Healthy Snacking – Page 3 – Bit of the Good Stuff

Vegan Gingerbread Waffles

Published on January 13, 2015 by Sharon16 Comments

The waffle obsession continues! And for this month’s Suma Blogger’s Network entry, I thought I’d share another one of our favourite vegan waffle recipes. Filled with the warming spices of cinnamon, ginger and Blackstrap molasses, these waffles are perfect for this time of year ♥

I wrote about the amazing nutritional profile of Blackstrap molasses in this Gingerbread Cookie post. With just one tablespoon containing 3.6 mg of iron (more iron than 1/2 cup of cooked lentils, beans or spinach), it’s easily one of my favourite ways to boost iron levels.

The recipe is largely an amalgamation of our favourite gingerbread and banana pancake recipes, with a slight reduction of the liquid to make a sturdier batter. Banana acts as a great binder for the waffles and adds a touch of extra sweetness.

I’ve really enjoyed reading about your favourite waffle toppings under last week’s Easy Vegan Waffle Post. As I would have expected, maple syrup came out on top. Nuts, banana and chocolate were very popular too, and I’m totally with you on those. One of my favourite lazy Sunday breakfast/brunches is these Gingerbread waffles, served with banana slices, chopped walnuts and pecans, and a big drizzle of chocolate sauce.

Gingerbread Waffles with Chocolate Sauce

Sometimes I make the chocolate sauce myself, other times I simply grab a bottle of Sweet Freedom Choc Shot. Have you tried Choc Shot before? As well as tasting yummy, I love the fact that it contains all natural ingredients, is free from cane sugar and has a low glycaemic load (GL). Can you see how shiny it is too? It’s got the most awesome sheen!

And if I’m going all out, I’ll also top them with a sprinkling of desiccated coconut.

Pure. Waffle. Heaven ♥

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Makes around 10-12 waffles
Hands on time: 20 minutes Ready in: 20 minutes

Waffle Batter
1 ripe banana, sliced (or ¾ cup frozen banana slices)
180ml / 6 fl oz / ¾ cup soya milk
140g / 5 oz / 1 cup wholemeal (wholewheat) or chapatti flour (or GF flour mix e.g. Doves Gluten-Free Brown Bread Flour or Doves Gluten-Free Plain White Flour)
50g / 1¾ oz / ½ cup rolled oats (use certified GF, if needed)
2 TBSP Blackstrap molasses
1 TBSP maple syrup
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt

1 tsp oil or coconut butter, for greasing

Suggestion toppings
Banana slices
Chopped walnuts and pecans
Chocolate sauce
Desiccated Coconut

Method
Place the milk and banana in a high speed blender and blend until smooth (alternatively you can use a bowl and hand blender). Add all the remaining batter ingredients and blend to combine. The batter should be thick, but pourable. (If you’re using GF flour, you will need up to 4 tablespoons of extra liquid). Pour the batter into a bowl and leave to rest for a few minutes (this can happen while the waffle maker heats up).

When the waffle maker is hot, brush with oil or coconut butter using a silicone brush. Add the appropriate amount of batter according to your waffle maker’s instructions. (I have a VonShef Quad Waffle Maker and drop two tablespoons of batter into each of the four waffle quads). Close the lid and leave to cook for 3 minutes before checking (with my waffle maker, I leave the waffles until the green light goes out). If the waffles are golden brown, they are ready. Transfer them to a wire cooling rack while you prepare the remaining waffles.

Serve warm with your favourite toppings.

Any leftover waffles can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days or frozen for weeks. Heat them through in the toaster before serving.

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Products used in this recipe
Doves Farms Gluten Free Brown Bread Flour or Doves Farm Gluten Free Plain White Flour
Meridian Organic Blackstrap Molasses
Sweet Freedom Choc Shot

And now for my favourite part of the photo shoot. Tucking in time! 😛

Easy Vegan Waffles & VonShef Waffle Maker UK Giveaway

Published on January 5, 2015 by Sharon338 Comments

I have always loved waffles. There’s something about those cute indented squares that makes them such a pleasure to eat. I especially love them this time of year, warm straight from the waffle maker or toaster. They make such a yummy breakfast or mid-afternoon snack.

Lil’ L shares my love of waffles and can easily get through a dozen a week. He says there are two Autumn/Winter foods that he’ll never get sick of and that’s apple crumble and waffles!

These vegan waffles are so easy to make! It’s simply a case of blending up the ingredients (I use my Froothie for this job), scooping the batter into the waffle maker and waiting 3-4 minutes. And then they’re ready to eat!

We use a slightly thicker version of our breakfast pancake batter for these waffles. To replace the egg, we use a banana or two small-medium organic apples. On balance, I prefer the texture of the waffles made with banana as it’s slightly firmer and more robust. The riper the banana, the stronger the flavour will be in the waffles. For the mildest flavour, use ripe yellow bananas rather than brown ones.

The batter also includes wholegrain flour and oats for protein and slow release energy. The waffles happen to be fat free and cane sugar free too. This means they’re scrumptious and healthy, so perfect for treating the kids (and yourself!) Lots of Lil’ L’s friends have tried these waffles and they’ve all given them a big thumbs up.

While his friends tend to prefer them with a simple drizzle of maple syrup, Lil’ L loves to fill his squares with little pieces of chopped walnuts or pecans, for some crunch…

… while I love to top mine with raspberries and chopped almonds ♥

The waffles in the photo below were made using GF flour. I was so delighted to find that the recipe works gluten-free too as it means all our GF friends can tuck in too 😀

We make the waffles small enough so that they’re easy to pick up, fit in the toaster, and so you can scoff two or three at a time (‘cause one waffle is never enough 😉 ). We often make them as an afterschool snack, then leftovers get stored in the fridge for breakfast the next day. A quick warm through in the toaster and they’re ready to be served.

Here’s how we make our basic vegan waffle…

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Makes around 10 waffles
Hands on time: 20 minutes Ready in: 20 minutes

Waffle batter
1 ripe banana, sliced
180ml / 6 fl oz / ¾ cup soya milk
140g / 5 oz / 1 cup wholemeal (wholewheat) flour (or use a GF flour mix if needed e.g. Doves GF Brown Bread Flour)
50g / 1¾ oz / ½ cup rolled oats (use certified GF, if needed)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
2 TBSP maple syrup

1 tsp oil or coconut butter, for greasing

Suggestion toppings
Maple syrup
Chopped walnuts, pecans or almonds
Fresh or frozen berries

Method
Place the milk and banana in a high speed blender and blend until smooth (alternatively you can use a bowl and hand blender). Add all the remaining batter ingredients and blend to combine. The batter should be thick, but pourable. Add a touch more milk if needed, to attain the desired consistency. (If you’re using GF flour, you will need around 4 tablespoons of extra liquid). Pour the batter into a bowl and leave to rest for a few minutes (this can happen while the waffle maker heats up).

When the waffle maker is hot, brush with oil or coconut butter using a silicone brush. Drop two tablespoons of batter into each of the four waffle quads. Close the lid and leave to cook for 3-4 minutes before checking (with the VonShef Waffle Maker, I leave the waffles until the green light goes out). If the waffles are golden brown, they are ready. Transfer them to a wire cooling rack while you prepare the remaining waffles.

While the waffles are cooking, prepare your toppings.

Serve warm with a drizzle of maple syrup and a sprinkling of your favourite nuts and berries.

Any leftover waffles can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Heat them through in the toaster before serving.

Products used in this recipe (UK Stockists)
Tesco Chapatti Flour, Doves Spelt Flour or Doves Farm Gluten Free Brown Bread Flour
Mornflake Superfast Oats, available from Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, The Co-operative
Clarks Original Maple Syrup, available from most major UK supermarkets

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Forks are optional 😉

We purchased our waffle maker last October while it was on sale, and we’ve been really happy with it. It’s easy to use and, even with all our batter experimenting, we’ve yet to have a single waffle fail (which is pretty incredible!) The machine’s simple to clean too… while it’s still warm (but not scorching hot) I just wipe it over with a piece of kitchen towel.

While I’ve seen the waffle maker selling at a range of prices these past couple of months (the RRP is £64.99) you can get some amazing offers if you keep a watch out. It’s currently selling for £24.99 on Amazon and, at this price, you can’t really go wrong. We use ours 3-4 times a week and have made hundreds of waffles, so we’ve definitely had our money’s worth.

Giveaway Time!

I’m not sure how many of my readers have waffle makers, and it seemed a bit unfair to share a waffle recipe without giving you the opportunity to make some yourself, so I contacted Designer Habitat and they have kindly offered to give away a VonShef Quad Waffle Maker to one of my lovely readers ♥

To be in with a chance of winning, simply leave me a comment under this blog post answering the question featured in the Rafflecopter below. Do make sure you tick the box in the Rafflecopter to register that you have done so. There are a number of additional ways you can enter in order to increase your chances of winning. You will find these listed in the Rafflecopter. All entries will be verified prior to the winner being selected.

This giveaway is open to UK residents aged 18 and over (sorry international readers)

The closing date is Friday 16th January 2014 at midnight GMT. The winner will be selected at random and notified by email. The winner will have 7 days to respond. If they fail to do so, another winner will be selected at random.

New to Rafflecopter? It’s pretty easy! Simply click on ‘Use Your Email’ and enter a name and your email address (rest assured it won’t be published anywhere). You can also log in using your Facebook account, if you wish. A quick demo of how to use Rafflecopter can be accessed here.

* If you experience any technical problems when trying to enter the Rafflecopter, let me know in the comments section below and I’ll submit your entry for you *

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck everyone! xx

Chocolate Granola Clusters with Hazelnuts, Pecans and Cranberries

Published on October 24, 2014 by Sharon15 Comments

Today, I’d like to share another of my family’s favourite granola recipes. Filled with hazelnuts, pecans, cranberries and chocolatey goodness, this granola is perfect for this season.

Chocolate Granola Clusters with Hazelnuts, Pecans & Cranberries

My garden is bordered by cob nut trees, and this year they produced the most amazing crop. I made a deal with the squirrels whereby I would collect nuts from the low hanging branches, and they could have the rest. They then got to work, burying nuts all over my lawn and flower beds, and in my plant pots. Invariably they forget where they’ve buried them and we end up with nut trees growing literally everywhere!

I’m not going to complain though. Nut trees are awesome!

And once they’ve matured, cob nuts are very similar in taste and texture to hazelnuts, so I put them to good use in yummy recipes, like this granola.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Lil’ L loves home-made granola, especially when it’s formed into clusters. It’s so easy to make. You simple press down the mixture as if you’re making a thin granola bar then, once completely cooled, you break it into clusters.

Our favourite sweetener for granola is maple syrup. This adds a delicious caramel-like sweetness, rather than a ‘sugary’ flavour. I use Clarks Original Maple Syrup, which is a blend of maple and carob syrups. It’s widely available in the UK, and a fair bit cheaper than pure maple syrup. I really like its flavour and consistency, which is slightly thicker than the pure grade syrup.

These granola clusters are wonderful for breakfasts, snacks and desserts. For breakfast, we like to serve them with natural non dairy yogurt (such as Alpro) or milk. For an omega-3 boost, I often add a light sprinkling of ground linseed and finely chopped walnuts before serving. I also sprinkle in a few extra cranberries to brighten up the bowl.

Chocolate Granola Clusters with Hazelnuts, Pecans and Cranberries

Layered with yogurt and fresh or frozen fruits, the clusters also make a delicious dessert or after-school snack. They look really fancy yet take literally seconds to throw together!

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These granola clusters make a wonderful breakfast, snack or dessert. While they taste decadent, they are packed with healthy nutrient-rich ingredients including wholegrains, heart-healthy fats, minerals and vitamins. For a fancy treat, layer up the granola with yogurt and fruits to make a parfait. Despite taking only seconds to prepare, it looks really beautiful and is bound to impress family and friends.

Makes around 12 servings
Hands on time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 40 minutes
Ready in: 60 minutes

Ingredients
300g / 10½ oz / 3 cups rolled oats (use GF oats, if needed)
100g / 3½ oz / ½ cup buckwheat, rinsed and drained
4 TBSP cocoa powder
3 TBSP coconut sugar (or unrefined caster sugar)
¼ tsp salt
75g / 2½ oz / ½ cup hazelnuts
65g / 2¼ oz / ½ cup pecans
70g / 2½ oz / ½ cup dried cranberries
150 ml / 5¼ fl oz / ½ cup maple syrup (or agave syrup)
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 TBSP virgin coconut oil, liquefied

Method
Get prepared
Preheat the oven to 150C (130C fan) / 300F / Gas 2.
Line a large baking tray (38 x 26cm / 15 x 10 inches) with non-stick baking paper.
If your coconut oil is solid, place in the oven in a heat proof bowl for a couple of minutes until it has liquefied.
Roughly chop the nuts.

Ready, set, go!
In a large bowl, mix together the oats, buckwheat, cocoa powder, sugar and salt. Stir in the nuts and cranberries*. Pour in the maple syrup and vanilla extract, and stir until all the grains are coated. Add the coconut oil and stir until thoroughly combined.

Spread the granola out evenly on the prepared baking tray. Press down firmly so that the mixture sticks together as if you were making a thin granola bar. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to completely cool.

The granola will firm up on cooling. Break up the granola into clusters and transfer to an airtight jar. Stored in a cool place, the granola should keep for weeks.

*If you’d like to preserve the colour and nutrients of the cranberries, add them to the granola once its baked.

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Products used in this recipe (UK stockists)
Mornflake Superfast Oats, available in Asda, Morrisons, Tesco and The co-operative (Gluten-free oats are available from the ‘Free From’ aisle in major UK supermarkets and health food stores)
Tesco Buckwheat (found in the wholefoods section) (Buckwheat is also available in health food stores and online)
Biona Coconut Sugar, available from health food stores and online
Dried Cranberries (sweetened with pineapple juice), available from the wholefoods sections in Tesco and Waitrose
Clarks Original Maple Syrup available in Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s
Essential Organic Virgin Coconut Oil (available in health food stores and online)

Enjoy! xx

Postscript
Sirilipons … ‘Secret’ nibbling eh? I wondered where the bottom right hand corner had gone. It looks like a giant mouse has been at it. You are so busted!

Healthy Snacking – ‘Crispy Kale’ (Kale Chips) with Gomasio

Published on July 10, 2014 by Sharon17 Comments

One of my first ever blog posts, back in June 2011, was about ‘crispy kale’ and, to this day, it remains one of my all-time favourite snacks ♥

While a lot of health food bloggers are currently enjoying raw kale salads or kale smoothies, my taste buds aren’t quite there yet. I do, however, LOVE crispy kale and will happily munch my way through handfuls of the stuff.

Crispy kale is also one of the best ways I’ve found to encourage Lil’ L to eat kale. I often put a bowl out as a starter or as a side dish and, before I even get to sit down at the table, the whole lot’s been demolished!

Over the past three years, I’ve been refining the way I make my crispy kale. In the early days, I had the oven temperature too high, so the kale would quickly burn on the edges. I’ve slowly lowered the temperature from 180C, and found 150C to be spot on – the kale becomes totally crispy with no burned edges or soggy leaf in sight.

Roasting the kale at the lower temperature also makes it stay crispier for longer. In an airtight container, it will stay crispy for days. (I’ve only trialled storing it for test purposes mind you, as there’s never any leftovers in my house!)

My favourite way to serve crispy kale is with a touch of salt, sugar and sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds. I tend to grind the sesame seeds first, as it helps them to stick to the kale leaves. As you probably know, ground toasted sesame and salt is a Japanese seasoning called ‘gomasio’. You can buy it ready made in health food stores, but it’s super simple and cheap to make yourself.

Gomasio (Toasted Sesame Seeds & Salt Seasoning)

I use gomasio as a seasoning for lots of our Asian dishes, including stir fries. Since I like to liberally sprinkle it on, I only add a small amount of salt. I find that toasted sesame has a great flavour anyhow. It just needs a touch of salt to make the flavour ‘pop’.

Thanks to the two main ingredients – kale and sesame – this is one super healthy snack! Just one cup of cooked kale provides 354% of the recommended daily amount of vitamin A, 89% of the vitamin C, and 1328% of vitamin K! Kale also provides good amounts of calcium and iron, as well as protein, dietary fibre and omega 3 essential fatty acids. Sesame seeds are also packed with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds, rich in minerals including calcium and iron, and a good source of protein, dietary fibre and B vitamins.

Here’s the recipe for what is, for me, the perfect crispy kale. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

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Crispy Kale (aka Kale Chips)
Great as a starter, side dish or as a snack on its own, its taste is not dissimilar to the crispy seaweed served in Chinese restaurants. We love to flavour our crispy kale ‘sweet and salty’, but feel free to experiment with your favourite spice mixes.

Serves 2-3
Hands on time: 6 minutes Ready in: 20 minutes

Ingredients
4 large handfuls of curly kale, thick stalks removed (about 100g)
½ – 1 TBSP coconut sugar or unrefined caster sugar
¼ tsp salt
½ TBSP olive oil
3 TBSP gomasio (see below) or sesame seeds

Method
Preheat the oven to 150C (130C fan) / 300F. Line two large baking sheets with non stick baking paper.

Wash the kale and tear into large bite-size pieces (the kale will shrink as it cooks). Use a salad spinner (or kitchen paper) to dry the kale. Place the kale in a bowl and give it a final dab with kitchen paper. Sprinkle in the sugar, salt, oil and sesame seasoning. Massage the kale with your hands until it is fully coated in oil.

Spread out the kale out on the prepared baking sheets. Make sure that none of the leaves overlap or are folded over, otherwise they will steam (rather than roast) and won’t crisp up. Depending on the amount of kale you have and the size of your baking sheets, you may need to cook the kale in two batches.

Place in the oven and cook for 14 minutes. Check the leaves. If they are not 100% crispy, continue cooking and check at 2 minute intervals.

Crispy kale is most delicious eaten warm, straight from the oven. However, it can be stored in an airtight container where it will keep for up to a week.

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Gomasio
This makes a wonderful seasoning for stir fry dishes as well as crispy kale. The authentic version is made with unhulled sesame seeds but I tend to use the hulled variety (as that’s what I have in my store cupboard!) The traditional ratio of seeds to salt is about 15:1, but I prefer to use slightly less salt so I can sprinkle to my heart’s content!

Makes: about 80g / ¾ cup
Hands-on time: 5 minutes Ready in: 10 minutes

Ingredients
80g / ¾ cup sesame seeds
¼ tsp salt

Method
Toast the sesame seeds in a dry frying pan (skillet) on a medium heat, stirring continuously until they start to turn golden and fragrant. Tip onto a plate and leave to cool. Roughly grind the sesame and salt with a mortar or pestle, or electric coffee/spice grinder. If using an electric grinder, you will only need a couple of quick blasts and the gomasio is ready (too much grinding and you’ll end up with sesame butter!)

Store the gomasio in an airtight container in the fridge, where it will keep for weeks.

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Do you make crispy kale / kale chips? If so, I’d love to hear what your favourite seasoning is. Have you tried Chinese, Mexican or Indian spices yet?

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Gingerbread Cookies (Dairy-Free / Vegan)

Published on June 26, 2014 by Sharon24 Comments

Today, I am delighted to share my first post for the Suma Blogger’s Network ♥ I’m sure a lot of you will have already heard of Suma or seen their products in your local health food stores. Suma are the UK’s largest independent wholefood wholesalers of vegetarian, vegan, fair trade, natural and organic produce. Suma operates as a workers’ cooperative which means that the business is jointly owned and managed by the staff. Everyone is paid the same and they collectively do all the jobs that need doing, whatever they happen to be.

I love everything that Suma stands for, so when they invited me to become one of the first twelve bloggers in their new network, I was more than delighted to accept! Intrigued to find out who else is involved? Click on this page to check out their profiles (you’ll see I’m in good company!)

Every other month we’ll be sharing a recipe using one or more products from Suma’s product range. We’ll post the recipes on our blogs, and share them via Facebook, Twitter and a dedicated Pinterest board.

This month, I’m sharing a recipe using one of my all-time favourite ingredients and ‘super’ foods…. Blackstrap Molasses!

As you might know, Blackstrap is the dark, thick liquid that remains after sugar cane is processed to make refined sugar. While the end product – white sugar – has no nutritional value whatsoever, the molasses that gets left behind after extraction is literally brimming with nutrients. It’s rich in vitamin B6 and minerals, including calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, manganese and selenium. Historically, this byproduct of sugar production has been used to feed livestock, while humans consume the empty calorie, unhealthy white sugar. Crazy eh?

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Flavour-wise, Blackstrap is rich and bittersweet. To me, it has a liquorice-like flavour which, I guess, is one of those flavours that you either love or hate. If you have Blackstrap lurking at the back of your cupboard, then this recipe might just tempt you to dust off the jar and give it another try. The Blackstrap adds a wonderful depth of flavour and colour to these ginger cookies, but it’s not overpowering at all.

For the dry sweetener, you can use unrefined caster sugar or coconut sugar. I prefer the latter as it’s low GI (which helps to keep blood sugar levels balanced), plus it contains B vitamins and a range of minerals, including potassium, magnesium, zinc and iron. I also love its caramel-like flavour.

Feel free though to choose whatever sweetener suits your personal tastes and preferences. I prefer the coconut sugar cookies, ‘M’ prefers the cane sugar ones (which are slightly sweeter), and Lil’ L says he can’t really tell the difference and loves both!

These cookies have been tried and tested many times over with my family and friends, and they’ve received a big thumbs up from everyone. I’ve been asked numerous times for the recipe and my standard reply is ‘sure, I’ll post it on the blog’. Well, it’s high time I kept my promise! Here it is…

NOTE: Recipe updated 25 March 2019 to bring it into line with the ‘Gingerbread Cookies’ recipe in the Bit of the Good Stuff Cookbook

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Makes 12 cookies
Hands-on time: 15 minutes Ready in: 35 minutes

Ingredients
70g / ⅓ cup unrefined cane sugar or coconut sugar
50ml / ¼ cup organic rapeseed (canola) oil (or other neutral flavoured oil)
65g / 3 TBSP black treacle (molasses) or Blackstrap molasses
22g / 1½ TBSP soya or almond milk
½ tsp vanilla extract
120g / ¾ cup & 2 TBSP fine wholemeal (whole wheat pastry) flour or chapatti flour
1 – 1½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of ground nutmeg
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
¼ tsp salt

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan) / 400F. Line two baking sheets with non stick baking paper.

2. Place the sugar, oil, molasses, milk and vanilla extract in a bowl and whisk with a fork until smooth and fully combined.

3. Place the flour, spices, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a separate bowl and stir through. Tip half the dry ingredients into the wet ingredient bowl and stir to combine. Add the remaining dry ingredients and keep stirring until the mixture comes together in a firm dough.

4. Scoop slightly rounded tablespoons of dough and arrange six on each baking sheet. With damp hands, press the dough into a thin cookie shape.

5. Bake in the centre of the oven for 9 minutes, or until dry to the touch. (The cookies will still feel soft, but they firm up as they cool).

6. Leave the cookies on the baking sheets until they are firm, then use a thin spatula/slotted turner to remove them from the baking paper and transfer to a wire rack.

7. When completely cool, store in an airtight container where they will keep for a couple of weeks. They also freeze well. Leave at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving.

Notes
Freshly baked, the cookies should be lightly crisp on the outside with a soft, chewy centre. They go softer and chewier over time, but are just as delicious!

I did a few trials with different quantities of Blackstrap. If you add more, the flavour is still amazing but the cookies spread a lot on the baking sheet and are flatter (‘M’ calls them ‘ginger coasters’!)

If you have any black treacle (aka molasses) leftover from Christmas cakes and puddings, you can use it in these cookies instead of the Blackstrap.

All TBSP mentioned in the recipe are level tablespoons.

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I just need to work out how to make a gluten-free version now, so no one misses out! Any tips from the GF experts would be greatly appreciated! 😉

Enjoy! xx

Are you a fan of Blackstrap molasses? If so, what’s your favourite way to use it?

Disclaimer: I received some Suma’s products to use for recipe development but, as always, all opinions expressed are my own.

Easy Gingerbread Blender Pancakes (Vegan)

Published on January 29, 2014 by Sharon16 Comments

We’re still loving our ‘special’ Sunday breakfast of freshly made pancakes. Lil’ L now helps me in the kitchen and is enjoying making the pancakes as much (well, almost as much!) as he enjoys eating them. This week, we flavoured our pancakes with the same spices as our favourite gingerbread cookies. We couldn’t wait for the taste test!

And the verdict?

They were utterly delicious! And arguably the perfect pancake for this time of year. Spicy, warming and filling ♥

They also happen to be filled with goodness… The Blackstrap molasses fortifies the pancakes with iron, calcium and other trace minerals, while the addition of apple adds a healthy dose of antioxidants and dietary fibre. We used a gluten-free flour mix for these pancakes to see how it would hold up (it worked perfectly!), but they could easily be made with wheat flour too.

We like to top our pancakes with chopped walnuts and pecans, and a sprinkling of ground golden linseed. As well as adding a lovely texture, these toppings ramp up the nutrient factor, providing more antioxidants, protein and omega 3. And, of course, there’s the obligatory drizzle of syrup 😉

The first pancake stack was devoured within minutes so, much to Lil’ L’s delight, I made a second batch to photograph. From the look of things, these won’t be around long either 😉

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Serves: 2-3
Hands-on time: 20-35 minutes Ready in: 20-35 minutes

Ingredients
1 ripe medium banana
250ml / 1 cup sweetened soya milk (see Notes)
2 TBSP Blackstrap molasses (or sub with black treacle/molasses)
70g / ½ cup wholemeal (whole wheat) flour, chapatti flour or gluten-free flour mix
35g / ⅓ cup rolled oats (quick oats not jumbo)
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
pinch of salt
½ TBSP organic rapeseed (canola) oil (or other neutral tasting oil), for frying

Suggested toppings
Chopped walnuts and pecans
Ground linseed (flaxseed)
Maple syrup

Method

Peel and slice a banana.

Blend the milk, molasses and banana until smooth, either using a jug blender or tall jug and hand blender. Add the flour, oats, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt, and blend until incorporated.

If possible, use two non-stick frying pans (skillets) to halve the cooking time. Brush the bottom of the pan with oil and heat on medium heat. To check the pan is hot enough, flick some water drops into the pan. If it sizzles, the pan’s ready.

Pour ¼ cup of batter into the pan. Once the pancake starts to firm up round the edges, carefully flip over using a slotted turner. Continue cooking for a further minute or so, until the underneath is browned. Place the pancake in a warm oven while you prepare the rest.

Any leftover pancakes can be stored in the fridge for up to three days. They make a great after-school or post-exercise snack! Gently heat through on the hob or in the microwave before serving.

Notes

* I’ve found soya milk to be the best milk for pancake making as it produces robust pancakes that are easy to flip over. You can substitute with almond milk in this recipe, but I would also highly recommend adding in 2 TBSP ground linseed (flaxseed) to help firm up the pancakes.

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Products used in this recipe:
Meridian Organic Blackstrap Molasses, available in health food shops and online stores
Doves Brown Bread Flour

[This recipe has been submitted to Ricki Heller’s Wellness Weekend]

I’m sure these pancakes will make a regular appearance on Sundays now, in rotation with other favourites like Apple Cinnamon and Banana. We also love traditional crepes served with lemon and sugar. Lil’ L reckons that our ‘veganised’ version tastes as good as the crepes he eats in France. Now that’s a statement! I’ll make sure I post the recipe in time for Shrove Tuesday 😉

Do you like breakfast pancakes? If so, what’s your favourite flavour? If you’ve posted any recipes, please do share below.