Vegan Oatmeal Pancakes

I love pancakes. I can eat them any time of day.  There is something so comforting and satisfying about them.  I wish I could take credit for these pancakes, but alas, I cannot.  I got the recipe from Vegetarian Times 2013 issue, courtesy of Mary Shore. The recipe won first place in the Reader Recipe contest.  First place?  Really?  They sound oatmeally and gummy.  I had to try them to discover what qualifies as first place.   Well good golly, they're delicious!  Hearty without being gummy!  I cannot pin point what makes them taste so great, but they are da bomb.  I think turning the soy milk into "buttermilk" using apple cider vinegar is the culprit for these tasty cakes.   Give them a try.

*Tip: maple syrup is not friendly on the hips, so pour a couple of tablespoons on your plate as a "dip" instead of pouring a half of a cup over your pancakes.  And, I'm sure I don't have to mention not to use HFCS syrup, for crying out loud.

fluffy and delicious

Ingredients:

3/4 cup soymilk
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 T. Organic pure maple syrup (plus more for dip)
2 tsp. canola oil
1/2 cup steel cut oats (I used original Quaker oats)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (I used organic whole wheat pastry flour)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

Combine soymilk, vinegar, maple syrup, and oil in a small bowl.  Add oats and let soak 10  minutes.  Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a separate mixing bowl.  Stir soymilk mixture into flour mixture.  Preheat large skillet or griddle over medium-high heat and lightly coat with oil.  Ladle 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake.  Cook 2-3 minutes on each side.  Makes 6-8 pancakes.  Two pancakes is 1 serving (196 cal.)  You know I ate more than two! 

Homemade Blueberry Pancakes

I love making these pancakes.  They are super fast and easy.  I like being able to control the salt and sugar as well.   I eat them for breakfast, lunch or a late night snack.  Very satisfying favorite in my house.  Like I said before, I try to eat blueberries as much as possible because of their antioxidant properties (ranked among the highest antioxidant activity on a per serving basis), Vitamin C, manganese, and fiber.

**Did you know whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour is still refined and processed? It's not the same as eating "whole grains."  Still, I choose whole wheat flour over white flour because I'm not a fan of eating chemicals and bleach.  White flour is stripped of it's two most nutritious and fiber-rich parts of the grain: the outside bran layer and the germ.  Plus, white flour contains Alloxan, a diabetes-producing chemical that destroys cells in the pancreas.  Alloxan is toxic, no joke.  Google it.

Click photo to enlarge

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or buckwheat flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/4 cups unsweetened soy milk
2 Tablespoons of safflower or canola oil
2 Tablespoon pure maple syrup, plus more for topping
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
1 cup of organic blueberries, rinsed in cold water

Whisk together the dry ingredients first, then add the wet.  Stir in blueberries last.  Pre-heat and oil your nonstick griddle or large frying pan as you normally would and cook pancakes.  Top with pure maple syrup (Not Log Cabin please! It's really HFCS, yuck).  Makes about 10 pancakes.  Yum-o!

Note: if you are cutting back on sugar/calories, top with a sprinkle of powdered sugar instead of syrup.