Banana Quinoa Pancakes

I’ve got a great “Sunday Brunch” recipe to kick off the weekend!

One thing that’s been missing in our FPIES/Elimination Diet/Fructose avoidance world is ‘bready’ items…waffles, bread, pancakes, cupcakes, cookies, etc.  I’ve been experimenting, but it’s hard to make suitable replacements when you’ve had to eliminate so many standard baking staples from your diet!

I’ve been trying to find a good pancake recipe; several attempts have fallen flat, and so far, I’ve been a little frustrated.  But last week I looked up and realized there were several bananas about to go bad on our counter.  Hmm…bananas can go in pancakes, so, I decided to give it another shot!

I quick-looked online to find a recipe to try, but they all seemed to have about a million ingredients!  That doesn’t work for us – we keep it simple, here!

So I winged it.  And I think I scored!  Mr. Charm wolfed his down; not just the fresh ones, but the leftovers the next day, too!

In any event, here’s what I did:

I peeled and mashed up one large banana.

Then I tossed in a cup of quinoa flour and about 1/4-1/3 cup of quinoa flakes.  You could probably use another alternative flour, if you’d like, though I don’t know what you could replace the flakes with.

Next I added: 1 TBS of maple syrup, 1 tsp. of potato-based baking powder, 1 TBS of olive oil, plus a little over a cup of almond milk.  Oh, and I threw in some vanilla.  Everything is better with vanilla!

Then I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop out batter and pour it into a heated frying pan.  Oh, and I used a little oil in the bottom of the pan.

The house smelled SO GOOD while these were cooking!  It was making me hungry, y’all!

I waited until the edges were dry and there were some bubbles coming through the pancake (just like a regular Bisquick pancake!) and then flipped it.

They came out beautifully!  Take a look!

They look just like normal pancakes look!  Woohoo!  (That’s tricky to get sometimes when doing ‘alternative’ pancake recipes!)  The Geek reports that their texture isn’t quite like a normal pancake: he said they’re a bit more moist, but still, he and Mr. Charm ate them up so, I think that’s a win!

They freeze well, too.  Just lay them out flat on a cookie sheet in the freezer, then drop them into Ziploc baggies until ready to use.  I usually thaw them on low power in the microwave, then drop them in the toaster like a piece of bread!  That’s the best way to re-heat them that I’ve found.

As a note to anyone who is still on a severely restricted diet: it’s easy to omit the vanilla, maple syrup, and baking powder from this recipe – they still turn out pretty good!  You can also use any milk substitute you like, or just plain water.  And certainly, any oil will work – we’re just an ‘olive oil’ kind of family around here!

I can’t WAIT until I’ve added quinoa and banana to my menu so I can try these, and hope they’re a success in your house, too.  Enjoy!

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BANANA QUINOA PANCAKES

– 1 banana, mashed
– 1 c. quinoa flour
– 1/3 c. quinoa flakes
– 1 c. almond milk (or water)
– 1 T. oil (I used olive)
– 1 T. maple syrup
– 1 tsp. baking powder
– 1-2 tsp. vanilla

1. Mash your banana.
2. Add the quinoa flour, quinoa flakes, almond milk, baking powder, maple syrup, oil and vanilla and mix.
3. When the consistency looks thick but still ‘movable’, pour 1/4 cup ladles of batter into heated frying pan.
4. Cook until the edges are dry and there are some bubbles forming on the top.  Flip.
5. Cook for another few minutes.
6. Remove from heat and enjoy!  (I drizzled some maple syrup on top as a treat!)

This made 7 pancakes.

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Do you have any fabulous alternative pancake recipes?

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This recipe shared with Allergy-Free Wednesdays, Whole Food Wednesdays, and Real Food Wednesdays.