Sweet Potato Pancakes

Life. is. so. crazy.

Eat pancakes, for dinner.

With chocolate chunks.

And coconut butter.

And then get back to your crazy life.

Why is life crazy? Oh, let me count the ways…

I had 7 days, yes 7, off between grad school semesters. And I still had to work, all-day, every day.

Then my (rented) house went on the market, and in the midst of starting up with classes again (3 more credits than past semesters – what.am.i.thinking?) I have to temporarily relocate every few hours, every day.

Including today (I took a “vacation” day to get things done around the house which is now a bust since I can’t).

So I relocated, to the beach… (to read my neuro text, of course.)

And then to the gym.

And then made these before forced to relocate again.

Sweet Potato Pancakes (vegan)

Ingredients:

1/2 c coconut flour

1/2 c unbleached ap flour

1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional—I used a sample of a vegan protein)

2 T turbinado sugar (this is a raw sugar—you can use brown sugar if you wish)

1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t baking soda

1 1/2 t cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice if you wish)

1 1/2 c almond coconut milk (I accidentally bought sweetened, if yours is unsweetened you may want to increase sugar by a tablespoon or 2)

1 heaping cup of shredded sweet potato (I shredded mine in the food processor, did you know you could do that? I didn’t. No more hand grating for me!)

oil for pan

coconut butter, for topping (optional—but really not)

vegan chocolate chunks, for topping

maple syrup, for topping

Instructions:

Mix all listed ingredients through the almond milk, create “well” and add sweet potato. Mix thoroughly but don’t over mix (I don’t know why but that’s what the pancake pros say). Batter will be thick. Add additional almond milk by the tablespoon if you prefer working with a thinner batter but it’s not necessary.

Heat oil in your skillet (or whatever you use to cook pancakes) to med-high.

Drop batter by 1/4 c onto heated surface. You may want to use the back of your spoon to flatten a bit as the batter is thick and doesn’t spread on the pan. Cook pancakes until done, not sticking to pan and can be flipped. I usually “eyeball” the doneness of my pancakes but usually a few minutes on each side.

Top with a drizzle of coconut butter, sprinkle of dark chocolate chunks and syrup.

Serves 4.

Coconut Flour Waffles with Caramelized Banana and Toasted Pecans

I’m kind of struggling with this “season change” thing. As in, I don’t believe it’s ever going to happen. You know I’m a summer girl through and through but just like I refuse to turn the heat on until it gets really cold, I typically refuse to run the AC beyond mid-September. Things have changed. I’ve run the AC almost every night this week so I can sleep comfortably.

All complaints aside, this breakfast feels like the perfect transition from light summer breakfasts to heavier winter ones. And it uses one of my newest loves, coconut flour. I picked up a bag on sale at Whole Foods last week and as it turns out, it can be used to make a delightful waffle.

Coconut Flour Waffle with Caramelized Banana and Toasted Pecans

serves 1 or 2 for a lighter meal

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c coconut flour
• 4 eggs (I used 4 ‘eggs’ worth of Ener-g Egg Replacer)
• 1/3 unsweetened almond milk
• 1 T cinnamon
• 1/4 t nutmeg
• 1/4 t baking soda
• 2 packets Stevia (or you can use sugar… this is optional)
• 1/2 t coconut extract (optional)
• 1 very ripe banana
• 1 t coconut oil
• 1/8 c whole pecans
• 1 T shredded unsweetened coconut (optional – for topping)

In a bowl, blend all ingredients up to coconut extract.  I used a hand-mixer to ensure thorough mixing but I’m sure it can be done my hand with a whisk.

Preheat waffle iron.

Drop about 1/2 of the batter mixture in the center of the waffle maker and close lid. This batter is thicker than traditional waffle batter so don’t be alarmed that it won’t spread in the waffle maker like you’d expect.

Waffle is done when it can easily separate from the waffle iron. Mine took about 4 minutes in a Belgian waffle iron.

In another small pan, heat the coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add the banana (I just chunked mine up) and stir gently until they begin to caramelize. Add pecans and allow them to toast a bit and warm with the bananas.

Serve the banana-pecan mixture on top the waffles and garnish with shredded coconut if desired.

Don’t forget to serve your waffles alongside a big glass of Pumpkin Spice Iced Coffee. When you’re done, push your plate aside, wipe the sweat from your brow and put on your bathing suit to go finish the chores.