Banana Avocado Pancakes

Sweet Banana Avocado Pancakes (grain free, nut free, dairy free, et al)

When we eliminated grains from the family diet, I learned one lesson rather quickly: you can take just about any puree-able fruit or vegetable, add a bunch of eggs, and come up with a serviceable pancake. Add some vanilla, spices, and baking soda, and you have a downright decent pancake. (Side Note: little pancakes make a great replacement for sandwich bread for the kids.)



These pancakes started as those famous “equal number of bananas and eggs beat together” pancakes. But I don’t love those pancakes. They’re overly sweet and a little slimy, so my recipe writing helper and I made some adjustments.

This batter uses the bananas for sweetness so there is no need for added sugar, with a little avocado for creaminess and baking soda for lift. The result is a great tasting pancake that is GAPS and SCD friendly (I think – do they allow baking soda?) and free of grains, nuts, coconut, sugar, and dairy (although if you wanted to add a couple tablespoons of melted coconut butter, coconut oil, or butter, I certainly wouldn’t discourage you).

Sweet Banana Avocado Pancakes

• 2 ripe bananas (speckled at a minimum, and more brown than yellow is ideal)
• 1 ripe avocado
• 5 eggs (pastured is best and tastiest!)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• Coconut oil, lard, or butter for the pan

Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium-low heat. Particularly with cast iron (but also works well for any pan), preheat for a longer time on lower heat for better results.
Blend peeled bananas, avocado meat, and all remaining ingredients (except for pan oil). I use a medium bowl and a stick blender, but a powerful blender or food processor should also work.
Grease your pan with your chosen fat. I prefer lard or coconut oil. Butter tastes yummy but will burn after multiple batches so you’ll want to wipe the pan out periodically. I melt a good layer of lard over the pan surface (using cast iron – if you have a nonstick pan you’ll need much less).

Make batches of small pancakes, about 3 to 4 inches across – 2 to 3 tablespoons or a shy 1/4 cup pf batter each. The pancakes are ready to flip when they have bubbles on the surface, dry-ish edges, and golden brown bottoms. The time will vary greatly depending on your stove top and pan, but I prefer to adjust the heat so it takes about 4 minutes per side in order to make sure they are cooked all the way through.
These are plenty sweet enough to forgo the syrup and top with berries. Or just put the berries inside – these pancakes can handle it.

This recipe makes about 20 little pancakes – perfect breakfast for my three munchkins.
And if you don’t believe me about the possibilities for fruits/vegetables in pancakes, try experimenting. Replace one or both of the bananas with another sweet option like roasted or steamed butternut squash or sweet potatoes (or leftover butternut squash soup that your kids wouldn’t eat as soup but will gladly eat as pancakes). This morning I added about a cup of cooked cauliflower to the recipe above and it extended the batter quite a bit and no one noticed the cauliflower! I really love a breakfast that recycles dinner leftovers. :)

source: http://leave-happier.com/2013/01/26/sweet-banana-avocado-pancakes/