We are having the most gorgeous morning!! It’s warm, sunny, and breezy — the best combination.
Last night I made Mona Lisa ravioli with a homemade sauce for dinner.
I used a can of San Marzanos plus dried herbs, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and spinach from our garden. Little a’this, little a’that.
MY OTHER RECIPES
Goat cheese on top!
Mazen has been on a summer schedule of staying up late and sleeping in, so I sent Gus in to wake him up this morning.
And I promised him pancakes for breakfast! I’ve been using the Great Harvest pancake mix for years, and just recently saw Kodiak Cakes at Costco and thought I’d get a box for old time’s sake. Today was my first time making them again. So….how do they stack up? (HA!)
Convenience: Kodiak wins because it’s “just add water” (GH calls for eggs and oil).
Texture: Great Harvest wins because of oats and things. The Kodiak mix was almost gummy to me? Not necessarily bad, but the texture was a little unexpected.
Ease of cooking: Kodiak wins. The surface was so smooth without the oats that flipping was a piece of cake! The GH pancakes can be tough to flip if you don’t time the browning perfectly.
Ingredient list: Gotta hand it to GH for being the freshest you can buy. I didn’t know this Kodiak box had whey protein added when I bought it, which isn’t my favorite ingredient, but I guess it’s good for extra satiety.
Taste: Great Harvest by a hair. I think it’s the fresh flour. But the Kodiak’s buttermilk tang is damn good too, so it really was close!
Note the sprinkles. Mazen insists!
What’s your favorite pancake mix or recipe?
I like waffles better. They’re like pancakes but with and and you know what they say about you are what you eat!;)
Now time for a waffle show down! Two things I need to buy myself this summer an ice cream maker and a waffle iron! I actually think pancakes are kind of soggy unless I make my own “hearty” protein pancakes which don’t taste anything like normal pancakes anyway. (Like a banana egg pancake)
I am hoping for an ice cream maker too!
But how do the Trader Joe’s pumpkin spice pancakes stack up??? Those are the favorite in our household! They don’t even need syrup, they are sweet and well spiced already. I always buy three boxes in the fall to last all year! Also thank you for the reminder to go by GH and buy some Virginia rolls (THE BEST!!).
Ahhh I forgot about those!! Those are pretty awesome as well!
We buy Kodiak Cakes at Costco too! I actually like it better for muffins and drop biscuits. Their website is amazing with so many recipes. I add whole raw milk and an egg to the mix when I make pancakes for some added protein and fat.
I wish Kodiak cakes were available here so I could try them! Sounds yummy!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Staying up late and sleeping in- such a guy thing! 😉 I’ve never tried Great Harvest pancakes but I love Kodiak. Think my favorite is their chocolate mix due to the little bits of chocolate pieces in the batter.
I prefer the regular Kodiak Cakes with honey better than the protein packed one. It’s like what you said, the consistency is off.
I use Kodiak but add milk and eggs for even more protein. Lucy needs all the protein she can get since she’s a carb addict!
It’s been way too long since I had pancakes! Now, I really really want some for breakfast one of the next mornings (or perhaps next weekend). It’s such a good idea and a lovely relaxing Sunday morning breakfast.
Love the sprinkles – makes it even more fun!
I hate the Kodiak Cakes protein mix!! I love their Buttermilk though. I use the Weelicious recipe for pancakes. 1c ricotta, 3 eggs, 1/2 c Kodiak Cakes or TJ’s Buttermilk mix, and a drizzle of honey.
Mona Lisa ravioli sounds delicious. I’ve never tried Great Harvest pancakes but they sound like my kind of pancake so I’ll have to check them out!
Just curious, what about whey protein don’t you like?
It’s just not the most natural ingredient out there. But I’m ok with it.
I’ve really gotten into the chocolate kodiak cakes lately and I thought of your blog when I first picked them up. Have you tried them yet? They have mini chocolate chips & everything! I make kodiak cakes with almond milk, so it bulks them up a little bit- and maybe helps with the gumminess? With that being said, I haven’t done Great Harves mix yet, but they recently put up a GH where I live (Ft Worth, TX) so I might check it out.
I haven’t seen the chocolate ones! And def check out GH!
Hah, I love this little battle! I’m more of a waffle fan, but I love pancakes too… They HAVE to be dense and undercooked though!
Oh how I wish I could eat one -2 of these. Sadly after Menspause these type of items ( doughnuts-ice-cream-smoothies- cookies), I just don’t eat. Enjoy while you can as after 60 the metabolism slows so much. I am an avid gym rat/road jogger so try to keep healthy as a focus. I so enjoy your blog…. recipes that work. Thank-you.
This may be regional – I’m in southern California. The Knott’s Berry Farm pancake mix is the best I’ve ever had. So fluffy and moist. A friend of mine told me about it so I picked some up at Christmas time. I don’t eat pancakes a lot, but it’s perfect for an occasional treat.
I haven’t heard of it, but sounds great!
I never considered throwing spinach directly into the sauce. That’s original. I know sugar is usually used when the tomatoes are bitter. Did you know they would be ahead of time? Curious as to how you know how much to put in there. I’ve never added sugar to the sauce so I’d love some pointers.
You didn’t ask me, but sugar offsets the acidity of the tomato. Balsamic reduction does the trick, too.
We do an adaptation of the buttermilk pancake recipe in Carol Gelles’ 1000 Vegetarian Recipes cookbook. Our version is 100% whole grain, and I often sub some oat flour for some of the wheat flour. We also add almond meal to ours, and I halve the sugar. We almost always make a double batch, which yields about a zillion ‘cakes. It takes a long time to cook them all, but we freeze them and then have pancakes for a couple of weeks!
These are my favorite pancakes, all whole wheat flour and my toddler likes them. They freeze well!
100% Whole Wheat Pancakes http://allrecipes.com/recipe/232131/100-whole-wheat-pancakes/
This weekend was my birthday, so hubs made me Kodiak Cake waffles with sprinkles! The mix is good as waffles too! As for the whey, I like the protein boost since most flapjacks and waffles don’t have hardly any at all. We have a Great Harvest and I love everything I’ve tried. They don’t have the pancake mix though! Maybe I’ll request it.
I found Kodiak Pancake mix at Target 🙂
I found a recipe years ago online for pancakes you make from scratch (flour, salt, sugar, etc.) and they are my favorite by far! They aren’t whole wheat though.
My favorite thing I’ve discovered is to use the Kodiak mix you have, but instead of just water, I mash one banana, an egg, a cup of milk, a tablespoon or so of chia seeds, some vanilla and cinnamon. It takes a little bit longer, but they aren’t gummy- so good! I usually put blueberries in as I cook them. We even make them for dinner some nights!
King Arthur’s Gluten Free pancake mix! I have celiac’s disease and often use this for a brunch substitute for my gluten loving friends and family. They are always so surprised and shocked to find out the are GF! Texture is incredible and it has a slightly nutty + vanilla flavor! Sooo good!
Pancakes are so easy, so I always make them from scratch. I love that they take things that I always have on hand, such as flour, milk, butter, salt, etc. We don’t eat pancakes or waffles too often though, as I usually go for bacon and eggs on the weekends, and yogurt bowls or oatmeal during the week.