For many years during my high school and college days, I suffered horrible, dibilitating stomach aches.  The only way they would go away was if I’d curl up in the fetal position and fall asleep.  Finally, my Mom took me to see a gastroenteroligist and after asking me a series of questions, he suggested that I likely had IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which is very common — although I’d never heard of it back then when I was 20 years old).  Starchy white carbs seemed to be my main trigger.  He said that if I just changed my diet, replaced white bread and pasta with whole wheat alternatives and essentially added more good fiber to my diet that it’d work itself out.  He was right.  I will always have IBS and trust me, I am reminded of it from time to time when I don’t eat the right foods for my body.  But for the most part, I have adapted to mostly whole wheat and lower carb items and plenty of fruits and vegetables.  So that said, I buy whole wheat varieties of anything that I can (even Eggo waffles which I never eat, but I’ve made whole wheat the standard for my family).  We eat whole wheat pasta, whole wheat sliced and crusty breads, whole wheat hamburger buns….you get the picture.  If there is a whole wheat option, I’ll buy it!   I’ve tried a variety of boxed whole wheat pancake mixes for the kids and they are usually horrible…they taste like cardboard and the kids get really annoyed that I’ve ruined pancake Saturday.  I’ve also tried a few from-scratch whole wheat pancake recipes and none have impressed us until now.  I found this one the other day on a great food blog called Fifteen Spatulas and it was a hit!  It’s got a little sugar to add some sweetness, milk plus vinegar to create that delicious buttermilk flavor that works so well for pancakes and even a little melted butter.  And, you know when you cut pancakes for your kids and the pancakes bend this way and that like a piece of rubber?  That’s drives me crazy!  You won’t have that problem with these pancakes…they cut smoothly like a piece of cake (maybe it’s that little bit of melted butter in the mix).  Serve with berries and pure maple syrup instead of the fake stuff and you’ll have a tasty breakfast for the whole family.

Whole Wheat Pancakes (Serves 2-3)

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1 Tbsp vinegar (white or apple cider)

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

2 Tbsp melted butter

butter or spray for greasing the pan

Directions:

Combine the milk and vinegar and let the mixture curdle while you mix together the other ingredients (or if you have buttermilk, just use that in place of the milk + vinegar).  In a big bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.  In another bowl, whisk together the egg, melted butter and the curdled milk until it looks well mixed. Whisk the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir the two together until just barely mixed (stir in all visible loose flour but there should be plenty of lumps…don’t over stir or you’ll get tough pancakes).

Preheat a nonstick griddle to medium-high heat and grease the surface with butter or cooking spray.  Add a small scoop of batter.  Cook a few minutes until you see the little bubbles forming on the surface.  Flip and cook a few more minutes until golden brown.  Serve with fruit and pure maple syrup!

Recipe from Fifteen Spatulas Blog