The story behind these pancakes is a silly little reminder of a valuable lesson: When things don’t go the way you intended, accept it and roll with it – there might be something even better in store for you 😉 On Monday morning I originally wanted to make Deliciously Ella‘s Sweet Potato Pancakes as an awesome post-workout breakfast, but – disaster – I couldn’t use my frozen mashed sweet potato as it was stuck to the ziplock bag! (Never had that issue before, but I guess next time I need to give it some time to thaw..?) Anyway, so I started throwing together some yummy ingredients to create my own pancakes and I was seriously pleased with the result and they made me feel happy ages after eating them 🙂 And as much as I love Ella’s pancakes, these ones are a lot quicker to make and therefore more suited to some spontaneous pancake action.

Besides tasting amazing, they have a really nice stodgy texture that I love in pancakes, and the fact that they’re full of wholesome ingredients means they’re a great choice for breakfast any day of the week.

Banana Almond Butter Pancakes

Makes: 1 serving

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp ground flaxseeds + 2 tbsp plant milk (or water)
• 1 ripe banana
• 1 heaped tbsp almond butter
• ca. 3-4 heaped tbsp whole spelt flour
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• coconut oil

Toppings:

• berries
• (more) almond butter
• berry chia jam (I adapted this recipe from Livia’s Kitchen, omitting the cinnamon, vanilla and coconut to make it more simple)
• more maple syrup

Method

1. Mix together the ground flax with the 2 tbsp of plant milk / water and set aside while you focus on the other ingredients.
2. Purée the banana, almond butter and vanilla, resisting the urge to just spoon that directly into your mouth, then mix in the flour, salt and sweetener of your choice.
3. Finally add the flax mixture. The mixture should be quite thick, so if it’s too runny, add some more flour. You know you’ve got the right consistency when you can spoon it into the pan and it holds its shape.
4. Heat up some coconut oil in a non-stick pan. When the pan is hot, spoon the batter into the pan and shape it into two round pancakes (alternatively 6 mini ones). Cook on each side until done (they cook very fast!) and serve with berries, chia jam and some almond butter (and why not some extra maple syrup too if you’re feeling exuberant) 😉

Feel Good Fact: Almonds are full of antioxidants and are a source of healthy fat, fiber, protein and vitamin E, which protects cell membranes from damage.