Nourishing Together: Sprouted Whole Wheat Pancakes!

On my journey into the world of nourishing foods, I have become familiar with the idea of sprouting (flour, nuts, etc).  While I had read of this, it had not truly entered into the forefront of my consciousness until I was thinking about my grandmother.  My grandmother was a Punjabi woman who spent most of her life making things from scratch.  Whether it was curdling milk to make her own paneer or making dough for rotis, the process was, from beginning to end, her own work.  As I was recalling things I have learned from her, a specific memory arose that made me think about how she already knew much of what I am discovering (ah, I only wish I had not lost her so long ago).  This memory was soaking almonds.

My grandmother would place a handful of almonds into a little metal bowl of water.  At the time, I did not know how long she soaked them, but she would hand them to me and I would easily peel the skin off and eat them.  I remember relishing in the lush smell of the soaked almond and my ability to slide the halves of the almonds apart (oh, children and their sensorial experiences).  I loved the taste of almond without it's skin.  Years later when I would buy my own bags of pre-roasted almonds, it never occurred to me that there was likely a reason she used to soak the almonds.  I just thought they tasted good.

Now, as I try to nourish my own son, I think to myself: why DID she soak those almonds?  And, off I went to discover the answer (I'm such an information junkie).  What I discovered surprised me, because it feels like knowledge I should have had already.  Grains and nuts (and beans and seeds) need to be soaked because they are less easily digested without soaking.  In a nutshell (pause for terrible pun), all of these parts of the plant are covered in phytic acid which acts to protect the seed from predators so that it has a chance to sprout and grow.  The phytic acid is considered an anti-nutrient, which means that it binds to necessary nutrients and prevents them from being absorbed.  Being less digestible, it can cause a lot of digestive distress.  Only when the grain (seed, nut, etc) is introduced to water will the phytic acid be stripped because the grain will be getting ready to sprout.  Thus, soaking and/or sprouting makes all of these amazing whole grains (etc.) more nutritious and beneficial!

Well, lately my son has been hooked on pancakes.  Apparently, something soaked in a sweet syrup is extremely enticing.  He is so my son.  I was worried about all that flour consumption and so I begin toying with the idea of soaking my whole wheat flour.  But then (pause for excitement), I discovered Arrowhead Mills now makes sprouted wheat flour!  I buy mine at Whole Foods or our popular local organic grocer, MOM's Organic Market (I promise, though, that I will try soaking my own flour one day).

Next, I found a wonderful recipe for Sprouted Wheat Flour Pancakes.  Not only does it include sprouted wheat flour, but also uses coconut oil and honey (in place of sugar).  I've also been intending to try replacing the honey with coconut palm sugar next time I make a batch so as to make the pancakes sweet but low-glycemic (coconut palm sugar is low-glycemic, has a lot of nutrients compared to other sweeteners, and is not high in fructose like agave).  In our family, paying attention to glycemic load is an important way to keep everyone calm.  This recipe is also very simple, so it's a great recipe for the little guy to participate in, and that makes this Montessori mommy happy.

Together, we grab our ingredients.  Here, you can see I purchased low-temp pasteurized non-homogonized whole milk from pasture raised cows, eggs from pastured chickens (Vital farms is a good source but pricey, normally I purchase less expensive local pastured eggs at MOM's), virgin coconut oil (not pictured), and aluminum-free baking powder (also not pictured).

I do the measuring while he does the pouring and the stirring (well, I take a turn with this, too).

Then I make small pancakes using coconut oil in the pan, and voila!  Healthy, nourishing, and very yummy pancakes (even husband enjoys!).

Whatever is leftover from the batch I just put in the freezer and then all week we can have pancakes in the morning for breakfast by just popping one in the toaster.  Serve with a side of whatever you love!  For me, that's always bacon.