Pancake Wars

So who won the $60 gift certificate to CSN stores? First you'll have to hear about my undying love for the pancake.

If any of you know me, you know I live for Saturday mornings when I can mix up a new batch of pancakes. Growing up, I used to eat Bisquick pancakes, but as my palate matured, I found they were a chemically-tasting and not very wholesome. Enter four pancake mixes that can be found in my cabinets:

We have Quaker Oatmeal Pancake Mix, Aunt Jemima Whole Wheat Blend, Trader Joe's Multigrain Pancake Mix, and Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Pancake Mix.

What's important to look for in a good, hearty pancake mix?

• serving size
• preparation recommendation
• first main ingredient
• fiber content
• sodium content
• taste

Let's take a look at Quaker Oatmeal Pancake mix.

• serving size: 1/3 cup of mix - makes 2, 4" pancakes
• prep: for heart healthy pancakes, use skim milk and egg whites
• first main ingredient: oat flour
• fiber content: 4 g
• sodium content: 360 mg
• taste: wicked good! fluffy and wholesome

Let's take a look at Aunt Jemima's.

• serving size 1/4 cup of mix - makes 3, 4" pancakes
• prep: milk, eggs, oil (no recommendation for type of milk, egg whites, etc.)
• first main ingredient: whole wheat flour, meaning this product is a whole grain
• fiber content: 3 grams
• sodium content: 620 mg
• taste: good, but very "whole grainy" tasting and not very fluffy

Trader Joe's:

• serving size: 1/3 cup of mix - makes 2, 5" pancakes
• prep: milk, eggs, oil (no recommendation for type of milk, egg whites, etc.)
• first main ingredient: unbleached enriched flour (also known as white flour)
• fiber content: 2 g
• sodium content: 500 mg
• taste: thick and filling

Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Mix:

• serving size: 1/2 cup of mix (doesn't clarify how many this makes)
• prep: water, eggs, oil
• first main ingredient: whole wheat flour (making it a whole grain mix)
• fiber content: 4 g
• sodium content: 630 mg
• taste: nice and filling

So you can see how the variations in serving sizes can vary the following nutrition data, making it difficult for consumers to make comparisons across products. It's too bad food products weren't regulated to use a standard serving size, sort of like unit pricing.

Whole Grain Lowdown: All products are whole grain mixes, except for Trader Joe's. To determine if a product is a whole grain, the first ingredient must include "whole" and "grain" for wheat or be a an unprocessed grain flour. If this is not the case but the product has 5 grams of fiber per serving, it can be considered a whole grain (I use this trick for breads.)

Fabulous Fiber: The Quaker and Bob's Red Mill each had 4 grams per serving, but again, each of these serving sizes is different, and there aren't any that truly stick out for being high in fiber. I would like to see a mix higher in fiber per serving, but this may degrade the taste. FiberOne has a pancake mix, but even then it's 5 grams per serving, and the first ingredient is not a whole grain (it's white flour). They add inulin, a type of soluble fiber to beef up the number next to dietary fiber on the nutrition facts panel. Just so you know.

Stay away from sodium: I was shocked and frankly a bit embarrassed that I never checked the sodium content on these premade pancake mixes before purchase! None of the mixes are low sodium (less than 140 mg), and 3 of the 4 are over 500 mg per serving. Quaker wins out in this category.

Taste: To be honest, they all taste good to me, so I can't say one is better than another.

Based on the facts above, Quaker Oatmeal Mix seems to be the best choice. The Center For Science in the Public Interest agrees. So, I went ahead and did some additional taste testing just to be sure.

I added fresh, local blueberries to mine to improve the fiber content.

And the winner, chosen from random.org is... comment #20!

Kristen said...

Wow, I can't believe the amount of stuff they have on CSN!! I guess if I had to pick right now I would choose something from either kitchen tools or home decor....it's a great site!

August 4, 2010 1:01 AM

Kristen, send your email and mailing address to me at afeteforfood@gmail.com and I'll get you your $60 gift certificate. Enjoy!

Question of the Day: Do you have any favorite pancake mixes that can beat out any of the four above? Or, a good recipe that you can share with me to make some from scratch?

Stay tuned, because another giveaway is coming your way tomorrow!