Arrowhead Mills Organic Buckwheat Pancake & Waffle Mix Review

I used to make buckwheat pancakes for breakfast all the time back in the 1980s, and loved their coarse, deep gray-brown, satisfying flavor.  Though technically a refined carb, five or six buckwheat cakes filled me up, and lasted me the entire morning, keeping that gnawing hunger away quite effectively.  Well, lately I wanted to enjoy them again, but grew dismayed because I could find neither buckwheat pancake mix nor buckwheat flour in any of my usual grocery shopping spots.

However, just prior to giving up the search, I happened into a health food store here in Altoona, and discovered this 26-ounce bag of Arrowhead Mills Organic Buckwheat Pancake & Waffle Mix.  Boy was I thrilled to get it home.  That particular day, I made up half of the bag, and ate most of the cakes for supper. Mmmmm.  Indeed, no time at all is a bad time for delicious buckwheat waffles and pancakes.

 

Benefits, Pros, Advantages, and Features

  • Quite delicious, filling, and lasting.
  • Easy to make, especially on my Presto griddle or waffle maker.
  • Cleanup is fairly easy; any pancake residue comes right off of plates and the griddle with a mere wipe or rinse.
  • This is a Certified USDA organic food.
  • Has 15 grams of whole grain per serving, no trans fats, and a great source of dietary fiber.
  • The best-by date is about nine months out from my purchase date.  So you can keep a few bags of this mix in a cool, dry spot in your basement for nearly a year without worry that it will spoil.
  • The included bag packing appears rather dense, and thus, allows little light to reach the powder mix inside.  This helps preserve the flavor and nutritional values of this product.
  • Arrowhead Mills is an experienced hand in the manufacture of products like this, as they’ve been around since 1960.

 

Disadvantages, Cons, Problems, and Concerns

  • The 26-ounce bag costs roughly $5 retail.  So it’s about twice as much as the non organic, bleached flour-based brands.  This took some getting used to.  But the adjustment was made simpler by the delicious organic taste.  I got used to paying nearly twice as much for organic milk, and now, I’ve done it with buckwheat waffle and pancake mix as well.
  • Hard to find.  So far, I’ve only seen this product at health food stores.  Hopefully, Arrowhead Mills will extend distribution of their products into mainstream grocery places.

 

Cooking Instructions

For pancakes

  1. Round up 2/3 cup of this pancake mix, 1 beaten egg or equivalent egg substitute, 2 teaspoons of canola oil, 2 teaspoons of honey, and 3/4 cup of milk, soy milk, rice milk, or water.
  2. Lightly oil your non stick griddle or skillet.
  3. Preheat griddle to 400 degrees, or preheat a skillet on the stove to a medium heat level.
  4. While your cooking device of choice is warming up, stir together all ingredients, but stop just before lumps disappear.
  5. For thinner cakes, add a bit more milk.  For thicker cakes, add a bit more mix.
  6. For more flavorful buckwheat pancakes, stir in a quarter cup of berries, or 1 teaspoon of vanilla, or 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, or 1/4 cup of chopped nuts.  You can mix and match here too.  I put some extra honey in mine, to raise sweetness levels within the cakes a little.
  7. Then, once your chosen cooking device reaches the desired temperature, Pour 1/4 cup sized amounts onto the cooking surface.  I find 1/4 cup allotments for each pancake easier to flip over than any bigger amounts.
  8. Flip the pancakes over when bubbles appear on top surface, and the edges begin to dry and look less shiny.  I cook the cakes three minutes on each side.
  9. Remove them from cooking surface to a large plate, divvy them out, slice them up, add your favorite syrup or jam, and enjoy.

For Waffles

  1. Get together 1 cup of this pancake mix, 1 beaten egg or equivalent egg substitute, 2 teaspoons of canola oil, 2 teaspoons of honey, and 3/4 cup of milk, soy milk, rice milk, or water.
  2. Lightly oil your non stick waffle maker.
  3. Preheat the waffle maker.
  4. While the waffle maker is heating, stir together all ingredients, but stop just before lumps disappear.
  5. Then, pour 1/4 to 1/2 cup sized amounts onto the cooking surface, as specified in your waffle maker’s instructions manual.
  6. Close the waffle maker and allow product to cook until you begin to smell done waffles.  Check done-ness every minute or two.
  7. Once fully cooked and golden brown, remove waffles from waffle maker to a large plate, divvy them out to any guests you might have, add your favorite syrup or jam, slice them up, and again, enjoy.

 

Ingredients

Organic buckwheat flour, organic whole grain wheat flour, organic soymilk powder, baking powder (monocalcium phosphate, sodium bicarbonate, corn starch), sea salt.

Contains wheat and soy.

 

Serving Tips

  • Excellent with pure maple syrup and butter (or margarine).
  • Add a quarter cup of oat bran to each batch for extra fiber.
  • Instead of honey, I sometimes add agave nectar.  It’s thinner than honey and thus, easier to fold into the batter.  Plus, it has a similar sweetness to honey.
  • A tall glass of fresh, cold skim milk makes a great chaser with this meal.

 

Nutrition Facts

  • Serving size: 1/3 cup (45 grams or approximately 2 to 5 pancakes).
  • Servings per container: about 17.
  • Calories of just the mix: 170.  Calories prepared: 320.
  • Calories from fat in just the mix: 15.  Calories from fat prepared: 110.
  • Total fat in the mix: 2 grams, 3% DV.  Total fat as prepared: 12 grams, 18% DV.
  • Saturated fat in the mix: 0 grams, 0% DV.  Saturated fat as prepared: 3 grams, 15% DV.
  • Trans fat in mix: 0 grams. Trans fat as prepared: 0 grams.
  • Cholesterol in the mix: 0 milligrams, 0% DV.  Cholesterol as prepared: 120 milligrams, 40% DV.
  • Sodium in the mix: 290 milligrams, 12% DV.  Sodium as prepared: 360 milligrams, 15% DV.
  • Potassium in the mix: 210 milligrams, 6% DV.  Potassium as prepared: 380 milligrams, 11% DV.
  • Total carbohydrate in the mix: 29 grams, 10% DV.  Total carbohydrate as prepared: 40 grams, 13% DV.
  • Dietary Fiber in the mix: 7 grams, 29% DV.  Dietery fiber as prepared: 7 grams, 29% DV.
  • Sugars in the mix: 0 grams. Sugars as prepared: 10 grams.
  • Protein in the mix: 7 grams.  Protein as prepared: 14 grams.
  • Vitamin A in the mix: 0% DV.  Vitamin A as prepared: 6% DV.
  • Vitamin C in the mix: 0% DV.  Vitamin C as prepared: 2% DV.
  • Calcium in the mix: 10% DV.  Calcium as prepared: 25% DV.
  • Iron in the mix:: 10% DV.  Iron as prepared: 10% DV.
  • Thiamine in the mix: 10% DV.  Thiamin as prepared: 10% DV.
  • Riboflavin in the mix: 6% DV.  Riboflavin as prepared: 25% DV.
  • Niacin in the mix: 8% DV.  Niacin as prepared: 10% DV.
  • Phosphorus in the mix: 15% DV.  Phosphorus as prepared: 25% DV.

Prepared with whole milk, egg, canola oil, and honey.

 

Product Rating

The pancakes and waffles made with this product are quite delicious, satisfying, and healthy.  While I had trouble locating this product at first, and balked at its higher price of over $5 per bag, its organic high quality more than offsets that bit of initial irritation with it.  So, I’d rate it at 94 out of 100.

 

Where To Buy Arrowhead Mills Organic Buckwheat Pancake & Waffle Mix

I bought mine at the Everything Natural health food store here in Altoona, PA.  But I’ve seen this product at the bigger health food grocery store chains like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.  I’m hoping that Walmart will begin carrying this in the near future.

Look for it in the blue-topped bag with a red and brown label on the front as well as a picture of prepared pancakes with a few strawberries on top of them.

 

References

 

Revision History

  • : Adjusted category and tag assignments, fixed typos, and added white space.
  • 2012-07-04: Originally published.