Ham-Spam Pancakes §

Breakfasts without significant amounts of carbohydrate are sometimes a real challenge for those of us who need or desire to limit their presence. Eating eggs every day can become boring no matter how inventive the chef is. To avoid ennui, pancakes would be nice to have every now and then, I thought. The challenge of making pancakes is finding suitable ingredients from which to make them–i.e., finding lower G. I. syrup and flour. Even though I had already developed recipes for both of these, I learned of new products coming to market.

I first made this recipe to test out Carbalose™ and Carbquik™ lower G. I. flour products. What I found was that when I prepared the recipe using my own lower G. I. products, I liked the result just a little better than when I made it with either of the newer products, and so that is the way I have since made these pancakes.

  • 2 (2-oz) slices of cooked ham or Spam®
  • ½ cup lower G. I. flour†
  • ¾ tsp double acting baking powder
  • 1 tsp melted <butter>
  • ¼ cup nonfat half-and-half
  • ¼ cup X
  • ¼ cup lower G. I. syrup†
  • butter spray

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and baking powder; add the melted butter and work it into the dry ingredients. Put the half-and-half and egg substitute in a measuring cup, mix thoroughly, and add to the mixing bowl. Whisk the batter until no lumps are present.

Spray a small non-stick skillet with butter spray, line it with the ham or Spam®, and pour the batter on top. Bake in a 350°F oven for 20 minutes.

Remove the ham-spam pancake from the fire, cut in two, and serve with the syrup.

Serves 2.

sugar free maple syrup

There are some very good sugar-free maple syrup products in supermarkets and online today. If, for some reason, you run out or just want to try your hand at making your own, the recipe below works pretty well. Because it does not contain preservatives, you should refrigerate it. Pour your finished syrup into a bottle and pop it in the fridge. Cold does not cause the syrup to thicken further.

  • 2 cups water
  • 1 tsp maple flavoring
  • 1 cup <sugar>
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • ½ tsp guar gum thickening agent

Heat the water with maple flavoring, <sugar>, and corns starch until boiling. Let simmer until thickened. Put the hot liquid into a blender, add the guar gum, and mix at high speed until the guar gum has been incorporated. Cool and store in the refrigerator.

Makes 32 tablespoons at less than 1 gram of carbohydrate each.

sugar free simple syrup

The recipe above can be made into a simple syrup substitute by omitting the maple flavoring.