How To: Healthy Banana-Oats Pancakes

-
I recently discovered I'm not a horrendous cook as I previously thought, which is a delightful thing to discover about oneself. To celebrate, I will be sharing some of the recipes I have been trying.

I love pancakes - but alas, the store bought mixture variety is not healthy. While they are great once in a while, sometimes you just want an energy-packed, yet guiltless breakfast.

Introducing: the easy healthy pancakes.

The Ingredients (minus some customisable toppings)
To serve 1 normal sized person or 2 tiny people such as myself and my pal The RBG / children / not very hungry people you will need:

  • 1 banana - the riper, the sweeter
  • 1 cup oats (I used rolled, but quick will work equally well)
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/3 cup milk of your choice (I went with coconut milk because I save dairy for rare and special occasions, and coconut milk has the tropical flavour which I think works well with pancakes. I don't recommend using soy milk unless you love that distinct soy flavour; and rice milk has quite an unobtrusive taste which will work well with this recipe)
  • Toppings of your choice (pictured here are honey, coconut flakes and peanut butter. If you want to make this vegan, skip the honey. I ended up going with home made jam, berries and coconut flakes)



Cooking Pancakes
 Instructions:

  1. Place all ingredients except for toppings into a blender, and blend until a thick, smooth batter is formed. 
  2. Cook as you would normal pancakes (tip: use a vegetable oil or coconut oil, not extra virgin olive oil which has a strong flavour better reserved for salads). 



Voila!

Verdict: the pancakes are just as fluffy and satisfying as traditional pancakes. However, there is a distinct cooked banana flavour which is difficult to disguise, unless you put on a lot of toppings - which rather defeats the 'healthy' purpose of having banana-oats pancakes in the first place. I was surprised by how filling this meal is, and it kept me energised all morning, even fueling a gym session. 

Is it as good as traditional pancakes? Nope. Let's get real here: no healthy alternative is ever as good as the original. So I say, treat this breakfast as a healthy, energising option; but do indulge in proper pancakes once in a while. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ho Jiak

-
Image
The first time I tried Ho Jiak, I traveled to Strathfield and ate at their little hole-in-the wall joint, teetering my milo-infused laksa (yes, you read that correctly) dangerously on a little stool. Since then, Ho Jiak has opened a decent-sized restaurant in Chinatown, and it has come a long way from its humble street-eats roots. It even boasts two tasting menus - one omnivorous, one vegetarian. My friends and I, of course, had to try both. Get ready to carry a food baby by osmosis, because this is going to be a huuuuge review. Ho Jiak Tasting Menu  Nasi Lemak in a Bite This may only be "a bite", but it sure packs a punch. Arguably the national dish of Malaysia, nasi lemak is rice cooked with coconut milk and in pandan leaf, which gives it its enticing fragrance - it is topped with crushed peanuts, sambal and accompanied by a rich shot of laksa broth. Kiam Ah Nui Kay Perfectly fried chicken bits on the bone in salted egg-yolk coating. Salted egg yolk has go
Read more

Afternoon Tea at the Four Seasons

-
Image
Afternoon tea is a Mother's Day tradition in my family. Over the years, I have taken my mum to most of the afternoon tea purveyors in Sydney, and Mode Kitchen at the Four Seasons stands out for its beautiful, romantic atmosphere.  Situated on the second floor complete with a harpist and directly across a wall of beautiful ceramic ware, the afternoon tea set up is at once private (because you're not looking directly at any other table) yet on display (comme Marie Antoinette) because you are seated right above the hotel foyer.  The tea selection is small, but curated; and ceremoniously brought to the table for selection. The purveyor is Jing Tea. I highly recommend the Flowering Osmanthus, which is a green tea with osmanthus flower, giving the tea a subtle yet warm sweetness.  Unlike most afternoon teas, the savoury layer is in the middle tier, rather than the bottom tier. From left to right, we have a lemon stracciatella and broccolini vol au vent with caviar (at an additional c
Read more

Ragazzi

-
Image
Tucked away in the charming, quaint, bird-cage filled Angel Place, Ragazzi is one restaurant I have been looking forward to trying for a long time, because I have had a couple people recommend this restaurant to me a good spot to dine in the CBD.  Having never been to Ragazzi before, I was delighted to see that they have a chef's choice menu. I am a big fan of giving control over to those who prepare the food, because I trust that the chef's menu is the highlights reel. Having said that, the fact that we chose the chef's menu is where we went wrong. There were three of us dining, and I think the restaurant actually under-served by providing two people portions for most of the main courses and dessert.  The fact that 2 of the courses are side-salads also significantly decrease the value of the chef's menu. Having done some basic maths, it simply does not add up, I found myself significantly over-paying for the misfortune of being lumped with some courses I would never ha
Read more