How many calories are really in one pancake?

Everyone loves a good pancake (or four) occasionally (or everyday, i don’t blame you) but is this scrumptious meal as amazing for our health as it tastes?

I seriously HATE that I’m the one to bring this devastating news to you but NO! Pancakes are one of the worst foods you can have for breakfast or really any time of the day. 

Pancakes are typically made with sugar, flour and eggs making them packed with carbohydrates and fat (both saturated and unsaturated). Not to mention the toppings that we put on them…. I mean who has a pancake without syrup right? 

While these amazing sugary desserts are great for your tastebuds unfortunately they aren’t all that amazing for your body. Pancakes contain refined flour which has a High glycemic index. This can be directly to a spike in blood sugar as well as obesity!

While we are on the topic on unhealthy foods, the pancake syrup that everyone loves is full of high fructose corn syrup. Your syrup is also linked to obesity and type 2 diabetes (throwing out that syrup right now as well)!

In fact organic maple syrup would be a lot healthier to add to your pancakes than pancake syrup (though it is still full of sugar and calories).

So how many calories are in a pancake?

One large pancake contains 175 calories, not including the butter and that syrup that we consume with them. Let’s break this down just a little, with one large pancake the total amount of carbohydrates equates to over 50% of the pancakes nutritional content and with only about 5 grams of protein, pancakes really do not serve as the most amazing breakfast (in terms of health of course, taste buds are a whole other story). 

OKAY OKAY but i really want to eat this. Can I work it off?

Yes! Of course you can! One large pancake would be equal to about 20 minutes of jogging or 30 minutes of swimming or 45 minutes of walking! Don’t forget to add the butter and syrup calories as well though! So ask yourself, are you willing to burn these many calories?

Ugh, You’ve put me off pancakes, are healthy pancakes a thing?

Yes!! In fact they are and boy do they taste delicious. A little syrup never hurts anybody but if you want to replace the syrup with something healthier, I would try Date syrup or even Melted Peanut butter (Trust me it tastes amazing). Maybe add fruits like strawberries or blueberries to make it healthier and make it taste better. Even banana’s are a great option. How about adding nuts like almonds or walnuts?

And by the way if you’re sitting in front of a plate of pancakes wondering if you should eat them now, just remember an occasional cheat day may even be beneficial for you!