Bikini Bottom Pancakes

If you are like me you love to eat EVERYTHING, from Cheetos to oso buco. You are in love with the sensual appeal of food; its color, texture, aroma. Food doesn't just feed your body, but your soul. This sort of passion for food is wonderful if you have the metabolism of Kate Moss, but let's face it, some of our favorite foods in addition to pleasure add pounds.

Thanks to Dr. Atkins and other pioneers of his sort, the American public has become overwhelmed by the popularity of low carb diets. I myself follow a modified South Beach Diet. I find this sort of diet comes in especially useful for what I like to call "curve control" during the summer months when the reality of having to squeeze into an itsy-bitsy bikini bottom is staring me in the face. I am ecstatic with the results of the diet but I have to admit that it leaves A LOT to be desired when it comes to the sensual appeal of food. Most of my favorite foods are banned from the diet; apple pie, pancakes, penne a la vodka. This leaves me constantly searching for new recipes that cut down on bad carbs without cutting down on appeal.

My most recent discovery is a recipe that I call "Bikini Bottom Pancakes." They are pancakes made from an Oat Bran, which has 1/4 the amount of carbs as regular white flour and is high in fiber and protein. I began by purchasing Arrowhead Mills Pancakes & Waffle Mix from Whole foods (if you want to start from scratch combine whole grain wheat flour, oat bran, soy milk powder and baking powder). I followed the recipe on the back which called for;

1 cup of Arrowhead Mills Oat Bran Pancake and Waffle Mix
1 egg beaten
1 tbsp Canola Oil
1 tbsp honey
2/3 cup of milk

Realizing that these pancakes would leave much to be desired in the way of taste and aroma, I searched for ingredients to enliven them a bit. I added the following ingredients;

1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup copped walnuts
1/4 cup copped sugar free chocolate
1 sliced banana

Make sure when preparing pancakes that the skillet is hot and buttered. To test drop a tsp of batter into the pan, it is ready if you hear the batter sizzle on the heat. Also, don't over mix the batter, that causes it to become thick and tough, mix gently then allow to rest for one minute to dissolve any remaining lumps. Oh, and never flip twice, that causes the pancakes to dry out. I found that the result was a fabulous, sensual meal that was both satisfying and guilt free.

Actually, I think that I liked these pancakes better than the regular version, the combination of the savory flavors of the bran and walnuts combined with the sweetness of the chocolate and bananas created a far richer experience on my pallet.

Enjoy!

For more on food and food blogging go to www.eatfoo.com where I found the inspiration for this post.