Banana Oat Pancakes

 

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This is my absolute favorite breakfast and I eat it several times a week. Pancakes were first introduced to me when I came to this country about 30 years ago. I had never seen them in Germany and the idea did not appeal to me. I am still not a fan of the original pancakes with syrup. The reason I am now a huge fan of these banana oatmeal pancakes is that I was looking for ways to include more oats in my diet to help lower my cholesterol without having to eat the traditional oatmeal and this version with an organic fruit spread or a fresh fruit compote just works for me. I use a banana as a sweetener for the pancakes. Bananas are a great source of potassium and contain a lot of sugar, especially the overly ripe ones that are best for this recipe. Therefore, it is not necessary to add more sugar to the recipe and still achieve a sweet taste. For breakfast I like to spread some home-made berry compote or organic low-sugar strawberry jam on the pancakes. Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods have good choices. I make sure that it says “organic strawberries” in the ingredients and the added sugar is preferably derived from fruit juice rather than cane sugar. Most importantly, please make sure there is no high-fructose corn syrup in any of the ingredients of the foods you buy.

Banana Oat Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup           oat milk
• 1 Tbsp         avocado oil
• 1 large organic free range chicken egg
• 1                  very ripe banana
• 1 cup     organic rolled oats (no quick oats)
• ½ cup flaxseed meal (optional, you can just use ½ cup more oats)
• 2 tsp            baking powder
• ¼ tsp           salt
• A few tsp avocado oil or avocado cooking spray for frying the pancakes.

Preparation:

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend on medium high speed until you have a smooth batter. It should be thick but still pour easily. Add more oat milk if the batter is too thick, more oats if it is too thin and blend again.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan and spray with avocado oil (or add a teaspoon of avocado oil and spread with a silicone brush). Using a large spoon, put round circles of batter into the pan and cook for approx. 2 minutes per side or until golden brown.

Variation:

Finely dice a firm peeled organic apple (Fuji is my favorite) and add to batter.

Toppings:

 

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So now you have healthy, tasty pancakes, but what about a topping? Fresh fruit or berries work well, so do shaved almonds or walnut bits, maybe a few sprinkles of fresh mint. Personally, I like to make a compote out of organic blueberries with just a touch of sweetener.

Blueberry Compote

• 1 container of organic blueberries
• A small amount of stevia, monk fruit sweetener or yacon syrup to taste

In a saucepan, heat the blueberries until they draw water and start to fall apart, then add sweetener until the desired sweetness is reached. Let them cool, put into a food processor or blender and pulse until you get a fairly coarse sauce. It will thicken once refrigerated. I usually like bits of berries in my compote. It also works well with diced strawberries. I have not tried to use raspberries or blackberries. This compote also tastes great poured over a bowl of organic Greek yoghurt as a quick snack.

Yacon syrup is a syrup made of the yacon root which grows in the Andes. I have read about the health benefits of the root itself, which is said to taste similar to sweet potatoes, but I have never seen them for sale. The syrup can be found online, but is very expensive and I only use it for cooking in small quantities, not to be poured over pancakes. It is not very sweet and would probably taste good over these pancakes, I just find it too pricey. I have drizzled it over crepes with blueberry compote filling and it tasted really good.

Oat Crepes

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Heat a non-stick pan over medium to low heat and spray with avocado oil. Pour about ¼ of the batter into the pan and tilt Crepes are not sweet and if you fill them with fruit or compote, you can drizzle them with stevia or monk fruit sweetener or with yacon syrup.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup organic oat flour
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup oat milk
• Pinch of Himalayan pink salt
• 1 Tbsp avocado oil
• Avocado oil spray to coat the pan

Crepes are not sweet and if you fill them with fruit or compote, you can drizzle them with stevia or monk fruit sweetener or with yacon syrup.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup organic oat flour
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup oat milk
• Pinch of Himalayan pink salt
• 1 Tbsp avocado oil
• Avocado oil spray to coat the pan

Put all crepe ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth. The batter should be a bit thinner than your usual pancake batter, but not too thin or your crepes will not hold together.

Heat a non-stick pan over medium to low heat and spray with avocado oil. Pour about ¼ of the batter into the pan and tilt the pan in all directions to coat with the batter. When the outside of the crepe starts to lift off the pan, carefully lift the whole crepe and turn to briefly cook on the other side. Remove from the pan and finish the other two crepes. You can double the recipe for more crepes. Stack the crepes on a plate until they are all ready. Then fill them and either roll them up or fold into quarters.

Since we are on the topic of bananas, these crepes are also quite delicious when filled with banana slices and melted chocolate to which you can also add peanut butter. I will have a separate blog on crepes in the future. I like to make them because they are so light and make a perfect quick lunch when filled with ragouts of chicken and mushrooms, the possibilities are endless.

A Word About Bananas

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The sugar content in bananas increases as they ripen. Therefore, very ripe, very soft bananas with black spots are best for making sweet treats. It is not necessary to add sugar to the batter as it is naturally sweet from the bananas alone. And yes, they still have a very high sugar content and should be eaten in moderation. Nevertheless, I personally prefer a sweet breakfast, although I might opt for an avocado toast or eggs benedict, depending on the taste of the day and how much time I have available. These banana oat pancakes are my go-to breakfast. They are so easy and fast to make and I also like to eat them cold the next day. 

When I travel I always take a small cooler in my carry-on bag containing different food items, but always a sandwich bag full of these pancakes. I often fly out of Miami very early in the morning and they make the perfect breakfast at the airport where I just buy a cup of coffee. I also try to have extras for the first morning at my destination to have for breakfast before I get to go shopping for other healthy breakfast items.

Freezing bananas

Freezing bananas works very well. They can be frozen with or without peel. Peeling them before they go into a freezer bag makes it easy to use them out of the freezer. Not peeling them allows for freezing them without putting them into bags, but they will have to be peeled with a knife while they are still frozen. Waiting until they defrost makes a huge mess and is rather unappetizing. 

Freezing and using bananas is also a great way to not waste bananas when they get too old and mushy to just be peeled and eaten. Nobody seems to like bananas when they are over-ripe and too soft, but that is exactly when they are ready for baking and also for smoothies.

My son makes this smoothie nearly every day before he goes to work to give him an energy boost and enough protein until he gets to eat:

Adrian’s Banana, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Smoothie:

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Ingredients:

• 1 frozen banana (if using a fresh banana, add some ice cubes)
• ¼ cup organic peanut butter
• ¼ cup dark chocolate chips (70%) or cut up a piece of chocolate bar (optional)
• 1 ½ cups of milk (100% grass fed cow’s milk or oat milk)

Directions:

Put all ingredients in the blender and blend until very smooth. This smoothie provides a lot of energy as it is very high in protein and is also filling. It is perfect for those of us who do not like to start the day with a solid breakfast but still want a good energy boost. 

Every Diet Should Include Lots Of Oats

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Eating lots of oats is a great way to lower cholesterol, but oats have many more health benefits. Oats are a great source of carbohydrates and fiber and contain more protein than most other grains. They are loaded with vitamins and minerals and are among the most nutrient-dense foods you can eat. They are also rich in antioxidants, may help reduce blood sugar levels and they are very filling. 

It was one of my major objectives to include more oats in my diet when I wanted to lower my cholesterol and, unfortunately, I do not like the traditional oatmeal. Therefore, my quest was to find recipes where I can include oats and actually enjoy them. You can consider these pancakes a wholesome breakfast since they contain egg, oats with oat milk and bananas, and a small amount of healthy fat. 

Another way of adding more oats to any diet is to substitute regular flour with oat flour. I usually bake with a mixture of organic whole wheat flour, oat flour and flaxseed meal. I am working on many recipes and will share them once I am happy with the results.

Happy cooking!

Find more recipes on my website http://www.foodiewithpurpose.com