Banana 'Caramel-Date' Pancakes

Some days call for pancakes and snuggling. If we could do that most days, I bet we would be so happy... but...... get tired of it eventually. But because in real life, pancakes usually land on a day on the weekend and it really is a special occurrence- we treasure the time. We can look forward to it. It's one of the simple loves of life that get us through the hard or exhausting moments of life throughout the rest of the week. Pancakes and snuggles are those little gifts that make the world go round. 

These pancakes are made from bananas and dates mostly- but they do not contain eggs because my littlest one is still very sensitive to eggs. So we have discovered a way to make pancakes vegan without the eggs by adding bananas and dates too. These little touches help keep the cakey texture and from being a floppy mess. There are so many pancake recipes out there with lots of protein, easy with just a few ingredients to keep things easy and still full of great nutrients, but I have found all of those to be containing eggs, so this is my contribution to the recipe piles of pancakes.... one without eggs for those of us that are sensitive and still looking for a little fun and cozy-ness over the weekend. 

If you can tolerate nuts, this would be a great pancake recipe to add some crushed walnuts or pecans too- or a sprinkle of mini chocolate chips- if you want to go all crazy about it. These pancakes have that subtle sweetness from the dates that have that caramelly touch with the bananas. Such an amazing combo! You gotta love that bite of the stack of 'cakes all smothered in maple syrup caramel goodness.... is it Sunday yet?!? This is your mid-week motivation to get to the weekend- it's coming folks so let's not loose heart in the hard stuff. Let's keep going and when the 'day-off' comes.... let's really rest and enjoy it. Living fully present in the good and hard and beauty and brutal is what makes this life more worth it. I hope you find ways to do this- and my hope is that this little recipe will only help us all find the simple ways to truly live into that. 

Banana 'Careamel-Date' Pancake Recipe

{gluten, dairy, egg, soy, nut, seed and refined sugar-free}

fruit mixture:

2-3 small medium ripe bananas mashed up
(about 1 cup of mashed banana)

1 cup date puree paste
(1 cup of pitted dates mixed with 1 cup boiling water to sit for 10 minutes and then blend in high-powered blender to make a puree date pudding-like mixture)

'buttermilk' mixture:

2/3 cup of non-dairy milk (I used So Delicious Coconut Milk Beverage)

------mixed with....1/3 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup of avocado or light olive oil

1/4 cup of maple syrup

1 ts. of fresh pure vanilla

flour mixture options:

2 cups of finely ground certified GF oat flour or buckwheat flour or a mix of each

PLUS

1 cup flour mixture options:

1. tapioca, potato starch, rice (1/3 cup of each)

2. millet and quinoa (1/2 cup of each)

So you will need 3 cups of flour total---but depending on what you got in your pantry and if you want more hearty whole grain pancakes, you can mix up your choice of flours in few ways. I grind my own GF oat, buckwheat, millet and quinoa flours from the dry grain/seed.

Then you need to add the baking powder, one of the most important ingredients in vegan pancakes!

4 ts. of corn-free baking powder (I use the Hain brand)

1 ts. of baking soda

1 ts. of sea salt

1 ts. of ground cinnamon or ground ginger

2-3 TB of coconut oil for cooking on electric skillet or pancake pan

In a large mixing bowl, add in the fruit mixture and mix well. Then add in the buttermilk mixture and the rest of the wet ingredients. Then add in the flour and start folding in and then add in the baking powder and rest of the dry ingredients and whisk together well. It will start to bubble and rise right before your eyes. Fold together with hand held whisk or spatula for best results. 

Then use an-oiled-1/3 cup scoop and scoop on the batter on a preheated-coconut oil-greased pan. I pull out my electric skillet and get 8 pancakes on there twice for a total of 16 pancakes with this recipe. Let the pancakes cook on each side for 3-5 minutes and try to keep the heat around 325-350 degrees on the electric skillet to help with not burning. Keep the pancakes warm in the oven or serve right away with vegan butter (or regular or ghee), maple syrup, jam, or fresh fruit or any other favorite pancake toppings.

This meal is not super 'green' with veggies- but it is a special occurrence. If you want to add a veggie or egg scramble to this and omit the turkey/tofurky sausage or if you want to add a squash or potato hash those are also great additions to a breakfast meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner for that matter.

I hope you find the little moments in life- yes this can be found in the simple pleasure of fresh and enjoyable foods- to help you live life in a full and real way. A way that can travel through the hard and exhausting, but also look forward to and treasure the rest and downtime of being with those you love. Much love to you friends, xoxo