Pancakes, anyone?

Tuesday, March 1, 2022 is Shrove Tuesday. It’s also known as Pancake Tuesday. For those of us who love breakfast, this is exactly the kind of special day we should have more of!

You might wonder why pancakes are the one food chosen to represent indulgence at the table before Lent began. It was a practical decision that started the tradition.

Lent – the 40 days leading up to Easter – is a time of self-discipline and sacrifice to show gratitude. Sweet and rich foods were some of the most popular items to remove from a regular diet, but no one wanted to waste food.

Pancakes use eggs and milk, perishable ingredients. Sugar was a luxury ingredient. The idea was to eat pancakes until everything was used up. Waste not, want not, right?

And just in case you are seeing this after breakfast, here are some other Mardi Gras treats you can enjoy to fulfill your Shrove Tuesday obligation.

beignets are a New Orleans tradition at Mardi Gras

• Beignets (also known as donuts, but they only count if you get the best ones 😋)
• King Cake (think cinnamon bun stuffed also with cream cheese filling and covered with a glaze and coloured sprinkles – best eaten with friends, according to folks in the Big Easy where they bake thousands of them
• A Sazerac cocktail – the official drink of New Orleans, a whiskey flavoured with Absinthe & bitters

By now you must be getting the idea. Here is a day where you are given license – encouraged, even – to indulge in your favourite treat. So why are you still sitting here?

On Ash Wednesday you can contemplate how you can serve a greater cause and become a better version of yourself. You will be fuelled up with all the positive vibes of those wonderful treats, so I have great faith in what you can do.

We got this!

Geronimo!

You’re welcome.