Can Pancakes Actually be the Cure for Depression?

Let’s face it, we live in a time when staying positive and cheerful is a constant struggle. A rather frightening fact is that approximately 14.8 million American adults are affected by Depression.

I should know, since I have had a close friend (I shell refer to her as Amy from now on) battling with this condition.

Believe it or not, pancakes played a great role in her struggle, they were one of the weapons that helped her overcome Depression. And I am not referring to the regular American pancake, but some interesting and pretty vibrant in color pancake recipes.

Pancakes Against Mood Swings

Before going more into it, I should say that this might be an individual thing, since Amy has always liked cooking and pancakes. And I am not saying she defeated depression without going to therapy, but Making Pancakes From Scratch sure helped her a lot.

We started off with the most colorful pancakes out there. The Rainbow Pancakes, the fluffiest, tastiest, prettiest pancakes you’ve ever seen. And these became Amy’s staple. Whenever she felt moody and depressed she’d make a stack of these, call me and our friend Mary over and we would all eat perfectly looking pancakes. We usually ended our dates grinning from ear to ear, and that was all that me and Mary wanted. (Of course we enjoyed the pancakes as well but the REAL enjoyment came from seeing our friend happy and smiling, just like any young person should).

Pancakes for a Constantly Good Mood

Another pancake recipe Amy found nerve-calming was the Reese’s Syrup and Double Chocolate Pancakes recipe. Now these pancakes are my favorite. Their extremely sweet chocolate flavor and the peanut butter from the Reese’s are a match made in heaven. Not to mention it was in this time that Amy had the best progress and we all enjoyed her company. Honestly I don’t think anything is more helpful in moments like this than being surrounded by people you love and that love you back.

Funfetti Pancakes for Fun Times

Now, out of all the pancake recipes we found, I think the Funfetti pancakes had the greatest impact on Amy’s mood. I mean, the name itself implies: they are FUN. Made with colorful sprinkles, they are pretty to look at, but to make them even prettier we decided to add some flavored gelatin powder in the batter and thus make for an even prettier stack.

Our pancakes were like the child of the Rainbow pancakes and the Funfetti pancakes, and boy did they turn out to be AWESOME! We couldn’t bring ourselves to eating them, but eventually we did, and they were yummm!

In the end I can’t really say it was pancakes that helped my friend cope with Depression, but they sure had a great impact on her, and a pretty positive one too!