Banana Flax Pancakes: NO gluten, cow's milk, egg, soy or nuts

I LOVE Pancakes and so does the rest of my family. I make them on the weekends, when we don't have the usual morning rush. Banana makes these tasty and really takes over the role that eggs usually play in traditional pancakes. The flax meal is so good for you.  Flax seed meal has high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids as well as protein, dietary fiber and lignans. Studies show that flax meal may help in the fight cancer, lower cholesterol, and improve digestive health

I came up with this recipe attempting to make more pancakes so I could freeze them to eat during the week. The funny thing is, they all end up gone no matter how many I make. I'm going to just have to make two batches and get the second out of sight and in the freezer before the little hands in my household can get to them.

 

Banana Flax Pancakes: NO gluten, cow's milk, egg, soy or nuts

Makes 16 pancakes (1/4 pour of batter).

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Ingredients:

1 banana (or 1 cup of a fruit or veggie puree.)

1 tbsp. vanilla

2 tbsp. flax meal

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 cups So Delicious Coconut Milk

2 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

2 1/2 cups Bob's Redmill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour

(optional: Earth Balance for pan or for on pancakes.)

Directions:

Measure and pour ingredients in order listed above, from wet to dry in your blender and blend until smooth. You may need to blend some as you go with a regular blender. I am using a Vitamix here.

 

Once it's blended, you can put the batter in the fridge to chill or just set it on the counter while you heat up your frying pan to medium heat.

Here is what the batter will look like.

I put a little Earth Balance, about a 1/2 tsp. in the bottom of your non-stick pan for the first pancake. Once it bubbles, you know the pan is hot enough to start cooking your pancakes.

Pour 1/4 cup of batter in the non-stick pan per pancake. Wait until you see bubbles form before you flip the pancake with a spatula. If bubbles don't form, your pan isn't hot enough.

This is what your pancakes should look like when you flip them over. Cook on the other side until cooked though. You will get a feel for the timing after your first pancake.

WARNING: The first pancake is usually your tester to see if your pan is hot enough or to hot.

Serve immediately or refrigerate even freeze to eat later. Top with your favorite pancake toppings, syrup, jam, chocolate. I like 100% maple syrup. I've been known to use the pancakes to make a sandwich with Sunbutter and honey to pack in our kids lunch boxes.

Enjoy!

"Violet Blue" Berry Muffins or Blue Velvet Cupcakes: no gluten, no cow's milk, no eggs, no soy, no nuts

When my brothers and I were little, we would watch the movie, "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" over and over and over again at our Grandparent's house. We used to eat fudge pops and imagine what it would be like to be in that candy factory, drinking from the chocolate river, taking a bite of a Wonka Bar, and eating that scrumptious gummy bear.

Just last week at our kid's elementry school, the Fifth Grade play was "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory". One of my kids most favorite parts was when the gum chomping character, Violet, turned into a great BIG BLUEBERRY, after chewing a piece of gum, that wasn't quite ready to be chewed. "Violet, you're turning violet!", her Dad yelled in the movie. Instead of asking for fudge pops, like my brothers and I did, my kids asked for blue berry muffins in honor of Violet, the great BIG BLUEBERRY girl.

A few months back, I made some blueberry muffins inspired by Erin McKenna's recipe for Gluten-Free Muffins. I altered some ingredients, used my own flour mixture, and changed some of the amounts. My daughter loved them! My son didn't like the whole blueberries in the muffins and picked them all out. He is super sensitive to texture but loves the taste of blueberries in a smoothie.

So, I decided to use my Vitamix (you can use your blender) to blend the blueberries in rice milk and the rest of the wet ingredients, before putting them into the muffins. Viola, actual BLUE, or shall I say Violet, berry muffins that smell, taste, and look great! You just might very well be able to get away with calling these a cupcake, if you put some sort of topping or frosting on them. ;-) They sort of remind me of Red Velvet Cupcakes but blue instead. Blue Velvet Cupcakes or Blue Berry Muffins, whatever you want to call them.

"Violet Blue" Berry Muffin or Blue Velvet Cupcakes:

no gluten, no cow's milk, no eggs, no soy, no nuts

Ingredients: (Makes 12 muffins)

2 cups All Purpose Gluten Free Flour such as Bob's Redmill ( I used 1 cup sorghum flour mixed with 1 cup gluten free oat flour.)  

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup oil (I used Spectrum canola)

1/4 cup apple sauce

2/3 cup organic evaporated cane juice sugar (or favorite sweetener of your choice)

1/2 cup rice milk (or milk of choice)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup fresh or frozen blue berries.

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350.

Combine all dry ingredients, flour, baking powder and baking soda, salt, xanthan gum, and cinnamon in a bowl. Wisk to combine.

In your blender or Vitamix, blend the blueberries, rice milk, oil,  apple sauce, vanilla, and sugar together until well blended. (If your blueberries are frozen and you have a regular blender, thaw your berries slightly before blending.)

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. You can do this by hand in the dry ingredients bowl, to save dishes, or in your mixer.

Your batter will be very blue! ;-)

Fill sprayed or muffin cup filled muffin tins with 1/4 - 1/3 cup of batter in each cup.

You can sprinkle the tops with a bit of sugar for decoration if desired.

Bake in your 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. (You can rotate the pan after 15 minutes).

Muffins are done when a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy!