A couple weeks ago I decided, yet again, to watch what I eat in hopes I lose some weight. This decision came after a particularly frustrating trip to Kohl’s to buy some shorts for me. I couldn’t find any that didn’t make my legs look fat. This is something I’ve always struggled with because one: I have short legs, and two: I have thick calves and thighs (always have). Even when I was a zero, I didn’t like the way shorts looked on me. I’m not even sure I will like the way they look on me when I lose weight.
Even so, I decided to make some dietary changes inspired by the success my brother has had on his weightloss journey. (You can read about his progress on Team Jake.)
Since I made that choice, I’ve been looking for healthier recipes to make the entire family, and not just me. One of the ideas I came across is flourless banana and ground flaxseed pancakes. I know. I know. They don’t exactly sound appealing but they are. They do take some getting used to since the texture is different but my kids and I loved them and I will definitely make them again.
Ingredients:
1 banana (2 if they’re smaller ones) – Make sure they are ripe. You need to be able to mash them. Green ones won’t work.
2 eggs
Optional ingredients:
(You don’t need to add any of the following ingredients but I found adding some make the pancakes taste better. Healthy doesn’t mean food needs to be bland.)
2 tbsp. of ground flax seed
Cinnamon, nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice to taste (You can leave these spices out if you wish, but the pancakes would be a bit bland without them.)
Chocolate chips or blueberries for mix
Vanilla extract
Fresh fruit or berries for topping
All natural syrup – You can use regular syrup if you want, but it will make the pancakes less healthy because of all the added ingredients in the syrup.
Directions:
- Remove banana from skin and mash with a fork, hand masher or meat tenderizer. (We have an extra tenderizer I don’t use for meat, so I used it to mash up the bananas. It helped get rid of the big chunks of bananas.)
- Crack two eggs and scramble together.
- Add 2 tbsp. of ground flax seed to the eggs.
- Add in spices and extract, if using, to eggs.
- Blend in eggs and spice mixture to the banana.
- Add a dollop of coconut oil to a skillet, frying pain or griddle. (I personally used my counter top griddle. It worked great!)
- Use a 1/4 c. measuring cup to pour mixture onto griddle surface. If you use a bigger cup, the pancakes are more difficult to flip. I had a couple fall apart on me. I’m sure it would have been worse, too, had I not added the ground flax seed. (Others recommend using almond flour. Experiment to see what works for you!)
- Allow the pancakes to cook until the middle bubbles, then flip.
- Cook through on the other side. About one minute. (I find these type of pancakes don’t take as long to cook.)
- Place on a plate and top with fresh (rinsed) fruit of your choice and syrup.
Have you tried any other ingredients or recipes for flourless pancakes that we should try? I’m open to suggestions.