Vegan Pancakes

 Vegan Pancakes

(Makes about 6-8 pancakes, or about 4 servings)

My kids love pancakes for breakfast. And on a casual weekend morning I am happy to oblige, but often times they also ask for them during the week. Which if any of you have children in school will understand, there isn't always time for a leisurely morning of prepping, cooking and serving hot pancakes right off the griddle. But with this recipe, you don't have to! Because these freeze up beautifully and can be popped in the toaster oven or toaster for a quick and easy busy weekday breakfast! And these are much healthier than the frozen kind you get at the store! So you know your kids and even you, if you don't have kids, but want a hot breakfast before work or to start your day, are getting a healthy start on your weekday morning! 

And because this recipe uses Juice Plus+ Complete Protein mix, you are getting a variety of ancient grains, plant protein, and fiber unlike most other protein mixes on the market! 

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients:

1 scoop Complete FrenchVanilla Protein Mix

1 c all-purpose flour (can use a 1 to 1 to make these GF)

Pinch of Salt

1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

Wet Ingredients:

1 Flax Egg* (or egg substitute) 

1 Ripe Banana, mashed

1 c Plant Milk

1 Tbsp Coconut Oil, melted

Optional Toppings:

Berries, Sliced Strawberries, Bananas, Walnuts, and Cacao Nibs

Almost no calorie additions:

Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Vanilla

Prepare your flax egg 5 minutes ahead of time. 

In a large bowl, whisk the Complete powder, flour, baking powder and salt together.  

In a separate bowl, using a fork, mash the banana and then whisk in the flax egg, coconut oil, and milk.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and whisk until blended.  Heat a non stick griddle over medium heat.  Using a measuring cup or ladle, scoop batter onto griddle one pancake at a time. Let the pancake cook until little bubbles start to burst in the pancake, then using a spatula, flip the pancake over gently. Let second side cook and then gently move to a serving plate. Serve with your favorite toppings of choice. My kids love fresh sliced strawberries with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cacao nibs or non-dairy mini chocolate chips. You can also try spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla to boost the flavor without adding sugar. 

*How to Make a Flax Egg (Vegan)

1 Tbsp flaxseed meal

3 Tbsp water

Directions:

Mix well and let stand for 5 minutes. You can add this to your recipe as if it were one egg. 

If you want to double or triple the batch you can freeze the extra between sheets of waxed paper and just pop them into your toaster or toaster oven to reheat. Top with warm pure maple syrup, fresh sliced fruit or berries. My kids also love a strawberry syrup we make by simply heating 2 cups of frozen strawberries in a pan with a little water and about 1/4 c of sugar. Heat over medium heat until strawberries thaw and are bubbly. Transfer to a blender and blend slowly making sure the blender lid is on tight to avoid splashing and burns while blending. Blend to puree the fruit and then pour over pancakes. This can be made ahead of time and stored in a glass jar in the fridge for up to 5 days and then reheated in place of the maple syrup. Top with some non-dairy whipped topping and a sprinkle of mini non-dairy chocolate chips and my kids are happy campers! And these are so easy to reheat that even my 9 year old can make them on his own!