Orange + Carrot Pancakes

As promised, I have a recipe!  I've been trying to focus some time on my etsy shop which means my blog doesn't get as much attention.  I'm hoping to add some new items to my shop in the coming weeks, but I will still (hopefully) be posting a couple of recipes every week. 

Let's get down to pancake business.  I didn't really love pancakes growing up because I think the ones I ate tended to be made from the bisquick box.  Do they even still make bisquick??  I'm shuddering just thinking about that yellow box.  The pancakes weren't terrible, but they weren't great either.  I've seen a lot of healthy pancake mixes popping up on store shelves, but I usually don't spend money on them because I keep a well stocked pantry and the mix would seem a bit superfluous.  Even if you don't have a well stocked pantry, making homemade pancakes from sratch are quite easy, plus, they just taste better to me than a mix.  Maybe it's my mind playing tricks on me or perhaps I am onto something... I'll let you decide.

My mom visited me this past weekend and these pancakes were like my little send off after her lovely visit.  The combination of carrot and orange was inspired by one of my favorite juice combinations (carrot/grapefruit/ginger).  The zestiness and brightness of the orange balances out the sweetness of the carrot and creates quite a lovely combination.  I used teff flour in these so they are quite dark in color, but you can use any combination of flours as long as you keep the total weight the same.  As I made them, they are gluten free, vegan, and refined sugar free. 

Orange + Carrot Whole Grain Pancakes
The batter for these is quite thick, so be sure to flatten it out/spread it out immediately after putting it in the pan.  Once the first side cooks up, it easily flips and is good to go!  I used 2-3 tbsp of batter per pancake, which made about 12 three inch pancakes.  I think it's better to leave these smaller because the thickness of the batter gives them the tendency to want to fall apart.  If you leave them smaller, you'll have no problems :)

4 oz teff flour
2 oz brown rice flour
2 oz millet flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
4 oz mashed bananas (or 2 eggs)
2 tbsp brown rice syrup
4 oz fresh carrot juice
4 oz rice milk
2 oz warmed coconut oil
zest of 2 small oranges
more oil for cooking the pancakes

Whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt, ginger, and orange zest in a large bowl until combined.  In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, brown rice syrup, carrot juice, rice milk, and coconut oil until combined.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until the batter just comes together.  It will be quite thick.  In a skillet over medium heat, add a bit of extra oil and then 2 to 3 tbsp of the batter.  Quickly smooth out the batter (it won't spread much by itself) into a circle and cook until bubbles are showing and the top is puffed, about 2-3 minutes.  Carefully flip the pancake and cook on the other side an additional 1-2 minutes until golden brown.  Continue until the rest of the batter is gone.  Makes about 12 three-inch pancakes.  Enjoy!