Today is a holiday because of Eid. Happy Eid!
We spent last night watching Friday Night Lights and inspired by my Filipino friends who are always making banana pancakes, I went to sleep last night thinking of having some for breakfast 😛
Interesting fact: according to Wikipedia, “Archaeological evidence suggests that pancakes were probably the earliest and most widespread cereal food eaten in prehistoric societies.” Yes, we are eating ancient food. This is ancient nutrition 😀
On sugar: While I do agree that we should not be consuming so much of it, I also think that some amount is ok. So in this recipe, to cut down on the sugar, I used Sugarlite, which is a 50-50 blend of sugar and stevia. I do not like the taste of stevia and I am never satisfied with the kind of “empty sweetness” it gives, but when mixed with some sugar, it’s fine.
Instead of using pancake mix, I like to make it from scratch. It’s pretty easy anyway, and you can even customize it. So to make it healthier, I used whole wheat flour or atta. Whole wheat flour has more fiber than all-purpose flour, making it healthier. The fiber helps slow down the absorption of carbohydrates (in the form of glucose) into your bloodstream, which keeps your blood sugar levels more stable.
Waste-reducing tip: Freeze your bananas! A few weeks ago, we had some bananas that were going bad. Instead of throwing them out, I removed the peel and froze them. Then I took one out before I made the batter, microwaved it for 30 seconds and mashed it.
This recipe makes 2 large servings for us. It’s more like 2.5 regular servings though 🙂 Hope you try out my recipe for whole wheat banana pancakes and leave me a comment below! In the meanwhile, here’s some yummy pancake guts:
Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes
Ingredients
"Buttermilk"
- 1 cup milk 240 g; room temperature
- 1/2 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice 7 g
Dry
- 1 cup whole wheat flour 120 g
- 2 tsp baking powder double-acting
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 + 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
Wet
- 1 large cage-free egg, beaten room temperature
- 1 large banana, mashed well the riper the better
- 1 tbsp butter, melted or oil 14 g
- 1 tbsp sweetener: Sugarlite (a 50-50 blend of stevia and sugar), ground to a fine powder or sub 1-2 tbsp fine sugar, powdered jaggery or a bit of stevia
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Cook
- extra butter or oil
Instructions
- First, combine the milk and vinegar or lemon juice in a bowl. Set aside. Your milk will curdle, which will help make your pancakes fluffier.
- In a large bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients: whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon powder. Sift them if you would like even fluffier pancakes.
- In another bowl, combine the beaten egg, well-mashed banana, melted butter, sweetener and milk-vinegar mixture.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix until just combined.
- Let batter sit for 5 minutes so the whole wheat flour can absorb liquid and soften. If your batter seems too thick, add a little milk or water.
- Over low heat, melt a little butter or add oil, around 1/2 tsp per pancake.
- Drop ~1/4 cup of batter for each pancake.
- When a few bubbles appear, flip the pancake over and cook for 1-2 more minutes.
- Serve with banana slices, your favorite liquid sweetener then leave a comment below 😀