Hello to all!
2014 was a big year–I was able to travel around the world on a ship for a semester (this program is amazing for college students and adults alike) and I switched schools. Unfortunately I was not able to cook while I was away on the ship, but I am back to take 2015 head on! My goal this year is to post at least one post a month for recipes, which I hope will happen because I have a kitchen here at my new school! On the first weekend, I tested it out with my sister by making up a pancake recipe.
Breakfast used to be my favorite meal of the day–I loved any breakfast food. That became harder to accommodate when I decided to go vegan (most everything has eggs in it or is an egg-based dish). One of the foods I love and have missed the most are pancakes. So, having minimal supplies, but an entire saturday, my Livvy and I got down to work.
From trying out vegan AND gluten free pancakes over the holiday, I came up with more failures than I can count. All the pancakes ended up being super crumbly and would not hold together no matter how hard I tried. Once we added a banana, everything changed. The batter held together as if an actual egg were in it, and they even flipped together. Unfortunately the pancakes did taste very banana-y (sorry to those who don’t like the flavor), so that is the area of improvement it looks like. We were so excited about the recipe that I decided I just HAD to share! So without further adieu, your vegan, gluten free, (technically) paleo pancakes:
Gluten Free, Vegan Banana Pancakes
Makes about 6 small pancakes
Recipe:
1 ripe banana
1/4 cup buckwheat flour (you might be able to replace this with coconut flour, if desired)
1/4 cup + 1Tbsp Almond flour/meal
2.5 Tbsp chia seeds + 1/4 cup water (though you could also probably use almond milk too!)
2 tspn cinnamon
1/4 cup almond milk (add more if necessary)
Directions:
- In a small bowl, mason jar, or glass mix the chia seeds and water/almond milk together and let mixture sit for at least 5 minutes
- Mash up the banana in a medium-sized mixing bowl
- Add the buckwheat and almond flours, almond milk, and cinnamon and stir until combined
- Add the chia seeds and stir. Try to make sure there are no clumps of them in the batter!
- Heat a pan on the stove (add a coconut oil or another oil if it isn’t non-stick) to medium heat
- Spoon on about 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes then check to see if the bottom is brown around the edges. When the bottom is a deep, golden brown and the bottoms holds together, flip it over. Let it cook for another minute or two, then take it off the heat. Voila!
Notes:
We were able to make larger pancakes, the size of our palms, so if you are a fan of a large pancake, definitely go for it because this batter sticks together well! Serve with syrup and steamed veggies on the side, such as spinach. You can garnish with some hemp-hearts, cinnamon, cacao powder, berries, or whatever you have on hand. Enjoy!
Lovely shot!
Thank you! :)