Today is Pancake Day, another made up holiday created to increase our consumption of pancakes. While in and of themselves, pancakes are not necessarily an unhealthy food, it’s the huge servings and added “dressings” that have turned pancakes into unhealthy calorie bombs.

So if you are celebrating today, or any day – take it easy with the butter and maple syrup. If you can, go for whole wheat to get some fiber.

Here’s a recipe for Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes:

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 very ripe banana
1 tbsp sugar
3 tsp  baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 cups low fat milk
2 tablespoons oil

Instructions:

lightly oil a griddle and heat it up over a medium flame. Mix all the dry ingredients. Mash the banana. Mix the eggs, milk, oil and mashed banana. Add the dry mix. It’s OK if there is a bit of lumping, the lumps will disappear when heated. Once the griddle is hot enough pour a test-pancake on, wait for it to bubble and flip it over. The first pancake usually comes out a bit funky and goes to the dog, but after that you’re all set. If your griddle is large enough you can make several pancakes at the same time. A 2-3 inch diameter will allow you to eat several pancakes without overdoing the portion size.

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We’ve gotten a question from one of our Facebook friends, who is confused about agave nectar, a sweetener that has gotten itself a health halo in some circles over the past few years. Below you’ll find the facts. Bottom line – the health halo is not justified, but that does not mean agave nectar is bad for you. But then again, neither is sugar. It’s all a matter of limiting intake, something we have trouble doing, what with all the processed foods “fortified” with sweeteners out there.

What you need to know:

1. Agave nectar is derived from Agave plants grown in Mexico. There are several processing methods used to obtain the syrupy sweetener, but you can’t just tap into the plant like you would with maple syrup.

2. Agave nectar is composed mostly of fructose, and also glucose.

3. It has a slightly lower glycemic index than table sugar, due to the fact that glycemic index measures only glucose levels, and agave nectar has less glucose than sugar.

4. Agave nectar has the same number of calories as sugar, 4 calories per gram. that works out  to 16 calories per teaspoon.

5. Agave nectar is about one and a half times sweeter than table sugar, which means you need to use less to reach the same sweet point. That works out to slightly less calories for the same level of sweet.

6. Many vegans prefer to use agave nectar in recipes calling for honey as no animals are involved in its processing.

7. Agave dissolves quickly in water and is sometimes used as a sweetener for cold drinks.

8. Tequila (yes, the alcoholic drink) is a cousin of agave nectar. Blue agave (Agave tequilana) is the source for both. Agave nectar can also be made from other types of agave plants.

What to do at the supermarket:

Agave is a sweetener thats neither bad nor good for you. Like all sweeteners, it is best consumed sparingly.

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Every day, week, and month there’s a holiday somewhere in the world.

While most holidays have religious, historical or national connotations, there’s a new category of “marketing” holidays, embellishing whatever there is to be sold. Food is no exception, and just this week, for example, the country celebrated National Sandwich Day (Nov 3). The date was chosen to honor the birthday of Sir John Montag, a.k.a Earl of Sandwich, an 18th century Englishman who requested to have his lunch meat served between 2 pieces of bread so that he may continue playing cards with his buddies. This year Sara Lee and other bread manufacturers helped “celebrate” with PR pizazz.

Here’s a (very partial) list of a few more food festivities. In no particular order:

Get the day started right on National Eggs Benedict Day (April 16). And while we’re having breakfast, wouldn’t it make sense to unite National Pancake Day (Sept 26) and National Maple Syrup Day (Dec 17)?

Beverage Day is on May 6, but behemoth Coca Cola has it’s own very special Have a Coke Day 2 days later on May 8. too bad there’s no tap water day. For parents to messy toddlers there’s Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Day (Feb 11).

There’s an entire month devoted to Hamburgers (May 1-31). Not to be outdone, Pizza has several holidays, depending on the toppings; our favorite is coming up next week – National Pizza with the Works Except Anchovies Day (Nov 12).

Venerable vegetables have lots of special days – Does Eat Your Vegetables Day (June 17) drive up sales of broccoli? probably not. Do people get discount when signing up to become vegetarians on World Vegetarian Day (Oct 1)? Kick the New year off with legumes on Bean Day (Jan 6). And don’t forget America’s #1 vegetable on Potato Day (Aug 19). While the Spinach Festival(March 26) sounds interesting, the more interestingly named Sneak Some Zucchini on Your Neighbor’s Porch Night (Aug 8th) will have us awake in bed til the morning of August 9.

Why would anyone celebrate Poisoned Blackberries Day (Sept 29)?

The sweets have lots of partying with an entire National Dessert Month in October, a National Pumpkin Pie Day on Christmas, followed 2 days later by National Fruitcake Day (Dec 27), and in the heat of the summer a National Cheesecake Day (July 30).

Lest we forget our favorite snack on National Ice Cream Day (July 18) with gourmands looking forward to National Vanilla Ice Cream Day (July 23) celebrated less than a week later. FYI: We just celebrated National Chocolate Day last week (Oct 28).

Thank goodness February is short, as it is also National Snack Food Month. It’s followed by National Potato Chip Day (March 14) and then National Pretzel Day (April 26). Healthy snacking will have to wait till summertime with National Trail Mix Day (Aug 31).

National Soup Month comes in the dead of winter, lasting all of January. Canned Food Month (February) is followed by National Frozen Food Month in March. April gets off to a sticky-in-the-roof-of-my-mouth start with National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day (Apr 2) but then continues to a more solid Garlic Day (Apr 19) mid month.

But our favorite holiday, dedicated to all the unfortunate chefs who burn toasts and can’t seem to scramble an egg, is Kitchen Klutzes of America Day (June 13). We’ll be eating out that day, thank you.

Got any more interesting holidays we should know about? Comments welcome…

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