I’ve always had an obsession with pancakes, even, I’m ashamed to say, the super unhealthy stacks of American style pancakes. So recently, I’ve set about trying to make the perfect healthy pancakes using buckwheat flour and I think I’ve perfected them! Buckwheat flour is amazing because, although you may think buckwheat is a grain, it is in fact a fruit seed so it’s great for people who are sensitive to grains, and really, we should all try and substitute other grains with buckwheat. Buckwheat also helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and contains lots of phytonutrients that act as anti-oxidants and fight disease.
Other great ingredients in these pancakes are flax seeds and lucuma. Flax seeds are rich in omega-3 essential fatty acids or ‘good fats’, they are also an anti-oxidant and they contain plenty of fibre. If you don’t have flax seeds around you could use chia seeds instead and use the same method to create a vegan ‘egg’. (It doesn’t look or taste like an egg but acts in the same way when baking.) Lucuma has tons of nutrients, acts as an anti-inflammatory, and is also excellent for the skin for anti-ageing!
You can top with fruit, nuts, seeds, maple – anything you like, have a play around!
Ingredients (makes about 6 pancakes)
4 flax ‘eggs’ (make by mixing 4 tbsp ground flax seeds with 10 tbsp water and put into the fridge for 30 mins)
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 heaped tsp baking powder
1 heaped tbsp lucuma powder
1 ½ ripe bananas
1 tbsp agave nectar
1 cup of almond milk (or any nut milk of choice)
Coconut oil for cooking
Method
Sift flour, baking powder and lucuma into a bowl. Add mashed banana, agave and milk, then add the flax eggs and mix well.
Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and once hot, add a ladle full of the mixture and spoon into a pancake shape. Cook for one minute then flip, the other side should take quicker than a minute.
You can add a tbsp. cacao to the mix or blueberries and top with anything you like! Here I have made acai coconut cream by taking the creamy top part from a tin of coconut milk and opened an acai capsule into it and blended.
Enjoy!
Love,
Lauren