Breakfast is often said to be the most important meal out of all meals throughout the day as it will help us to start the day well. One of the go-to foods that is commonly chosen is a nice, hot and fluffy pancake. Not only it is easy to make, pancake is also very fulfilling that it can help us set to start our activities ahead in the day.
Now, pancake may not be known as a healthy food, but there’s a way to turn it into one and give us some health benefits. The trick to make a healthy pancake is to opt for whole-grain ingredients to make the pancake and don’t use too much of the sweet toppings such as maple syrup or honey.
Health Benefits of Pancake
Here are the health benefits of Pancake that are often overlooked at:
- A Source of Carbohydrate
Since it contains flour in its ingredients list, it then can become a source of carbohydrate as our body uses carbohydrates as a primary source of fuel. If you’re using a normal flour for your pancake, it may not be very healthy. But if you use the whole-wheat flour, then you’re set with a healthy carbohydrate to take you throughout the day.
Even one serving of buttermilk pancakes which are about 200 calories’ worth, has in total of 38 grams carbohydrates. Meanwhile whole-wheat stacks of pancake have in total of 30 grams carbohydrates. Read this to find more about the health benefits of wheat germ.
- A Source of Fiber
A whole-wheat pancake will also serve you with supplies of fiber. The fiber can help to stabilize your blood sugar, thus will make you energized after you consume the delicious breakfast.
- A Source of Iron
A stack of whole-wheat pancakes will serve you about 3 milligrams of iron, a very essential mineral for the body. 3 milligrams of iron can make up between 16 to 38 percent of total iron intake that you need daily, although it also depends on your age and sex.
Buttermilk, on the other hand, have almost about 2 milligrams of iron to offer for your body. Just like carbohydrates, iron will also help you to feel energize as it is fundamental to the functioning of certain immune cells that can help you fight off diseases. It also has a key role in oxygenating your tissues in order to help them produce the fuel they need. Get to know more about the health benefits of iron here.
- A Source of Calcium
One serving of whole-wheat pancakes also offer you about one-quarter of the calcium intake that you need from day to day, or just about 250 milligrams. Meanwhile a common buttermilk pancake can offer your body around 180 milligrams of calcium, or about 18 percent of your daily-need calcium intake.
A quiet big percentage for your daily calcium need obviously shows how pancake is a bone-friendly dish. Aside from that, the calcium also helps you with your muscles and nerves to function properly.
According to a report from Linus Pauling Institute, it might even be able to control your blood pressure. However, please note that there are some side effects of taking iron and calcium together that you need to be careful of.Â
- Sugar and Sodium
As you may already know, pancake can pull both sweet and even savory taste. The sweet taste comes from the granulated sugar ingredient contained in the recipe. One serving of pancakes contains up to 4.3 grams of sugar. The amount of sugar will be even higher if you top them with sugary toppings as well such as maple sugar.
The suggested average intake that needs to be fulfilled, according to the American Heart Association, is 37.8 grams for male and 25.2 grams for female. To make sure you don’t consume too much of sugar, sweeten your pancakes with fresh fruit rather than all sorts of syrup.
As for sodium, due to the use of salt for the pancake’s batter, there are 308 milligrams of sodium each serving. The suggested intake for sodium per day is at 1,500 to 2,300 milligrams. Therefore, you might want to be careful in your daily consumption, making sure not to exceed the suggested limit. Find more health benefits of sodium here!
- Vitamins and Minerals
One serving of stacked pancakes also contains a good amount of calcium and phosphorus. The calcium will make 18 percent of your needed daily intake whilst the phosphorus contributes for up to 20 percent. With that being said, pancake then become a smart option for you if you want to boost your body’s ability to form RNA and DNA, as well as your bone strength.
Phosphorus is also  Pancakes will give you small quantities but a very good source of vitamin C, thiamin, niacin, magnesium, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12, copper, zinc, and iron. It will also serve you with 12 percent of riboflavin and iodine that you need daily. Phosphorus is also one of the main regulators of energy metabolism in organs, and helps generate energy in every cell.
- A Source of Manganese
Manganese is a part of many enzymes that can help you to metabolize the energy from the food you consumed. Manganese also plays a role in bone formation. Pancake offers you 1/3 of your daily manganese need.
- A Source of Riboflavin
Riboflavin uses amino tryptophan to make niacin in the body which along with the metabolites, will regulate things like pain perception, sleeping0waking-rhytm, and appetite. It is a B vitamin that also helps the cells in your body to produce energy. There is also riboflavin content inside of the health benefits of lulo fruit.
Pancake Recipe
To get the real major health benefits of Pancake, you may try homemade pancake. Here is a recipe of a whole-wheat pancake that you can try.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of whole-wheat flour
- 2 tablespoons of white sugar
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 2 ¼ cups of buttermilk
- ½ teaspoon of baking soda
- ½ teaspoon of salt
Steps:
- Mix the whole-wheat flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar altogether in a bowl.
- Mix eggs, vegetable oil, and buttermilk too in a separate bowl.
- Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients.
- Stir until the ingredients become a bit thick batter.
- Heat a cast iron skillet or just a regular non-stick pan on medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Non-stick pan is highly recommended to avoid using oil or butter, thus reduce the fat intake.
- Pour 1/3 cup of the batter onto the hot skillet or pan. Use a spoon to spread the batter and form a round pancake.
- Cook for 1 ½ to 2 minutes until the pancake’s color is brownish and bubbles appear on top of it.
- Flip and do the same step.
- Repeat with the remaining batter.
Now that we have learn a healthy recipe of pancake, let’s learn further about the health benefits of pancake while you enjoy the healthy stacks of pancake yourself.
Now that you’re read about all of the health benefits of Pancake, especially if you use the healthy ingredients too, what are your thoughts? We hope this article have been helpful to get your family a healthy breakfast!