Gluten Free & Paleo Banana Pancakes

Pancakes. I have to say, I don't really miss them. In all honesty, I haven't once craved them in the past three years. Not like bread, or pasta or even pizza (though I'm happily living without those foods as well). But when one of my best friends (thanks, Megan!) sent me a recipe for paleo pancakes and said they were delicious, I figured I should probably give them a shot. Particularly because the recipe was a guest post from the Queen of Quinoa on the blog Against All Grain. I mean, why not?

So I made the pancakes, and I liked them okay, but I certainly didn't love them. Granted I didn't do the whole chai thing, so maybe that's where I lost the flavor. Or maybe they just weren't quite for me. But with a little imagination and recipe tweaking, I figured I could still make decent pancakes.

I doubled the amount of cinnamon and added nutmeg, which gave me exactly the flavor I was looking for. Yum, they were delish. And I wanted to thicken the consistency and boost the nutrients, so I added some ground flaxseed. Oh, and the kicker was the sliced banana. A major improvement. I started making these for breakfast, lunch and dinner. My boyfriend even liked them! (Sometimes he benefits from my gluten-free cooking experiments, sometimes he doesn't.) Let's face it, they might taste healthy, but with the cinnamon and nutmeg, they don't taste that healthy.

So there you have it. Whether or not you miss pancakes, you should try whipping up these puppies. Even if you're not gluten-free. They're filling and delicious, and full of fiber and potassium. And if you don't love the recipe, take a lesson from me and try tweaking it! If you come up with something better, let me know. 

Gluten-Free Banana Pancakes

1/2 cup coconut flour
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed

2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons nutmeg
4 eggs
1 cup almond milk
1 tablespoon honey or agave (I prefer honey)
1 banana

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside. Mix the wet ingredients using a blender and then add in the dry ingredients.The mixture should be fairly thick. Slice the banana and set aside.

Preheat a pan or griddle on the stove to medium heat and spray with non-stick cooking spray (or butter, coconut oil, etc.). Ladle the batter onto the pan and once it has settled slightly, add the banana slices on top. Cook for 3-4 minutes, turn over, and cook for another 3 minutes.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and/or syrup if you'd like, add a side of fresh fruit of your choice, and enjoy!