Meatless Monday: More on Pancakes

Happy Monday everyone. Those of you who joined me last week know that the topic was pancakes and their importance in pre-Lenten rituals. And here I am, a week later, still talking about them…

Fat Tuesday is tomorrow. The international pancake races will be taking place in Olney, England and Liberal, Kansas, and lots of people will be eating lots of pancakes.

Last week I posted a favorite family recipe for cornmeal pancakes which was easy to make and not overly high in fat or sodium. I also told everyone about the IHOP annual short stack giveaway for the benefit of Children’s Miracle Network and local charities. Those of you who returned to my blog on Friday know that I apologized for this after learning the fat, sodium, and calorie counts for IHOP buttermilk pancakes and all their other menu items. You can download a pdf for nutritional data for the IHOP menu here. 

In fact, all major restaurant chains are now required to make such information readily available. This was part of the health care legislation that President Obama signed last year. If you google “nutritional data” plus the restaurant name you can obtain all the info you need to determine the chain’s best and worst menu selections before you go there. Good luck finding a selection low in fat, calories, and salt other than fruit salad.  

Banana flapjacks with optional chips

Now for the good and healthy part of this post. Last week a reader left a comment about her family’s favorite vegan pancakes — her take on Banana Flapjacks from Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. I was skeptical when I read the recipe — no  egg, no milk, no sugar, so little oil, and the only salt coming from the baking powder. How could something this easy to make and so healthy sounding taste good? But I gave them a try. Pictured is the result — these amazingly fluffy and tasty cakes! 

Here’s the recipe. The only thing that you might not have on hand is the two very ripe bananas, so plan ahead the next time you shop. 

JESSE’S FAVORITE BANANA FLAPJACKS

from Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Mash: 2 very ripe bananas

Stir in:

2 Tablespoons canola oil

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I used soy)

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix together and then fold into wet ingredients:

1 cup flour

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch allspice

Mix only until there are a few lumps. Do NOT over mix.

Heat your griddle and grease it well. 

[Your griddle is hot if a few drops of water “dance” on the surface.] 

Use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to drop the batter. 

Sprinkle a few mini chocolate chips on top (optional). 

Turn the heat down, and cook the cakes until brown. 

Then flip them over and brown on the other side. 

I served them with some warm maple syrup!

The deliciousness of these cakes has left me wanting to check out more of Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s recipes. Her blog is Post Punk Kitchen, and she has published six books to date, so I have a whole lot of reading and cooking to do!

ENJOY! Have a great week. And come back again soon.

I try to blog on food or food issues each Monday in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”