Gluten Free and Healthy Buckwheat and Coconut Pancakes

Did you know buckwheat is Dr. Perricone’s No. 5 superfood? Many people think of buckwheat as a grain, but it’s not, and it surpasses rice and wheat and corn in terms of nutrition and low glycemic index.

The roasted buckwheat, or kasha, is dark brown and with a nutty flavor, and you can find it in the flour/baking section of your health store or supermarket.

My first attempt with buckwheat failed – strawberry muffins. Though the muffins looked great, the consistency was very gritty. No seconds for me there!

But I gave it another shot after I continued reading and learned that buckwheat packs a lot of protein with relatively low calories. And: 1) its proteins and the relative proportions of its amino acids make buckwheat the best cholesterol lowering food studied to-date; 2)buckwheat reduces and stabilizes blood sugar levels following meals – key in preventing obesity and diabetes.

As it was Sunday, and I was feeling the call of the waffle/pancake monster, I decided to put my wonderful new find to the test.

These Buckwheat and Coconut Nectar pancakes are really filling, and the combination of both flavors in every bite is more than satisfying! You can replace coconut milk and coconut nectar for almond milk and maple syrup, but there’s something super special about the original recipe. Give it a shot!

If you have it handy, I would also try Nutella as a topping, or PB2 and jam. Delish.

Have a great week everyone!

Save trees: Print the recipe and see the nutritional info.

Ingredients:

Makes 8 small pancakes

• 1 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1.5 tbs. powdered stevia
• 1.5 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tbs. arrowroot starch
• 1.5 tbs potato starch
• 1 cup of original almond milk
• .5 cup full fat coconut milk
• 1/3 cup of water
• 2 tsp of flaxseed meal in 3 tsp of hot water
• coconut nectar for topping
• others: bananas, blueberries

Directions:

Use a sifter for all the dry ingredients; combine in a bowl. In another bowl mix all the wet ingredients, inclusive of the flaxseed and the water. Add to dry ingredients and mix well till smooth. If the batter is not smooth, add a little bit more water. It should be denser than normal pancakes.

In a large pan on medium heat, use coconut oil or PAM and lightly coat it. Cook each pancake around 2 minutes on each side. Do not pile up after cooked or they will get soggy. Enjoy alone or with your favorite toppings!

Paleo Gluten Free Chocolate Banana Pancakes

Paleo Banana Pancakes is one of my favorite posts here. The recipe has all the goodness of a sweet and indulgent breakfast packed in into just half a banana and one egg per serving. And 9 grams of protein per serving.

PLUS, the pancakes are gluten free and paleo…and could be almost vegan if you dare replace the single lonely egg for Egg Replacer (on my bucket list).

This little chocolaty variation is the new and improved way to make them. I just got a purple immersion blender and is my new best friend. Batter to batter, you can’t even tell if this one is gluten free or paleo or “normal.”

Save some trees: Print the recipe here and check out the nutritional info.

Ingredients:

For 1 serving. This was inspired by the Paleo Banana Pancakesrecipe.

• 1/2 ripe banana
• 1 egg
• 1.5 tsp raw cacao powder
• 1 tsp coconut palm sugar, or stevia
• 1 tsp coconut flour
• 5 vegan chocolate chips
• 1 pinch of Kosher salt

Directions:

With everything in one single container (minus the salt), use an immersion blender until frothy. If you don’t have an immersion blender, grab a fork, mash the banana, and then beat the rest of the ingredients (skip the chocolate chips).

In a medium pan at medium to low heat, cook SMALL silver dollar pancakes (small is key as these are a little bit tougher to flip versus other ones). Watch them like a hawk – they can burn in extra 3 seconds. Start with the heat at low and build from there. Around 2 minutes for the first side and 20 seconds for the other side.

Serve with maple syrup, coconut nectar, skinny coconut cream frosting, or solo. Add the pinch of Kosher salt at the very end…it really does the trick!