I’ve said it before, and I’ll probably say it again: I am into breakfast carbs. There’s just something absolutely delightful about a sweet-but-not-too-sweet baked something and a cup of coffee to start the day. Reading should also be involved. And silence. Or really beautiful music. (Think Yo-Yo Ma playing Bach’s Cello Suites.) I digress. You get the point. I love mornings, and I love baked goods!
As I kid, my dad made pancakes for us every Sunday morning. Just plain and simple Bisquik pancakes, but I loved this rhythm in our week. I ate mine plain, no syrup. Kinda’ weird.
I remember distinctly noticing how hungry I felt shortly after eating these pancakes, as much as I loved them. Weren’t pancakes supposed to be kind of a hearty breakfast? Even as a small child, I think I was noticing/experiencing significant blood sugar drops as a result of eating a lot of simple sugar for breakfast (and that was WITHOUT all the syrup!).
Now that I am dealing with a gluten intolerance, I can’t even imagine how awful those original pancakes would make me feel, but I still want a fun pancake experience for my kids and me. Just like my banana bread experience, I feel like I have made every single recipe out there when it comes to paleo or gluten free pancakes. It’s taken me a while to land on one that I really love. For a quick, just-add-water mix, I like to use this kind (I find it at Costco, actually), but we all prefer my homemade ones. It leads to cute little suggestions from a bed-headed two-year-old that go something like, “So, Mom. I was thoughting we should have pancakes” upon waking up on a Tuesday morning.
These pancakes aren’t super dense like some other versions of pancakes that use buckwheat (and, no, buckwheat is not actually wheat. It’s actually a seed…not confusing at all). They really have quite a nice, light texture to them that we love. You can use any gluten-free flour that you have. I have used several kinds with good success, but my favorite is definitely this kind.
You can leave the banana out if you’re not a banana person, but, personally, I think the banana offers a very nice sweetness and moistness so you can cut back on drowning them in syrup.
Always also optional, but chocolate chips are a nice treat here (these kind are my favorite) and chia seeds offer so many nutritional bonuses without ever really noticing they’re hiding in there (not to mention they keep you feeling full!).
These pancakes are just the right amount of sweet, carb-y goodness BUT they keep us full and satiated for hours and hours!
And now for the recipe…
- 1¼ c. almond milk
- 1 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 T. avocado oil (or other neutral oil)
- 1 T. real maple syrup, plus more for serving
- ½ c. buckwheat flour
- ½ c. gluten-free flour
- 1 t. baking soda
- ½ t. sea salt
- 1 very ripe banana
- Butter or oil for greasing the griddle
- Optional: Mini chocolate chips and chia seeds
- Combine the almond milk and lemon juice in a small bowl. Allow it to rest while you mix up the dry ingredients.
- Combine the buckwheat flour, gluten-free flour, baking soda, and salt in another medium bowl.
- Add the oil and maple syrup to the almond milk/lemon juice mixture and stir to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
- Add the banana to the batter and mash it up thoroughly. (I use a pastry blender.)
- Meanwhile, heat a griddle or large cast iron or nonstick pan over medium heat.
- Once the griddle is hot, grease it with butter or oil.
- Ladle ½ cup of batter into the pan.
- Sprinkle the pancake with chia seeds and chocolate chips.
- Once the pancake looks a bit dry around the edges, flip it and cook on the other side.
- Once cooked to a golden-y brown, remove to a plate and serve with butter and syrup.
Adapted from It’s All Good by Gwenyth Paltrow.
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