Tag Archives: vegan pancakes

Flax-Berry Pancakes

Posted on September 16, 2013 | Leave a comment

This is one of our all-time favorite pancake recipes!! They whip up in a jiffy and my kids wolf them down even faster!!  I often can’t seem to cook them fast enough to sit & eat with my kids at the table! (In my opinion, a decent sized griddle is worth the $20 investment if you don’t have one! You can make more pancakes at once and they cook more evenly.) I don’t know about you, but we love having breakfast food for dinner on occasion!

These are made with blueberries (one of the best fruits you can eat for your health) and also flax seeds (a great way to get your omega-3’s without eating fish!).  Flax seeds are so incredible healthy and they also make the best egg-replacer. If your not on the “flax-train”, its time to buy a ticket! They store wonderfully in the freezer (whole or ground) for maximum freshness.

This recipe is from ‘Vegan Planet’ by Robin Robertson, which is one of my favorite vegan cookbooks.  I like to use fresh blueberries whenever possible. When you use frozen berries, sometimes you end up with purple-ish pancakes – which is no biggie – my 5-year-old daughter definitely doesn’t complain!

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Flax-Berry Pancakes

  • 1  1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp sweetener (I like agave nectar or maple syrup, but raw sugar works too)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp ground flax seeds
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1  1/4 cup soymilk or almond milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3/4 cup fresh blueberries (or frozen, thawed)

1) In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

2) Blend or whisk the flax seeds and water until thick. Let side for a minute, then whisk again. Add the soymilk and vanilla. Whisk well!

3) Pour wet into dry, mixing until just moist. Fold in the berries.

4) Pour pancakes onto griddle (Personally, I like to use my 1/3 measuring cup for a good size.) Cook until bubbly, then flip. Repeat with remaining batter! Devour!

Serves 4

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Creamy Pumpkin Pancakes

Posted on October 1, 2012 | 1 comment

I’m ready for the change of seasons.  I happily welcome Fall… and all its wonderful seasonal produce! Not to mention the color of the leaves… the crisp autumn air… the promise of gathering with family… even just the idea of an enticing aroma being emitted from a warm kitchen on a chilly day fills me with – for lack of better words – the spirit of the season!

Today is October 1… also known as World Vegetarian Day. Celebrate all walks of life by eating a meatless meal tonight, whatever it may be!  (Earn extra good karma points by having a vegan meal!)

If you haven’t noticed, my family likes breakfast foods a lot! Pancakes aren’t just considered a breakfast food in our home… sometimes we even eat them for dinner.  I usually throw some tempeh or soy-sage on the side for some added goodness. Pancakes are one of those meals that I can count on my kids more or less cleaning their plates, so anything I can mix into the batter to give some added nutrients is a plus.  (That reminds me – I recently read somewhere that recommended making pancakes using fresh carrot juice instead of milk.  I want to try that!)

October always puts me in the mood for cooking with pumpkin. Maybe because they are orange, or because of Halloween, or maybe cause I know we’ll be watching ‘It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown’  soon. And since we’re talking about it, I don’t blame Linus at all for believing in the Great Pumpkin.  After all, pumpkins are full of vitamins that help healthy vision, bone growth, reduce the risk of cancer & signs of aging, and offer protection against heart disease. They are loaded with vitamin A and antioxidants; they are also a good source of vitamins B, C, K, and E, and lots of minerals, including magnesium, potassium, and iron. According to The World’s Healthiest Foods, pumpkins were found to be so prized by Native Americans for their nutritional value that pumpkins were often buried with the dead to provide them with sustenance in the next world. So… what’s not to believe in? Come to think of it, maybe they should’ve named that movie “It IS the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown – and don’t you forget it!”

These pumpkin pancakes are so creamy they literally melt in your mouth.  I like to use almond milk and top the pancakes with chopped pecans. They are best cooked silver-dollar size… and eaten immediately, of coarse!

Creamy Pumpkin Pancakes

  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 3 Tbsp sugar or liquid sweetener
  • 1 Tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • < 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 1/2 cup almond milk (or any non-dairy milk)
  • 1/2 cup or more pumpkin puree… I like to use 1/2 can of pumpkin (one can = about 2 cups)
  • 1 Tbsp canola oil
  • 1/4 cup water
  • pecans for topping (optional)

Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl. Mix wet (including pumpkin) in small bowl. Mix wet into dry. Cook silver dollar size pancakes on a hot griddle.  Top with chopped pecans & maple syrup! Devour!

It’s easy to turn a simple pumpkin pancake into a Halloween-inspired breakfast if so desired!

(To make a super easy pumpkin face, you could draw curved lines down the pumpkin from top to bottom using a chocolate chip.  I threw these “pumpkins” together in a real jiffy, hence the simple banana jack-o-lantern face… You could also easily make a face using chopped nuts or cut pieces of dried fruit – like apricots or mangos – or even small triangles of dark chocolate! Mmmm!)

If you are more of a waffle person, try these delicious pumpkin waffles!

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Peanut Butter Pancakes

Posted on February 23, 2012 | 2 comments

People are often prone to thinking that vegans have a hard time getting their protein, when in fact, I don’t seem to find this the issue at all.  It is easy to eat plenty of protein (and iron as well) on a vegan diet. Tofu is a great source of protein, as are nuts, seeds, peanut butter, beans, soymilk, and LOTS more… There is a list of vegan protein examples (and lots more about vegan nutrition) here  if you want to check it out.

Basically to ensure you and your kids get all your needed nutrients, just eat a wide variety of foods… sneak nuts, fruits, nutritional yeast & ground flax on as toppings… & have everyone (including yourself) try new foods for fun! This is one thing being a mom has quickly taught me – kids learn best by watching your example!  If the kids are always seeing mom give new foods a try and eating her veggies with gusto, they will want to follow (most of the time)! And if you are still not confident on meeting your nutritional requirements, have everyone take a multi-vitamin to cover all the bases! My favorite vegan kids multi-vitamins are made by Gummi King and Nature’s Plus Animal Parade.

This easy pancake recipe is a great source of protein and is also fast & delicious… Using soymilk, peanut butter, chopped nuts, ground flax & fresh bananas, no kid can turn down this yummy breakfast and no mother can deny the nutritional goodness!  My kids really liked these!

Oh, one more thing, please do these pancakes justice and use real peanut butter – when I say real, I mean natural.  Don’t use Jif or Peter Pan or super processed peanut butter that is full of oil and sugar.  Look for a peanut butter where the ingredients look closest to this : peanuts, salt.  (P.S. I feel the same way about maple syrup – you GOTTA use pure maple syrup!)

Vegan Peanut Butter Pancakes

  • 1 cup unbleached flour
  • 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
  • 2 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil
  • 1 “egg” (I like to use 2 Tbsp ground flax + 3 Tbsp water, whisked)
  • 1 1/4 cup soymilk
  • < 1/4 cup water (add if needed to thin batter a little)
  • topping: sliced bananas, chopped peanuts or walnuts

In large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.  In a separate small bowl, whisk the flax egg together, then add the peanut butter, oil, soymilk, and a bit of water if necessary.  Mix wet into dry by whisking until no clumps remain.  Pour batter by using a 1/4 cup measure onto a hot skillet.  Flip when bubbly.  Top with bananas, nuts and pure maple syrup.  Devour.

(One more thing – If you want to be bad – make that very bad – try adding one more thing –  chocolate chips – and you will turn this nutritional breakfast practically into a dessert! Anyone for a Vegan Reeses-Pieces Pancake?!)

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