Boy, do I have a treat for you today!
I mentioned on Monday that my friend Molly and I cooked up some delicious Fruity Pebble Pancakes while she was in town, and today, as promised, I have the pancake AND glaze recipe for you.
Prepare to be indulged.
But first, let’s stir up a little controversy on the beautiful Friday morning with this question: Why is sugar cereal food enemy #1 for most mothers of young children.
I present to you public enemy #1.
Moms, please help me understand. You see, when I compare the number of sugar grams per serving of cereals like Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Fruity Pebbles (two of my favorites) to, say, everyone’s preferred brand of greek yogurt, guess what food has more per serving…You guessed it: greek yogurt! 5 more grams in fact.
Granted, greek yogurt packs a mean protein punch alongside the extra sugar, but still. Why is there such a movement against feeding children sugar cereal?
I won’t argue that there are more nutritious items to serve your child for breakfast every day, but still, do these cereals really need to be avoided like the plague?
Perhaps I’m so “emotionally charged” on this particular issue is because of my personal experience with it…
When I was a young little Sometimes Healthy Girl, I had no concept of health and nutrition, even though my mother tried to teach me. Along those lines, she was one of the many moms who refused to feed her children sugar cereals for breakfast.
So, whenever we planned sleepovers, I’d try to strategically sleep over at friends’ houses whose parents allowed sugar cereal. SUCH a sneaky move, but sometimes a girl needs her Fruit Loops!
The years went by and my life started to feel complete sans sugar cereal.
Then, college happened. My dining hall contained a gigantic salad bar (which thrilled me) and a 24 hour cereal bar, including lots of my favorites, like Cap N’ Crunch and Cocoa Puffs. All of those years of “sugar cereal repression” came to the surface, and I started eating cereal for breakfast, lunch AND dinner.
You cannot be serious! I get to eat this every day?!
You can guess what came next…Yep, the infamous freshman 15, or 20 in my case. I’m sure the extra lbs were also the result of an increased amount of booze and late night pizza coupled with less exercise. But, still, the extra carbs from sugar cereal certainly didn’t help.
My mother did an incredible job of raising a (sometimes) smart, (usually) confident woman, but if I could change one thing, it would probably be the sugar cereal.
I’m not saying I would feed my child sugar cereal every day, but would once a week really hurt? It’s Sometimes Healthy to indulge every now and then! We all have pancake Sunday, so I see nothing wrong with Sugar Cereal Sunday. Or, perhaps, mothers can combine them both into Sugar Cereal Pancake Sunday.
Just in time for your first inaugural Sugar Cereal Pancake Sunday, I have this delightful recipe for you (and an exciting new recipe card format!)
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 1/4 cups 1% milk (can substitute with Almond Milk)
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons of melted butter (can substitute with yogurt butter)
- 1 cup Fruity Pebbles
- 3/4 cup crushed Fruity Pebbles + 1/4 cup crushed Fruity Pebbles for garnish
- 1/4 cup melted butter (can substitute yogurt butter)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons 1% milk (can substitute Almond Milk)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- In large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
- Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter. Mix until smooth.
- Gentled mix in cup of Fruity Pebbles.
- Pour 3/4 cup Fruity Pebbles into plastic bag and crush using foot or rolling pin. Mix into batter.
- Spray frying pan with cooking spray and heat over medium high heat. Pour 1/4 cup batter into pan for each pancake. Cook until both sides are lightly browned, regreasing pan when necessary.
- Melt 1/4 cup of butter in the microwave.
- Pour 2 cups of powdered sugar into a medium bowl, and add melted butter to the powdered sugar, along with 2 tablespoons of milk.
- Add 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract, and beat until smooth.
- Drizzle over warm pancakes, topping with more crushed Fruity Pebbles
These pancakes were everything that we hoped for and more! The crushed Fruity Pebbles really helped bring out the flavors of the delicious sugar cereal into the batter. But the real star of the show was the glaze! The glaze brought everything together and elevated the pancakes to another level. Don’t forget to garnish with crushed Fruity Pebbles!
So, what can you do with that leftover cereal? Well, you may want to consider eating it every once in a while. Or, as we all know, it makes a great frozen yogurt topping. You can also use it to make a variation on Rice Krispy Treats.
Danger…these are addicting.
The possibilities really ARE endless. So, go ahead. Be bold. Buy that box of sugar cereal. You’ll thank me later.
LET’S TALK:
- Moms (or non-moms), how do you feel about sugar cereal? Feel free to prove me wrong!
- What’s your favorite sugar cereal?
In order, my favorites are:
- Cap N’ Crunch
- Cocoa Puffs
- Fruity Pebbles
- Cinnamon Toast Crunch
- Golden Grahams
This makes me the kid in me SO happy right now! 😉
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl recently posted…Healthy Living Summit Recap #3: The Conference
ME TOO! Always fun to let your inner-child out every now and then! These pancakes are yummy…AND I used the leftover Fruity Pebbles to top my fro yo.
The inner kid in me just got excited…looks amazing!
Arman @ thebigmansworld recently posted…Off the cuff Fridays- Is it just me {foodie edition}
Thank you! It tasted every bit as delicious as it looked 🙂
I LOVE these. Also I just found your blog and I’m loving it too! Your attitude on life, food, health etc…is awesome! I can’t wait to keep following 🙂
Davida @ The Healthy Maven recently posted…Matcha Spinach & Pumpkin Pancakes
Thank you! I checked out your blog as well and am already a huge huge fan!
I totally agree with you .. it’s just the way sugary cereals are portrayed in popular culture I guess. It’s kind of like how mothers seem to be more on edge about kidnappers as a threat to their children than the risk of car accidents as a threat, even though car accidents are far more likely to occur than their children getting kidnapped – popular opinion is not always the most logical nor most accurate.
That’s how I feel too – it seems like the media picked a culprit in sugar cereals. I’m not saying kids need to eat them for every meal, but I’m pretty sure the world won’t end if they enjoy a bowl every now and then 😉
Well I’ll be honest right now, right now. That does not look good. But I would make it when I have one of my I WANT SUGAR GRRRR days lol. I’ve never been too crazy about sugar, weird I know.
Oh and the reason people are so crazy about the sugary cereals is because kids eat it too often. And they have sugar spikes, headaches and crashes. Especially right before school. Then the kids that eat it too much usually eat other sugary toxic food too much. A bowl every now and then or your pancakes for a treat won’t harm them.
….ugh now the more I look at the picture the more I want some. Thanks! lol
Definitely make the pancakes on a Sugar Day!
Yeah, I feel you o the sugar spikes, crashes, etc. My issue is that if you compare the amount of sugar to other view popular foods, some sugar cereals are very even. But yes, a bowl every now and then is good for the soul (in my opinion :-)).
James! Love the redesign. You already know how I feel about the sugary cereal debate, but what the hell, I’ll weigh in. Kids shouldn’t be restricted, in my opinion, at all – as long as parents are introducing a variety of foods and getting their munchkins involved in sports. This coming from a girl whose dad took her to BK every day after kindergarten for six-piece chicken tenders – I ate the breading and left the meat. Raisin Bran was my favorite cereal, though, so I guess it evens out.
Also, awesome pancake recipe. I’m definitely going to recreate this.
Thank you Molly! And thanks for being such an amazing houseguest! You gave me so much material to write about. I know we feel the same on this topic. Sugar cereal is not the enemy!
So glad you like the redesign – let me know if you have any issues with it or tips because you know I trust your eye over anyone else girlfriend!
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oh em gee.. no freakin way!! I have three boys and while I def buy whatever cereal they ask me for.. I do think “these are loaded with sugar” as I toss them in my cart.. but yet when I grab them yogurts my brain is more like “hey everyone are u looking?? yes, im buying healthy foods”
cray cray
hahaha exactly what I’m talking about. I’m glad you feel the same way as me 🙂 Sugar cereal for life!