash of cloves
1/3 cup raisins

Heat a griddle over medium heat. In medium bowl, beat together the first 7 ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, and spices (if desired). Gently stir flour mixture into the wet ingredients, mix until just moistened. Pour onto a hot griddle. Cook until the edges are done and bubbles form on top. Turn over and cook until golden. Serve warm with healthy topping such as pureed fruit, light yogurt, unsweetened applesauce, low-calorie non-sugar syrup, drizzle of honey, 100% fruit jam, or just plain. (Pancakes can be frozen and thawed & reheated).


Yield: 3 servings
Kcal per serving: 400
CHO: 54 gm
PRO: 19 gm
Fat: 12 gm

Golden Pancakes from Eating For Life (www.EatingForLife.com)
Recipe modified by Melissa Guthrie

Prep Time: ~ 15 min

1 cup uncooked old-fashioned oats
6 egg whites
1 cup fat-free cottage cheese
¼ tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp cinnamon
2 TBS honey


Lightly coat a nonstick skillet or griddle w/ cooking spray; place over medium heat. In a blender, combine all ingredients. Blend on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute.
Pour batter, about ¼ cup at a time, onto hot skillet. Cook pancake until bubbly on top and dry around edges, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook other side until golden brown, about 2 more minutes. Serve warm pancakes with your favorite healthy topping such as fresh fruit, 100% fruit spread, unsweetened applesauce, agave nectar, or lite nonfat yogurt.

Yield: 2 servings

"When you listen to people who have a heart of a champion tell you that you can succeed and you can do something big with your life, you pretty soon start to believe them yourself and it actually assists you in having the heart of a champion." Jerry Clark

Your Healthy Lifestyle Mentor -- Melissa Guthrie

Check Out My other Blog-site: www.journeytothegold.blogspot.com