I love weekends! I especially love weekends this time of year! There are lots of college football games to watch on Saturdays…in my opinion, there’s nothing better than college football…BOOMER SOONER!! 
The weather is starting to get a little cooler…yes, we are a little slow to catch on to the cool weather thing here in Austin…but, we are getting there! And, our mornings are more relaxed and not near as rushed as our weekday mornings. So, instead of a quick bowl of oatmeal or quinoa for breakfast, I love to make one of our favorites…pancakes! 
These Vegan Banana Nut Pancakes are our current favorite. I love these because they are not only vegan, they are also free of any oil or processed sugar…a super healthy and yummy way to start your day! They take only a few minutes to prepare and don’t require any fancy ingredients. We love ours with pecans but these are also wonderful with walnuts if you prefer. I use my homemade almond milk in ours…which is thinner than store bought almond milk. If you use store bought almond milk, you might want to mix it with water in a 1:1 ratio to thin it out.
And speaking of homemade almond milk…it’s SO easy to make and in my opinion it tastes better than the store bought version. All you need is two ingredients…almonds and filtered water. It does not require a fancy gadget…I simply use my basic blender and a 99 cent paint straining bag that you can easily find at any hardware store. Plus, anytime that I can make something fresh, and at home in my own kitchen, to avoid any unnecessary preservatives and chemicals…I’m going to do it!
I use the Fresh Almond Milk recipe from my Forks Over Knives Companion Book.
Ingredients – 1 cup almonds and 3 cups filtered water
Directions – Soak almonds overnight in filtered water. Be sure to cover completely because they expand as they absorb the water. In the morning, drain almonds completely and rinse well several times. Place almonds in blender with 3 cups filtered water. Blend on high speed until the almonds are fully incorporated into the liquid. Place your straining bag open over a large bowl and pour the mixture into the bag. Twist the top of the bag closed, lift, and strain all milk into the bowl. Use your other hand to squeeze all of the excess milk out of the pulp. I store mine in a glass mason jar with a sealed lid to keep it fresh. This makes 3 cups and it will keep refrigerated for 2 to 3 days. You can also add a few dates or date paste to sweeten it, or some alcohol free vanilla extract or almond extract if you wish.
And, speaking of Forks Over Knives…don’t forget to check out Kim’s latest post about our Forks Over Knives give-away and comment if you’re interested in winning a Forks Over Knives DVD and Companion Book!!
Have a fabulous, fun, and healthy weekend!
~ Melissa
| Vegan Banana Nut Pancakes |
- 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 cup spelt flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/3 cup roughly chopped pecans (or walnuts)
- 1 cup almond milk ** if using store bought almond milk, use 1/2 cup almond milk and 1/2 cup water to thin it out)
- 1 small banana (or 1/2 large banana) mashed
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- With a wire whisk, combine all dry ingredients – flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and pecans in a bowl, set aside.
- Combine all wet ingredients – nut milk, mashed banana, and maple syrup in a separate bowl, whisk well to combine.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir just until blended.
- Heat a non-stick griddle, or a lightly sprayed/oiled griddle to medium high heat (I set mine at 350 degrees).
- Allow batter to sit for at least 5 minutes while your griddle preheats.
- Drop batter by ladle or a 1/3 cup measuring cup onto griddle and cook until bubbles form throughout the center and the edges of the pancake look dry.
- Flip and cook for a few more minutes until browned on the other side.
- Top with chopped pecans and/or sliced banana, and a little maple syrup…enjoy!
About Melissa
I all of a sudden got hungry for these ! Thanks Melissa !
By the way, do you know the difference in whole wheat flour vs. whole wheat pastry flour ? Just curious as I’ve noticed a lot of recipes I’ve been trying call for that.
Thought I’d ask my favorite expert baker
Whole wheat pastry flour is simply ground more fine than regular whole wheat flour…so, the texture of your baked goods will be a little lighter.
xo!
I cooked your pancakes for my daughter, Emily’s 20th birthday. THEY ARE DELICIOUS! I topped with heated blueberry sauce: 1 C. frozen or fresh blueberries, 1/3 C. water, 1 Tbs. Agave Nectar, 1 tsp. vanilla. Simmer for as long as possible. 20 – 30 min good.. Had time today, simmered 1 hr- WOW what a wonderful difference. We have a few pancakes leftover for snacks! LOVE YOUR WEBSITE!!
Hi Sharon, I’m so glad that you all enjoyed them! And, thanks so much for the blueberry compote recipe…I will definitely be trying it soon!
Melissa
I was ready your comments about sugar and your thoughts on using maple syrup, rice syrup, and agave…What about honey. We raise bees and use the honey as a substitute instead of sugar. What are your thoughts on HONEY.
Sallie
Hi Sallie, I love using honey! I do find that in some baked goods I can really taste the honey flavor and it can sometimes over power other flavors. I typically prefer maple syrup and brown rice syrup (especially the brown rice syrup) because they sweeten with a smooth/mild flavor.
Melissa,
What do you do with the pulp after making the almond milk. I made some “non-egg” nog once with fresh almond milk, but had so much pulp left over I felt weird about tossing it out.
Thanks,
Laura
Hi Laura, I’ve read that you can make crackers or cookies out of the pulp…but, I have yet to try it. I suppose you could dry the pulp out and then possibly grind it into almond flour…but, I’m not sure how successful you’d be at getting ALL of the moisture out of the pulp?? Btw, I would LOVE your nog recipe if it was one that you liked! That’s about the only time I really miss eggs & dairy…around the holidays when there is eggnog all around!