Pancakes were one of my favorite things when I was little, whenever we would have them I would always be so excited. Now here’s the thing though. In Norway we eat pancakes for dinner! They are big and thin and almost like a tortilla in size and shape. It wasn’t until I was 10 and went to the US that I experienced pancakes for breakfast for the first time. And they were so weird compared to what I was used to – small and thick and kinda strange tasting. Haha! Granted my first experience with breakfast pancakes was at Mc Donalds, so I don’t blame the strange taste on the fact that they were small and thick.
I have later realized that pancakes for breakfast is actually such a good idea. It is so easy to fill them with a lot of goodness to fuel you for the day and they are quite quick and easy to make too! I don’t recommend that you eat Mc Donalds pancakes every day as I’m positive they are not very good for you, but if you make them at home where you have control of what goes into them you could easily have them every day and not feel guilty at all!
These pancakes are, as you have probably noticed, green. Now don’t let that put you off. This only means that they are packed with even more amazing nutrients and benefits, but I PROMISE you that you will not be able to taste the difference! The green color comes from an added handful of spinach, which is such an amazing food! 30g of spinach has approximately 160% of the daily recommended intake of vitamin K, 120% of vitamin A, and also vitamin C, E and different B vitamins. It is also a good source of iron and magnesium and a bunch of other minerals as well. So why wouldn’t you add all of that into your breakfast if you won’t even be able to taste it? And if that’s not enough, these pancakes also have bananas which are a great source of potassium, magnesium and copper + vitamin C, B6 and other vitamins as well. They include oats which are a great source of protein, B-vitamins (especially B1), and minerals like copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zink, potassium and calcium. They are gluten free (make sure to use certified gluten-free oats if you are intolerant) and vegan (dairy- and egg free), and they taste absolutely amazing! If you are still put off by the green color they will still taste amazing without the spinach, but I dare you to keep it in!
To take this recipe to the next level, I have added in a recipe for a healthy salted caramel sauce as well (WHAT?!). It is possible! It is made of only four ingredients, with no refined sugar and no cream or dairy of any kind. It is extremely creamy and indulgent and definitely tastes like it would be so bad for you. But it is not, promise!
Another bonus of this recipe is that it requires such few ingredients and the batter and sauce is made in probably less than a minute! So it’s perfect for those early mornings where you really don’t have time to cook a big breakfast (which is most mornings, let’s be honest). It is also perfect to make if you are having someone over for breakfast and want to impress them with you cooking skills. Try making them for someone who is really skeptical to healthy food and see what they think without telling them the ingredients! I’m sure they are going to love it! So without further ado, let’s get to it!
Pancakes
Ingredients (makes 10 pancakes)
1 cup of oats
1 cup of almond milk
1 ripe banana (the riper the sweeter)
1 handful of spinach
A dash of cinnamon
Ingredients (makes 10 pancakes)
1 cup of oats
1 cup of almond milk
1 ripe banana (the riper the sweeter)
1 handful of spinach
A dash of cinnamon
Method
Add everything to your blender and blend until smooth. Heat your cooking top to medium high heat and add your batter. Flip the pancakes when the batter starts bubbling and has gone matte. If it crumbles up and does not want to flip it is not ready yet so leave it to cook for a bit longer. It will flip around easily when it’s ready.
Add everything to your blender and blend until smooth. Heat your cooking top to medium high heat and add your batter. Flip the pancakes when the batter starts bubbling and has gone matte. If it crumbles up and does not want to flip it is not ready yet so leave it to cook for a bit longer. It will flip around easily when it’s ready.
Salted Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
4 medjool dates
1/2 cup of water (use more or less depending on the consistency you want)
1 tsp vanilla extract
A pinch of sea salt or pink himalayan salt
Ingredients
4 medjool dates
1/2 cup of water (use more or less depending on the consistency you want)
1 tsp vanilla extract
A pinch of sea salt or pink himalayan salt
Method
Blend all the ingredients in you blender. Add more water if you would like the consistency to be runnier.
Blend all the ingredients in you blender. Add more water if you would like the consistency to be runnier.
That’s it! So easy, right? I like to stack the pancakes in a pile, add the caramel sauce on top and then top it all of with some fresh fruit and berries. This time I cut up some plums and added frozen raspberries, and it was so good. The freshness of the fruit goes really well with the sweetness of the caramel sauce.
I really hope you try this out and enjoy it!
