Pancakes and Diet Culture

I had shared a post to Instagram and in the caption asked people to share a food that they can’t live without. And, I shared that for myself, it’s pancakes, I freaking love pancakes! I would eat them on a boat, I would eat them with goat, I would eat them here or there, I would eat them anywhere. (I read a lot of Dr. Seuss to my kids).

Well then an internet troll came into the comment section and left a message that made me snap.

“Just contemplating why promoting eating pancakes? When clearly mainstream carb-rich highly-processed foods is detrimental to everyone. Pancakes? No thank you! How about hemp and chia seeds overnight with almond milk? Now we are talking about some stuff worth eating.”

-Instagram troll

Now I have specific boundaries set for my Instagram account, and food shaming and diet-culture-promoting messaging is a big no-no and the consequences are getting blocked. Which this person was swiftly kicked from ever gracing us with their toxic presence on my account again. Bye Felicia. No pancake haters welcome here.

Food, including pancakes, have no moral value.

Food has no moral value. None. Food has nutritional value and that can vary from food to food. Every food has a purpose. Some food may offer pure enjoyment. It may offer protein and calcium for strong bones and muscles. And, it may offer sugar to help fuel your long workout.

There are no “good” or “bad” foods. Eating any food does not make you “good” or “bad”.

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The best pancakes ever.

There’s a local ma & pop restaurant near my house that has the best pancakes ever. They are thin and delicate almost like a crepe and a great buttery flavor to them.

Quite a few years ago I decided I wanted to try and recreate these pancakes at home. For almost two years I was tweaking recipes every weekend. My husband and I ate a lot of pancakes. Some good and some not-so-good.

Eventually my husband said to me on a Saturday morning while eating pancakes…. “Stop fucking with the pancakes, I like these ones.” And that was it. I was done.

For me, pancakes are tradition, enjoyment and also one of my favorite ways to fuel before a race. One of my favorite meals as a kid was when my mom was working evenings and my dad made us breakfast for dinner, pancakes.

For my little family and I, we often have Pancake Saturdays most weekends. Or, I may make them Friday evenings as a carb-load for my long Saturday morning run.

So here it is. My recipe. Just 4 dry ingredients and 4 wet ingredients, and I’m a huge fan of the electric griddle to get the temperature just right. Feel free to make them and tag me on Instagram! Let’s be #teampancakes together!

Nutrition facts:

Serving size: 2 pancakes

341 calories, 19 g fat, 114 mg cholesterol, 828 mg sodium, 30 g carbohydrates, 0 g fiber, 25 g sugar, 12 g protein, 31% vitamin A, 59% calcium, 4% iron.


Wanting more recipes? Check out these others, including this “get your veggies” spaghetti sauce (very kid-friendly) and this no-bake protein energy bites (also a favorite for my kids).