Double Pecan Pancakes

Questions abound when it comes to “diet.” What to eat? When to eat? When not to eat? But the big ones are all about the carbs. There are those who eschew them altogether, eating one of the currently popular low carb diets. For me, carbs are non-negotiable, given that high-protein-low-carb leaves me starving. All day long. My gall bladder turned to Swiss cheese thirty odd years ago and I prefer digesting my food, which is why high-fat-low-carb leaves me nauseated, my stomach full of miserable indigestible fat. No! Not another bite of avocado/coconut oil/nut pie!

Eating a good balance of complex carbs, in combination with fats and protein at each meal, works best for me. I do not eat carbs by their lonesome. The grains still nestle in their little coats of bran, and are soaked prior to cooking. The great majority of baked items are homemade, using sourdough fermentation and whole grain flours. And of course, fruits and vegetables are carbs-at least five servings daily, and yes, I consume the starchy ones too.

But not all carbs are complex… Enter the demon sugar. The sugar industry evidently pulled the wool over our eyes for quite a few years. Of course, we were willing participants; lose the fat and up the sugar in my processed foods of choice? Heck yeah! But the truth about added sugar has popped out of the bag and refuses to be pushed back in, meaning that I’ve had to make some tweaks in my recipes and daily diet, particularly at breakfast.

Yes, hard as it is, I’ve cut back on the added sugar. (My taste buds will still be in recovery when I die.) I also employ a number of techniques to s-l-o-w down the rate at which those carbs enter my bloodstream:

1. New recipes routinely have the sugar cut or eliminated, and I strive to keep added sugars in my own developed recipes within a range of one to two teaspoons per serving, depending on what I am baking. Can’t really call ‘em “sweet rolls” anymore…
2. I substitute flaxseed meal for a couple tablespoons of the cereal grains when making steel cut oats or polenta to decrease the carbs and increase the healthy fats. Added hemp or chia seeds provide a protein boost. Pseudo grains like amaranth already have a good carb to protein balance, as well as having complete protein. Note the discussion of porridge? More complex grains, fewer rolls… sigh. And the heaping tablespoon of brown sugar to sweeten those bowls of goodness is gone as well; I do allow myself a single forlorn teaspoon of honey and fresh berries on top.
3. Emphasize what sweetness there is in a recipe by adding enhancers like vanilla, lemon or orange zest, rum or brandy, and warm spices, like cinnamon.
4. Plain unsweetened yogurt gets a single teaspoon of lemon curd or honey with chopped pecans. Tartness is good for you.
5. Muesli/granola is made with half oats/half seeds, nuts, coconut, and flax. Yes, there are granolas made with all seeds, nuts, coconut and flax, but I’m inclined to want to hang onto my teeth, thanks very much.
6. When I do indulge in one of my now not so sweet rolls, I pair it with an egg.
7. Real sourdough bread is a slow digesting carb source. The list of ingredients should include nothing more than flour, water and salt, with some indication that there were many hours of fermentation before baking.
8. I have no problem “borrowing”-well, actually filching-some of the secrets of low carb baking. But instead of trashing all the grain flour, I just substitute nut flour for part of it. As in the pancakes recipe I’m sharing today.

I’ve been making these tweaks for a while now, making me think back to my mom’s approach to sugar in my childhood. Which prompted me to look up what good old Adelle Davis, Mom’s nutrition guru, had to say about sugar:

“Almost every food we eat forms sugar either directly or indirectly during or after digestion…he or she receives all the sugar he or she needs from natural sources. Unfortunately we tend to rely too much on refined sugar to satisfy our hunger since it is absorbed rapidly into the bloodstream and gives a temporary boost to the blood sugar level. However, apart from being used in the body to provide energy it has no other value; it contains neither vitamins nor minerals.”

http://www.adelledavis.org/press/the-great-sugar-debate/

She said this about fifty years ago… Which was why we consumed plain yogurt, whole-wheat toast, bran muffins, NO SODA, etc., etc. on the farm. I am actually quite grateful that I never developed a taste for soda. One full sugar soda has three times my supposed daily allotment of added sugar by today’s standards. An addiction I didn’t develop! Thanks, Mom!

The pancake recipe includes a few of these techniques to slow the digestion of the carbs and keep my stomach happy for the morning. Whole grain flour in combination with nut flour*, and the addition of flax meal and hemp hearts adds healthy fat and protein. The extracts pump up the perception of sweetness. I’m happy to say that these little cakes are fluffy, stack beautifully, (though my personal portion of two pancakes makes a rather pathetic stack) and are jam-packed with pecan flavor. I generally top them with a drizzle of syrup, chopped pecans, and blueberries. If you require them to be more carb virtuous, applesauce and cinnamon with pecans makes a nice topping as well.

These keep my body fueled and contented for an entire morning, no sugar high or mid-morning tummy grumbling allowed!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Double Pecan Pancakes

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Quick Bread

Servings: 16 pancakes

Author: Mary Kay Allen

Ingredients

• 1½- cup buttermilk or sour milk
• 2 eggs
• 1- teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon maple extract optional
• 1- tablespoon maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons melted butter or oil
• 1- cup white whole-wheat flour pastry flour if available
• ½ cup pecan meal/flour or other nut flour
• 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
• 2 tablespoons hemp hearts
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• Maple syrup or applesauce for topping
• Chopped pecans for topping

Instructions

• Pre-heat a griddle to 350° F. or large skillet over medium heat.
• Combine the buttermilk, eggs, extracts, syrup and butter/oil in a medium bowl and blend together thoroughly. In a large bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients and mix well. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mixture. Blend gently, not over mixing. It’s okay of there are small lumps in the batter.
• Lightly grease or coat the griddle with cooking spray. Ladle the batter by ¼-cupful onto the griddle, spacing to allow for spreading. When bubbles appear on the top and the bottoms are nicely browned, flip the pancakes. Bake for several minutes until golden on the bottom, then remove to a platter. Continue until all the batter is baked.

*Pecan meal can be made in the food processor or purchased online, or another type of nut flour can be substituted.

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