Vegan Peanut Butter and Banana Pancakes

“I hate a delicious stack of pancakes to start off my day,” said no one ever! Seriously though, pancakes are one of my all-time favorite foods.  They were the first food I learned how to cook. I started with Bisquick then graduated to the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook recipes. The pancake is a great way to learn the basics of cooking. You can easily see how adding too much, or too little, of an ingredient can alter the end product. Let’s just say, my parents had to suffer through their fair share of awful pancakes. Luckily, I learned the basics and have since graduated onto my own recipes!

This next one is not only delicious, but packed with protein and fiber. I’ve used whole wheat flour and oat bran as the base to help boost the fiber content. The fine whole wheat flour gives the pancake the perfect mouth-feel. Rather than using sugar, I used a ripe banana. This provides the sweetness and keeps the finished product from drying out. I let the chia seeds sit in the batter for at least 10 minutes. This gives them time to gelatinize so the pancake comes out nice and fluffy! The peanut butter adds a delicious nutty taste and to be honest the peanut butter and banana combo is amazing! This recipe is a brunch time hit! It is also vegan, which is perfect because Boris and I love to host brunch and we want to accommodate all dietary preferences! I topped my pancakes with bananas and almonds but you can use anything to dress them up. Yum! Try them this weekend and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fine whole wheat flour*
• ½ cup oat bran*
• ¼ cup chia seeds
• ¼ cup peanut butter (any PB will do, but as close to natural as you can get)
• 2 cups almond milk (or other milk of choice) 
• 1 ripe banana
• Vegetable or canola oil to fry in
• Liquid sweetener of choice (maple syrup, honey, agave nectar etc.)
• Slivered almonds and extra banana to serve

* These items were found in the Whole Foods bulk section

Directions:

1. Place the first 6 ingredients in a mixer and mix on medium speed for 1 minute.
2. Allow the mixture to set for 10 to 20 minutes. This allows the chia seeds to gelatinize.
3. Place 1-2 TBS of vegetable oil in a pan and heat over medium heat for 30 seconds.
4. Using a ¼ cup measuring scoop, measure out the batter and place in the pan. Make sure that the oil is well distributed. Cook for about 1 minute or until the underside of the pancake has turned a golden brown.
5.  Flip the pancakes and cook for another minute. Both sides should appear golden brown.
6.  Remove the pancakes from the pan and place onto a paper towel to cool slightly. 
7. To serve, top with almonds, banana and liquid sweetener of choice. 

Yield: 12 Pancakes 

So few ingredients for such big flavor! 

Yum!!!

Nutrition Content:

Serving Size: 1 pancake

• Calories: 130 cal
• Protein: 4.2 grams
• Fat: 6.2 grams
• Carbs: 16.5 grams
  • Fiber: 4 grams