First let me get my qualifications out of the way: I have been eating pancakes since before I could form memories. They remind me of my childhood and I am very picky about what pancakes I choose to eat because I know a good pancake when I taste it. I have made hundreds of different recipes from scratch trying to find a perfect mixture and I have tried nearly every brand out there: Aunt Jemima, Bisquick, Krusteaz, Stonewall Kitchen, Arrowhead Mills, Flapjacked, Essential Goodness, Bob's Red Mill, the list goes on and on! None of them have even come close to the quality and taste of Kodiak Cakes!
I first discovered Kodiak Cakes in Costco when I was looking for an alternative to my, seemingly never-ending, pancake search. I decided I'd give them a try since I had never heard of them and picked up these Protein Power Cakes that this Amazon page is for. Just one day of trying these and I knew my search had ended. Now I purchase them through Amazon for the same price as Costco membership price and have them conveniently shipped to my door!
The ingredients are all high quality, simple ingredients with a purpose: not one ingredient went into this product without a ton of thought and consideration to determine if that ingredient was useful, healthy, and will fill you with energy. No preservatives in the mix means its healthier for you too! But don't worry about the mix going bad, I've went on vacation for a month and followed by another month of work-travel with an opened box in my pantry and when i came back they were still the same delicious taste and quality.
Now onto taste: simply put it's amazing. It's not too sweet like most brands, but it isn't bland. It has the perfect balance of oat and wheat, combined to make a truly delicious flavor profile which can be modified in any way you desire. Most pancakes advertised as "healthy" have a very strong wheat flavor that overpowers everything else and makes it taste like wheat bread, but Kodiak Cakes has perfectly balanced this wheat with the oat and made a delicious natural flavor.
I prefer to use the Kodiak Cake mix with milk whereas my significant other uses water and both methods produce great-tasting pancakes. On most days I don't even use a syrup because they are delicious enough without it. Just add a small amount of butter and BOOM you have a great breakfast.
Some days I add bananas to make it just a bit sweeter, sometimes I add chocolate chips as a desert-pancake, some times I reduce the milk to make it thicker, and sometimes I add more milk to make crepes. And sometimes I break out an egg (not technically necessary but I love the what it adds) and make super delicious waffles with them! The versatility of these pancakes is truly astounding and the fact that it fills me up and keeps me going through all morning (sometimes even into the afternoon) is something I have only found in Kodiak Cakes.
Texture-wise these pancakes are also fantastic. When cooked they have an amazing crisp on the edge with a smooth interior. No rough grittiness can be felt at all (which is a major problem with other healthy pancakes which start to feel like you are chewing on sand) which leaves just the amazing mouth-feel. In addition the texture can be modified in many different ways - just like the flavor - by adding different things to the mix. On one particular day I added whole oats to give the pancake a very heavy feel and I actually used them as a snack to keep me full when fishing!
With regard to the caloric intake the pancakes are worth their weight in gold! The standard half-cup serving size contains only 190 Calories which is astounding for how much protein are in them! My significant other is VERY particular about having a good calorie-to-nutrient ratio and these are the only pancakes that make the cut with regard to being healthy, nutrient-rich, and low calorie!
The protein content of these pancakes is no gimmick, it is a great addition that keeps you full and energized. I am not a bodybuilder, but I do lift weights at least 3-4 times a week and I am very conscious of my protein intake (i need at least 200 grams of protein a day). Until I discovered Kodiak Cakes the ONLY way to get the amount of protein I desired in my breakfast was to east just an absurd amount of eggs each morning which is NOT good for my cholesterol. Since I discovered kodiak cakes I have been able to get my personal needed amount of protein in a healthy and balanced way.
Honestly the only bad thing I have to say about these pancakes is that they are becoming so popular that sometimes they are completely out of stock (both on amazon and my local Costco). I believe this is just a sign of Kodiak's growing business being unable to keep up with the demand for this product. So if you like these make sure to stock up as I've encountered a few tiems when I needed to wait a few weeks before I could get them again.
On the back of the box Kodiak Cakes tells the story of wanting to "Restore the Flapjack Tradition" and I think they have not only done that, but they have set the bar higher! They designed this recipe in the tradtional manner that kept the pioneers treking across the frontier, needing long-lasting nutrition to chop trees and build homes; then they added to this recipe to perfect its flavor and make it easy for the everyday consumer to get excellent nutrition and a great taste to boot!
Trust me when I say that these are the pancakes you have been searching your whole life for! Buy them once and become a lifelong customer! You will not be disappointed, i guarantee it!
100% whole grain wheat flour, 100% whole grain oat flour, vital wheat gluten, whey protein concentrate, brown sugar, wheat protein isolate, milk protein concentrate, leavening (monocalcium phosphate, sodium bicarbonate), buttermilk, sea salt. Contains milk and wheat. Due to processing on shared equipment, may contain trace amounts of egg, soy, and tree nuts.
