DIY Pancake Mix - With Regular and Vegan Recipe alternatives

Want big fluffy  fat free pancakes on the weekend but don't want to make them from scratch?   Sure there are mixes, but they contain Trans fat raises bad cholesterol and lowers good cholesterol -- not good for your heart's health period. If you make the vegan version of these, they are totally fat free. Even the version with egg and milk  has no trans fats.

Just find a big glass jar (such as old pickle jar) or container that has a very tight seal and mix up the following.  You'll have pancake mix for Saturdays for the next 3 months.  It's a very moist and fluffy pancakes that does not need a lot of syrup to taste great.  Makes 10- 12 pancakes medium sized pancakes.

Pancake Mix

12 cups all purpose flour
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup baking powder (check the date, if close to expiring, get a new one for this mix)
2 Tablespoons salt
2 Tablespoons Baking Soda

When ready to prepare, mix:

1 cup mix
1 cup fat free Kefir (cultured milk found in the yogurt section) or 1  cup buttermilk*
1 egg
drop or two of vanilla

I will admit I sometimes add a Tablespoon of melted butter or non-dairy spread to the liquids, but they are perfectly fine without the added fat.

 If you want to make a vegan version, replace dairy with almond or coconut milk and use 1/2 of a ripe (starting to turn brown) banana that's well mashed in place of the egg and serve with fruit.

Cook on the griddle and serve with your favorite sides.  Pictured is Applegate Farms chicken and sage all natural sausage cooked in a little maple syrup (found at health food stores and finer grocers)

Note:  This batter is quite "fluffy" so don't make big plate-sized pancakes or they will be beyond cantankerous to flip. I made little ones and they were really easy to cook and turn.

*you can make your own "buttermilk" by replacing a Tablespoon of milk from a cup of milk with lemon juice and letting it sit five minutes