Trader Joe's Gluten-Free Ube Pancake Mix Is Taking Over the Internet
Rather than yes way, rosé (although the popular grocery retailer still has plenty of tasty bottles of pink wine available for purchase), Trader Joe's trendspotters and product developers have a new motto lately: Yes way, ube.
Ube, a purple sweet potato with origins in the Philippines, has been treasured for centuries for its mellow flavor and slightly nutty, vanilla-scented flavor. It's really making a splash in the last few years, in particular, as Instagrammers adore its vibrant violet hue.
Trader Joe's is doing its part to support the potato's rise in the recipe ranks as well. First, they released them in their OG form as part of a bag of Organic Sweet Potato Medley. Then late last summer, TJ's added Ube Purple Yam Ice Cream to their freezer cases. And now, they're introducing a quick-fix breakfast product that features the showy spuds: Ube Mochi Pancake and Waffle Mix.
To bring it to life, TJ's developers start with ube puree (similar to what we call for in this Purple Sweet Potato Pie recipe). To round out the mix, two common ingredients used in the popular Japanese confection mochi, rice flour and tapioca starch, join a bit of sugar and baking soda to create a gluten-free baking mix.
Once you snag a box during your next supermarket stock up, all you'll need to add is eggs, butter or oil and water for pancakes or waffle batter that is pretty in purple. Each batch takes less than 5 minutes to cook, so you can enjoy a hot breakfast on even the busiest of mornings.
It sure sounds tasty and looks beautiful, but how does this mix stack up nutritionally? This Ube Mochi Pancake and Waffle Mix is a little outside of our criteria for healthy mix macros, as it's pretty low in fiber and higher in added sugar and sodium. Each prepared 2-pancake serving has 310 calories, 9 grams of fat, 7 grams of protein, 53 grams of carbs, 420 mg of sodium and 13 grams of added sugars.
That being said, it does offer 10% of your daily calcium needs and can still be part of a well-balanced breakfast every so often if you steer clear of high-sugar toppings like syrup. Stick to healthier breakfast recipes most days of the week, and when you do add these ube mochi cakes to your menu, complement your shortstack with fiber- and protein-rich sides such as a bowl of berries and a hard-boiled egg.