(gentle music)
- Hey, guys, Taylor from "The Girl on Bloor" blog.
And I am back with another super healthy,
super easy breakfast idea.
This week, we're talking five ingredient
banana oat pancakes.
These babies are gluten-free.
They're low calorie
and they're the absolute perfect meal prep idea
because you can make a huge batch ahead of time
and then freeze them for later.
Seriously, if you haven't tried freezing pancakes yet,
you are missing out on some serious grab and go breakfast.
These banana oat pancakes
are filled with nutritious ingredients
from fiber heavy oats to potassium rich bananas.
They're way healthier for you
than your standard flour pancake,
will keep you feeling full much longer too.
Plus you can top them with pretty much anything you want
from chocolate chips to shredded coconut and fresh fruits.
They are a great vessel for anything
you're trying to eat up from your fridge or pantry.
Did I mention they only have five ingredients?
Boy, am I going to have to get creative
to stretch this YouTube video out to the five minute mark.
Okay, so first, let's dive right in.
First up, you're going to want to assemble your bananas.
Now, I know the different stages of ripening
can be a controversial topic among some people.
If you're like me, you probably like to eat your bananas
the second they start to transition out of being green.
I like my bananas borderline green.
That's weird and a controversial opinion, I know.
But I can't stand bananas
when they start to get too brown and soft.
That said, it is better to use a riper
or even overripe banana here.
I think what throws me off about overripe bananas
is not exactly the taste but the texture of them.
When this happens, I try to freeze the banana
or just use it up in a smoothie
because I find when bananas are blended together,
you really just forget how ripe the banana was.
It doesn't even matter at that point.
So, for those of you out there like me
who can only have bananas on hand in the kitchen
for a maximum of three or four days at a time
and won't eat overripe bananas for the life of you,
then this recipe is for you.
It's a great way to reduce your food waste
and eliminate the guilt
of having to throw away overripe bananas.
Plus you can freeze these pancakes.
So it's just a double whammy
in terms of extending the life of the groceries you buy.
In this video, you'll see that I'm using bananas
that are the perfect shade of yellow.
These bananas are probably considered perfect
to most people.
So just be aware that you can use whatever you'd like here.
I wouldn't advocate for using greener bananas
as they probably won't mash as easily.
So just use your best judgment.
Once you've got your bananas lined up,
mash them in a large bowl.
They don't have to be perfectly smooth
but try to get most of the banana mashed as possible
and avoid large chunks.
From there, you'll mix in two eggs.
I hate to not come through on the vegan egg option
for those of you out there
looking for substitutions for the egg
but I just haven't tried the recipe this way myself yet.
I've heard that flax or chia seed eggs work great
in place of eggs in recipes.
So if you're feeling adventurous
and you care to tweak this recipe on your own,
then I'd say, go for it.
There are a ton of blogs out there
that will show you how to make them
and how much of each ingredient you need
in order to substitute per egg.
Unfortunately, I'm not a miracle worker here.
If I'm being honest, I'm not much of a baker in general.
So count yourself lucky
that you're even getting any sweet meal ideas from me.
After you've done that,
you're going to make some oat flour in a blender.
First up, you're going to need some rolled oats.
You'll usually find rolled oats
sometimes known as old fashioned oats,
along with large flake oats and quick oats
in the baking section of your local grocery store.
You can use any of these three varieties for this recipe,
whatever you have on hand at home already.
So measure out two cups of them
and then add them to a blender or food processor.
A little Magic Bullet would work perfectly here too.
You can skip this step
by buying oat flour at your local grocery store,
which will usually be in with all the other non-wheat flour
such as almond flour, coconut flour, et cetera.
Oat flour is a great gluten-free alternative
and it's a healthy whole grain flour.
However, oat flour is actually pretty expensive
like eight bucks for a little bag.
So I think it's much better to buy a $3 bag of oats
and turn it into oat flour, but that's just me.
Now, one quick and final note on oats
for those of you looking to make these pancakes
truly gluten-free.
While oats typically are gluten free,
you will want to make sure that you're buying oats
that say they're gluten free to make absolute certain
that that's what you're getting.
Pure oats are gluten-free and safe
for most people who have gluten intolerance.
However, oats are often contaminated with gluten
because they may be processed in the same facilities
as gluten-containing grains, such as wheat, rye, and barley.
So just do that extra bit of homework there if necessary
because I don't want anyone getting sick.
Anyway, blend your oats into a fine flour-like consistency.
Then you'll be mixing the oat flour, baking powder
before you stir it in with the mashed bananas and eggs.
You do need the baking powder
in order to get that fluffy texture
you're used to with pancakes.
If you leave the baking powder out, the pancakes won't rise.
That means any fluffiness is out the window.
That's okay if you're willing to compromise
on the texture of these pancakes
as the taste would be the same,
but you know how taste and texture go hand in hand.
They're both important.
So that's why I'd say it's worth it
to add this extra ingredient to ensure
that you really do get to satisfy
that pancake craving the right way
even if they are healthy pancakes.
Mix the oat flour and baking powder mixture in
with the mashed bananas and eggs.
Now, the final ingredient.
You'll want to add some almond milk
to ensure the mixture is nice and creamy and not too thick.
You know, so that it resembles pancake batter.
Mix everything together.
Then you'll add up to three or four pancakes at a time
to a large skillet.
You'll want to grease the bottom of your pan
with some cooking spray or butter,
just enough to coat the bottom.
When you make pancakes, you want the heat to be on medium,
not medium high,
because you don't want the pancakes to burn.
A straight medium is your best bet for an even cook.
And speaking of even cooks, don't crowd the pan.
It's better to cook less pancakes at a time
and ensure that they cook evenly
than try to make too many at once.
This also makes flipping them harder.
So try your best to be patient here.
So it's actually the worst part of cooking pancakes to me.
It should come as no surprise by now
that I am the most impatient person ever.
And I hate waiting.
So, this is why we are meal prepping them.
Cook a big batch now to reap the benefits later.
Am I right?
Okay, so once the bottom starts to form on your pancakes
and bubbles start to form,
you know you're getting close to the flipping point.
When you can see them starting to brown on the bottom,
flip your pancakes.
This should only be about three to four minutes
of cooking on the one side.
You'll need an extra two minutes or so
to finish cooking the pancakes,
then you can transfer it to a plate.
Finish cooking the rest of them,
and either serve with your favorite toppings
such as fresh fruit, coconut, nuts, seeds, nut butter
chocolate chips, et cetera,
or store them in meal prep containers
or freezer bags for up to five days in the fridge.
You can reheat them quite easily in the toaster.
And you can also freeze these pancakes,
which is a real game changer.
Freeze them with parchment or wax paper
in between pancakes in a freezer bag for up to four months.
You can pull one or two out of the freezer at a time
and again reheat them in the toaster.
Genius, right?
I know you are just going to love
these delicious banana oat pancakes
and they are such a healthy breakfast.
They'll definitely get your day started
off on the right foot.
Now, I've linked to the other pancake recipes
on my site below this video.
I've got protein pancakes, pumpkin pancakes,
and more banana-based pancakes on there.
So be sure to check out the links listed below this video
for more inspiration.
If you liked this video,
I'd love for you to subscribe to my channel
and get more healthy recipes from me.
Hit the subscribe button at the end of this video
and I will see you in the next one.
Take care.