Every Sunday, I wake up early enough to make pancakes for my boyfriend and I. I either make them completely from scratch, or I use a box mix; it really just depends on my mood to be honest! The thing is, since I've started to do keto, that means I have to cut back on some of the most delicious meals yet; some may think it's torture, but in actuality, my body really doesn't enjoy carbs so I have no choice but to make better eating habits. #newme2021.
Since committing to a ketogenic diet roughly a month ago, I have been aiming to bring back my favorite meals with a keto twist; cauliflower fried rice, cauliflower curry with carrots, chocolate mouse pie with almond flour crust, almond flour chocolate chip cookies, and last but not least, almond flour cream cheese pancakes. As daunting as baking all of these new recipes was at first, now it's become really fun finding healthier ways to indulge in my favorite foods without the guilt or extra pounds.
I normally try to cook completely wholesome foods on a ketogenic diet because I don't like relying on packaged goods when it comes to eating right, but when it comes to pancakes on a Sunday morning where I am still half asleep; I need convenience. So, last week I went grocery shopping and picked up a bag of Birch Bender's Pancake & Waffle mix to try for the first time ever.
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The first note I'll mention is that it's a small bag and a bit pricey. One bag at my store was a bit over $5. The bag boasts only 5g of net carbs per serving, with at least 9g of protein as well. On the back, the ingredients list was short and sweet; I love finding products where I recognize the ingredients on the label; anyone else?
On one early Sunday morning, it was time for pancakes. I followed the back instructions as suggested, using only about 3/4 cup of the mix with 1/2 a cup of water (I use Almond milk because I like the taste) and this would make four pancakes. Since there wasn't much batter in the bowl, I made the assumption that the pancakes were going to have to be small; which was fine for me.
In all honesty, it took me three tries to figure out these pancakes. I tried one of the pancakes that I managed to make normally and I loved the taste; I just could not understand how to cook them! The third time was much better though and while I ended up wasting a lot of the pancake mix simply trying, it was worth it.
The trick for these pancakes to come out just right is to make them small so that it's easier to flip them. Next, wait two minutes before trying to flip them; I actually timed myself and it took two minutes and eleven seconds to be exact. It's important to wait long enough because the ingredients in this pancake mix do not cook as fast as a regular pancake mix would. Also, before flipping, I ended up sliding my spatula under the sides of the pancakes just to lift the pancake up so that I could make sure it wasn't stuck to the pan and this helped greatly.
The funny thing is that on the back of the pancake mix bag; it doesn't mention anywhere on how long one should cook these pancakes for. It only mentions how much of the mix you should use for a certain amount of pancakes. I think if the bag included this information on the bag, one can have a better cooking experience.
Yes, the cooking time took much long than I was expecting but I really wanted these pancakes to come out right and it was well worth the wait. The texture similar to regular pancakes and the taste has only a hint of egg - allowing you to really enjoy the taste of butter or other spreads you enjoy your pancakes with; I enjoy mine with strawberry jam. Now that I know how to cook these, I am relieved to find a more convenient method to cooking pancakes for those days where I really just don't feel like baking much.
So, in a nut shell, I overall like this pancake mix and it will definitely be my to go to when it comes to cooking on Sunday mornings. With a little tweaking and patience, these pancakes are perfect for anyone's keto diet, or just a staple for healthier eating habits in general!
Until next time! xoxo - Sarah
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