Monday, April 16

Musings: Flap Jack Janie

My friend's husband used to call me Flap Jack Janie...I was a LITTLE addicted to pancakes at the time (it's surprising I don't weigh 500 pounds). I'm not as bad now - we only have them occasionally. (I have developed a wheat pancake recipe that is fluffy, yummy and not quite so dangerous to my insulin levels.)


Making pancakes is a lot more fun nowadays with little Cate to help out. This weekend we made them TWICE. Cate loves pancake mornings - baking AND eating. Saturday she ate FIVE...I didn't know 2-year-old stomachs could hold so much food. By the way, that was more pancakes than I ate - honest!


Seriously, though, watching Cate stir the batter did my heart good. My little sidekick just brings me so much joy. I've recently come to the realization that I'm not the stay-at-home mom I thought I was...yes I stay home, but I am a working mom. It's a strange transition for my psyche to make. Work has gotten kind of busy lately - I'm grateful for it, but I do need to make sure I don't ignore my buddies (i.e. Cate & Nate). This is something that's been on my mind a LOT lately. Now that my heart has realized that I'm a "working mom," my brain knows I really need to consciously prioritize the people and things that matter. I think I do a good job, but always need to keep this top of mind. If that means making more pancakes, so be it. Bring on the blood sugar spike.

6 comments:

Becky said...

My kids are huge pancake fans too. They are 3 and 2 and each of them can eat more pancakes than I can in one sitting. I think we've hit the FIVE mark a couple of times here. It's usually 3 or 4, but that still seems like a lot to me! I can't wait to try your wheat version of pancakes.

Jessica said...

I've been thinking about making pancakes for weeks, but just haven't gotten around to it yet. Maybe I'll do that this weekend!

Anonymous said...

You are a great mom. All you have to do is look at Cate and you can see that she is being raised well by you and Nate.

Adri said...

My kids are also big pancake fans and in my efforts to make them more health-ful, I've developed my own recipe. It includes wheat flour and yogurt for a nutrition double whammy! It is best with fruit syrup on top.

Nutrition-Packed Pancakes
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 TBSP cornmeal
1 TBSP sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 beaten egg
1/2 c. buttermilk (1/2 c. milk +
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice)
1/2 c. plain yogurt
2 TBSP cooking oil
2-4 TBSP water
1 cup fresh or frozen berries (optional)

I medium mixing bowl combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. make a well in center of dry mixture; set aside. In another bowl whisk together egg, buttermilk, yogurt and oil. Add wet mixture to dry and stir until moistened. Add water, 1 TBSP at a time, until desired consistency is reached. Gently fold in berries, if using. Pour 1/4 c. batter onto hot griddle. Cook over medium heat (300-325 degrees) about 2 minutes on each side or until pancakes are golden brown. Top with fruit or maple syrup or fruit jam.

jane maynard said...

becky - so funny. toddlers forever amaze!
jessica - make pancakes! yum!
mark - thanks, that is so nice. :)
adri - thank you for the recipe!!! can't wait to try them!

Emily said...

Jane - you read my mind. I've been thinking about this same thing. Soooo hard to do, but worth the effort! I wrote about this same thing on my blog this week....

I think you are doing a great job, and if you asked Cate, she would say, "mommy doing good job."