It has been brought to my attention that my children are shamefully hard-done-by: most weekday mornings they must suffer through the burden of torturous breakfasts consisting of cereal, granola, porridge, toast, French toast, eggs, bacon, and occasionally, even English muffins. Oh, the horror! 

The center aisles and frozen foods sections of the typical grocery store are testament to the sad and unhealthy alienation of North Americans from the food we eat and the kitchens in which we used to actually cook it. I could go on for days about the shocking “convenience” foods I’ve witnessed whilst strolling through the supermarket: pre-packaged hard-boiled eggs, sliced and cored apples suffocated individually in sheaths of plastic, and vacuum-packed, pre-formed, uncooked meatballs, to name a few. But nestled near the top of the list of these culinary travesties lie box upon box of pancake mix, for these breakfast staples are ridiculously easy to make — even on a weekday.