Why Do We Struggle to Choose Healthier Foods?
Flaxseed Meal and Other Flours
Why do we struggle to choose healthier foods? Is it that we have too many choices, and it is easier to go with the familiar and the less expensive?
Have you paid attention to all the different flour options at the grocery store? You can find a growing number of choices, including almond, coconut, potato, and chickpea flours. Recently I noticed one I had not seen before, hazelnut flour.
I want to try some of them, but honestly, the prices for some are bit too high. They exceed my tolerance for flour prices.
Instead of trying one of the more expensive flours, I opted to use ground flaxseed to attempt to prepare pancakes.
Flaxseed contains omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, and other nutrients beneficial to our health.
The taste and texture of flaxseed pancakes do not compare to traditional pancakes. However, with the right mindset, the results are acceptable.
The Struggle to Make Healther Food Choices
It is funny how we make food choices. I have witnessed with family members the following when offered healthier food choices, they say ‘ no, I will not eat that ‘.
Later on, something happens that requires medical attention. Then the doctor strongly suggests a change that includes eating that one food they have adamantly refused in the past.
The food taste has not changed, yet they are more willing to eat it. Why?
We give in to the instant gratification of less healthy foods and we disregard the incentive of better health. The pull in one direction is stronger than on the opposite direction.
There is a range of intensity with which we move along the dimensions of this situation. Let us imagine a line here.
There is a smoother line with less friction for some people. They can easily slide along the line to make better choices.
For others, this line is bumpy, and the bumps create a lot of friction. The friction is uncomfortable and hard to overcome, but is it possible to overcome it?
The weight that we place on how we perceive the food makes us feel is the cause of this friction, ‘ I like it ‘ I am happy when I eat this ’.
The brain hangs on to these feelings or expectations and resists doing anything that might disrupt them. Eating something less familiar or something that we have labeled differently disrupts our established mental pattern.
If we desire to make better choices, we need to practice being more flexible. We have to consciously loosen up the grip of the heaviness we have placed on the side of our less helpful expectations. Flexibility will allow for more balance and less friction. It will increase our ability to make better choices more often.
It is a challenging process and, some people may not be able to go through it without additional resources. The one thing that we can all attempt to do is be more flexible.
Let us get back to the flaxseed pancakes.
Notes About Flaxseed Pancakes
I selected Bob’s Red Mill Organic Golden Flaxseed Meal. I like the sturdy packaging that can be closed securely with a bag clip. The link is a product variation available on Amazon, but I found what I used at my local grocery store.
I added chopped strawberries to the batter and served it with additional strawberries and maple syrup.
Blueberries are another fruit that I have used instead of strawberries.
You can substitute any desired fruit. Consider cooking off the fruit juices if the fruit has too much of it.
It is good to alternate pancake flour to achieve more balanced nutrition.
Here is the recipe for one person 2-3 pancakes.
Flaxseed Meal Strawberry Pancake Recipe
Ingredients
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1/4 cup finely chopped strawberries
One large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch of salt
Preparation
- Whisk an egg in a mixing bowl
- Add the wet ingredients and mix well
- Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl
- Slowly, and while mixing, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients
- Set aside for a few minutes while you heat the pan on medium heat
- It is better to have a thicker batter which you can spread to thin it, than one too thin and runny. Adjust as needed.
- Cook each pancake 2 1/2 to 3 minutes on each side
- Serve with sliced strawberries or blueberries
- Add desired syrup
Nutritional Information About Flaxseeds
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