Another fabulous post from the one and only Hungry Games. BMH will have to try these banana pancakes as well.
I really LOVE food, but I have never been one of those girls with a “high metabolism.” Nevertheless, I refuse to eat gross “diet” foods with artificial ingredients that may or may not cause cancer in mice. Therefore, I was absolutely thrilled when my friend K-Hon introduced me to the world’s best banana pancakes. (K-Hon also has one of those killer bodies that is both athletic and feminine, so I’m pretty sure I want to eat whatever she’s eating. And yes, a few of my friends have given each other Jersey Shore names, so for the purposes of anonymity, I will be using those).
These delightfully light and natural pancakes are the world’s best for a couple reasons: 1) they taste delicious; 2) all the ingredients are healthy and not highly processed; 3) they are super easy to make; 4) they are always a crowd pleaser; and 5) they don’t have any sugar in them (the sweetness comes from the mashed up banana), so they don’t leave you feeling like all you want to do is fall into a lazy food coma after you roll away from the table.
K-Hon claims this recipe serves one (but she admittedly eats a lot of pancakes). It can be doubled, tripled, quadrupled…
Ingredients:
- 1 very ripe banana—brown spots = good; any kind of green or a totally brown banana = bad.
- ½ cup whole wheat flour—white flour honestly does not taste as good. I was skeptical, so I tried.
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ to 1 cup milk—skim, 1%, 2% all work.
- 1 egg, separated
- Splash of vanilla extract
- Nuts of your choice (optional)—I put pistachios in a few of this batch. It was an inspired decision, if I do say so myself.
Directions
1. Mash the banana in a mixing bowl to your liking (you can decide how chunky you want the bananas to be in the pancakes).
2. Mix in the flour, baking powder, and milk (the amount of milk depends on how thin or dense you want the pancakes). Let stand for a bit.
3. Separate the egg yolk and egg whites. Crack the whites into a small mixing bowl. 
You can discard the yolk, or dump it in with the pancake batter. I usually mix the yolk in with the batter.
4. Whip the egg whites with a whisk until peaks form.
5. Gently fold the whipped whites into the mix to make extra fluffy pancakes.
6. Add a little bitty splash of vanilla extract.
7. Cook with love.*
*In case direction #7 is vague, this means, spray your pan or skillet with cooking spray (for extra healthy pancakes) or use butter if you’re craving that richer, more decadent flavor, and heat it over medium heat. Spoon the batter into the pan and allow to cook until underside is brown and batter is a little bubbly on top. Then flip the pancake over and allow the other side to cook. I usually put finished pancakes on a baking sheet and keep them warm in an oven until I’ve cooked up all the batter. Then you can serve them up all at once.
Unfortunately, when I made these pancakes, I forgot to take a picture of the finished product because I was too busy eating them. Whoops!
If you’re thinking about what to serve with the pancakes, here are some delicious extras that my friends have come up with:
- Real maple syrup (obviously)
- Agave syrup (less obvious)
- Smear of peanut butter (it tastes great with the whole wheat and banana flavors)
- Dollop of Greek yogurt and a drizzle of honey (this sounded weird to me at first, but trust me…it’s really good)
- Peanut butter AND Greek yogurt (go out on a limb with me)
I’ve also experimented with other variations on these pancakes:
- Instead of bananas, cut up some apples into the pancakes. Add a little ground cinnamon and perhaps some almond slivers.
- Substitute buttermilk for regular milk. It’s a little more indulgent, and really delicious.
