YumSugar

Mural Meals: Turn Pancakes Into Edible Works of Art

Rebecca M Gruber — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 12:40:12 PST

Feel free to play with your food! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but active tots aren't always willing to spend time eating it. Before lobbing another round pancake on their plate, take a look at these flapjacks created by a dad of two over at Jim's Pancakes. Using a pancake recipe, food coloring, and a squeeze bottle, he's managed to turn the traditional breakfast favorite into works of art. The picturesque meals may take a lil more effort than a waffle thrown in the toaster or a granola bar on the run, but for a special occasion - like today's National Pancake Day - or a lazy weekend, this may be all your tyke needs to stay seated at the table.

Photos courtesy of Jim's Pancakes

How to Celebrate National Pancake Day

Susannah Chen — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 10:15:50 PST

Thank your lucky stars: because today's National Pancake Day, you now have an excuse to eat pancakes not just for breakfast, but all day long. We urge you to celebrate in as many ways as you can; here, check out four of our most creative ways.

Go the free route: Each IHOP gives away free pancakes on National Pancake Day, and today's no exception. Go for the gratis - a generous short stack of buttermilk pancakes with an optional donation to the Children's Miracle Network Hospital - anytime before 10 p.m.
Go the gourmand route: Make Bon Appétit's blueberry pancakes for yourself or someone you love. They're loaded with buttermilk, vanilla, ground cinnamon, and wild blueberries. If you're new to pancakes, try Alton Brown's best tips.
Go the healthier route: Make a spa-like version of your childhood favorite with Lake Austin Spa Resort's blueberry-cornmeal griddle cakes, made healthier with the addition of ground cornmeal.
Go the lazy route: Don't want to mix your own batter? You can always try obliterating those intense flapjack cravings with Batter Blaster, a spray-it-yourself pancake batter. The high-powered spray bottle's ideal if, say, you just want one or two pancakes.

Tell us how you're ringing in National Pancake Day!

8 Kid-Friendly Ways to Celebrate National Pancake Day on Feb. 28!

Kate Stahl — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 09:55:43 PST

Tomorrow is a celebration of every kid's favorite breakfast food: pancakes! You can celebrate by heading to IHOP, which is joining with the Children’s Miracle Network to raise funds for 170 children's hospitals across North America by offering a free short stack of those famous buttermilk pancakes to each guest. Eat your pancakes and then make a donation to the charity; IHOP's goal is to raise $2.7 million in one day. Since 2006, the annual IHOP celebration has raised almost $8 million for the cause! But charitable eating isn't the only way to celebrate National Pancake Day. Keep reading for eight more kid-friendly pancake purchases that will inspire some syrupy smiles!

Merry Breakfast! 9 Festive Pancakes For Christmas Morning

Nicole Abbott — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 07:35:33 PST

Mama can never go wrong with pancakes! Kids love them, and they're quick and easy to make - so why not prepare a very special pancake breakfast for Christmas morning?

From Santa, snowmen, and reindeer to peppermint-flavored pancakes, we've rounded up nine festive Christmas pancakes kids will love. They're all so fun and creative, Mama might love them even more than the kiddos - if that's possible!

5 Ways to Enjoy Chia Seeds

Heather Dale — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 00:18:01 PST

Though they are an ancient superfood, it seems like chia seeds are finally getting some attention! High in protein, fiber, calcium, antioxidants, and omega-3s - what's not to love about chia? Just one ounce (about two tablespoons) of chia seeds provides 11 grams of fiber, four grams of protein, 177 milligrams of calcium, and 4.9 grams of omega-3 fatty acids. Read on to learn ways to add more chia seeds to your life.

Source: Flickr Users graibeard, grggrssmr, and quinn.anya

How to Make a Healthier Stack of Flapjacks

Jenny Sugar — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 12:26:52 PDT

Whether you whip up pancakes during the week or save them for a big family brunch on the weekend, a stack of pancakes covered in maple syrup and melted butter isn't exactly the most nutritious breakfast you can sink your fork into. Usually made with white flour and sugar, traditional pancakes don't offer much in the way of nutrients. If you're a fan of flapjacks, here's how you can make them healthier while also adding bold and unique flavors.

Make homemade batter: Traditional pancake mixes like Bisquick are made with enriched white flour and partially hydrogenated soybean oil; they may be easy, but they're not exactly good for you. It only takes five minutes to mix up your own pancake recipe, and using whole wheat flour makes for added nutrition. Try this recipe for whole wheat cinnamon pancakes.
Mash in baked sweet potato: To replace some of the fat and sugar in your recipe, use mashed baked sweet potato. For a recipe that makes 12 pancakes and calls for one and a third cups of buttermilk and one tablespoon of brown sugar, I use about half a cup of mashed sweet potato and half a cup of buttermilk, and omit the sugar altogether. It not only gave my stack a warm, golden hue, but the texture was also more moist and they tasted a tad sweeter.

Keep on reading to hear other ways to make your pancakes healthier.

A Reader Recipe: Apple Spice Pancakes

Fit Community — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 01:56:50 PDT

Use the season's first apples to make a batch of these pancakes from FitSugar reader prepel. She posted her recipe for apple spice pancakes in the Healthy Recipe community group.

See the recipe after the break!

A Reader Recipe: Peanut Butter Pancake Bake

Fit Community — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 02:30:08 PDT

We're loving this heart-shaped peanut bake from reader Gabriela Une Vie Saine; she posted it in our Healthy Recipe community group.

Originally from my blog, Une Vie Saine, this pancake bake is vegan and packed with whole grains, protein, and healthy fats. It's deliciously filling and makes for a generous portion size - I prepped mine the night ahead and enjoyed it first thing!

Keep on reading to learn how to make this for yourself!

Ring In National Pancake Day With a Free Short Stack at IHOP

Susannah Chen — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 10:30:53 PST

There's no better way to cure a case of the midweek blues than to sidle up to a table at IHOP and enjoy a maple syrup-topped plate of griddle cakes on the house.

Tomorrow only, in celebration of National Pancake Day, the breakfast chain is offering a free short stack of pancakes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. at participating stores nationwide. In return, IHOP hopes you'll be generous enough to consider a donation to its favorite charity, the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.

I'm willing to bet that the line at most IHOPs will run out the door. Do you consider it worth your time to wait for free flapjacks?

Brunch With the Kat: Banana Walnut Pancakes

OnSugar Blog — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 03:42:33 PST

Lately, we can't get enough of breakfast foods. Here's another delicious-looking brunch item from OnSugar blogger LesleyKat: banana-walnut pancakes. Yum!

Just in time for weekend brunch, I am sharing my recipe for super yummy banana walnut pancakes. This recipe was modified from the basic pancake recipe in one of my absolute essential cookbooks, The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. They have their own variations to simple pancakes that include blueberry, whole wheat, cornmeal and graham. Um, yeah, these weren't cutting it for me. Instead I opted for walnuts and bananas.

For the recipe, instructions, and more pictures, keep reading.