Is there ever a reason to say no to pancakes? We don’t think so. Especially when they come guilt-free and give us a good dose of skin-loving antioxidants and some serious anti-ageing benefits. We all know the old song of young skin thanks to our good friend, the blueberry. But, bananas are the dark horse of superfoods – filling, nourishing and are packed with Vitamin C and B-6 that improve the elasticity of the skin, giving a more youthful complexion and manganese to prevent premature ageing. Oh, and these perfect pancakes, courtesy of The Fresh Ginger, are also super delicious and refined sugar and gluten-free. It also makes good use out of those over-ripe bananas in your fruit bowl…
Serves 2.
Gluten-free, Refined sugar-free
Ingredients:
- 1 ripe banana
- 2 local or organic eggs, separated into yolks and whites
- 2 tbsp buckwheat or brown rice flour
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- Handful of blueberries
- Zest of 1/2 an unwaxed organic lemon (try not to skip these, they really make this recipe)
- Teeny pinch of good-quality salt (natural sweetness enhancer)
Method
- In a mixing bowl, mash up your peeled banana with a fork or potato masher. Combine the banana mush with everything but your egg whites.
- Give yourself a moderate upper arm workout by whisking these to a medium peak before folding into the mix. If you’re in a morning rush, don’t worry, you can just combine the whole egg, lightly beaten, but I find it this technique makes them lighter and never stodgy (see also, corn fritters).
- *A note on sweetness: We all have different sweet barometers. If yours is a little higher than mine, or your banana isn’t super-ripe, you can add a spoon or two of your favourite natural sweetener to the mix.
- Fry these in table-spooned batches on a moderate heat (a high heat can burn the natural sugars of the banana) using a paper-towel dabbed with coconut oil or butter to wipe the pan clean between pancakes.
- To serve, stack with fresh blueberries, coyo or yoghurt, sliced bananas, maple syrup or honey and lemon zest/wedges.
Recipe by Josie Taylor (The Fresh Ginger)
