How did pancake day come about? Shrove Tuesday, or pancake day, is the day before Ash Wednesday - which is the start of Lent, the 40 days before Easter, or more specifically 47 days before Easter Sunday.
It started in Anglo-Saxon times where Christians would take the opportunity to use up their left over eggs, fats and flours, ready for their fasting before Easter.
Traditional pancakes are very thin and quick to cook, with just flour, eggs and milk.
I think pancakes are a delicious quick, easy, inexpensive and nutritious meal to have, if you pack them with added goodness. However, dairy, wheat and eggs can be a tricky thing for some people to digest. So what are the alternatives?
You can make simple swaps when it comes to making pancakes…
Dairy milk = any milk alternative eg. Oat, hemp, coconut, almond
Wheat flour = spelt flour. Or if you need gluten-free (GF) you can use buckwheat flour or a premade GF mix like ‘Dove’s Farm GF Plain Flour’.
Eggs = soaked ground flaxseed. 1 egg = 1 tbsp ground flax, soaked in 3 tbsp water. This takes 5 mins.
Often just finding a normal recipe online, whether a traditional thin pancake or an American style, is a great way to follow quantities and you can just swap the ingredients, as above.
Toppings and fillers are always a good idea to both increase protein (which is very important for stable energy and metabolic balance) and antioxidant load. Here are some examples:
Fillers – for putting into the pancake mix
Blended spinach, grated courgette, grated carrot (especially with apple and cinnamon)
Grated apple, grated pear, blueberries, blended banana
cinnamon, turmeric, ginger (see www.aquasol.co.uk)
Toppings – for putting on top of cooked pancakes
Organic yogurt, kefir, goats/sheeps cheese for savoury pancakes
Almond, cashew, peanut butters
Ground seeds, cacao nibs
Berries, sliced apple, pear or banana
Have a little fun with trying out different recipes, especially if you have kids, it is a great way to get them involved and experimenting with new food. One of my kids favourite recipes are spinach ones which we call them ‘hulk’ pancakes. They can be made savoury or sweet.
Written by Rosie Rayner, ND.