Gluten-free Vegan Pancake Testing

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:

1. 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
2. Mash up the banana in a medium-sized mixing bowl
3. Add the buckwheat and almond flours, almond milk, and cinnamon and stir until combined
4. Add the chia seeds and stir.  Try to make sure there are no clumps of them in the batter!
5. Heat a pan on the stove (add a coconut oil or another oil if it isn’t non-stick) to medium heat
6. 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!