Strawberry Shortcake Pancakes

I'm really excited about this recipe, adapted from Debbie Adler's new cookbook, Sweet, Savory & Free. I have not had any inspiration to cook or blog or photograph lately. I'm so busy with my yoga studio and trying to write a novel and have a social life and meet new people that I have not contributed to this blog in a regular way in a while. I feel bad but I have so many recipes on this blog that it's difficult to get bored. But I will get back to cooking, it just may take a little bit.


I came home from Memorial Day weekend in the Poconos with my family and saw an Amazon package that I was having trouble identifying the contents. Happily, I saw that it was Debbie Adler's new cookbook, Sweet, Savory & Free that Debbie so generously sent me. I already own her dessert cookbook which is AMAZING but this cookbook has meals along with desserts that I'm hoping will get me out of this blogging slump. I think it will because I just ran out to get some ingredients for the strawberry shortcake pancakes that I will make tomorrow. You can order Debbie's book here and you should definitely add this book to your cookbook collection. Debbie's recipes are vegan, gluten-free and free of all of the more common food allergies. Debbie was inspired to go plant-based and allergen free when her son developed an allergy to milk. She has a really cool gluten-free flour that is all her own and is a combination of a few healthier flours. Along with the recipes, Debbie shares little tidbits about her life which brings out her humor and general awesomeness. Debbie is from NYC and a total inspiration to bloggers like myself so go buy her books!

Let me just tell you how my eating has changed since I fell off the blog wagon. I don't buy dates anymore because they are so high in calorie and I can't just eat them with abandon. I count calories and try to limit fat and sugar since I'm running and trying to lose weight and increase my speed during races. I can't make raw desserts and expect to stay on track because I can't stop at just one slice of raw cheesecake. I tend to eat the same things and they aren't beautiful enough to take pictures of so I just haven't added them to the blog. I haven't felt inspired to try a new recipe in a while and I haven't felt any urge to go crazy in the kitchen. Those are pretty much the main reasons why I've been so quiet.

This cookbook came at a great time! I have a few recipes I want to try though I need to hit Whole Foods for a big order so I'm starting with these pancakes. Also, I don't have all of the ingredients but when you buy the cookbook, you will get the amazing original recipe. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, I love waking up to coffee and a full, filling meal. Lately I've had tofu or oatmeal so these pancakes are a nice change-and any excuse to cover something in coconut cream is fine by me!

*Recipe adapted from pg 31 in Sweet, Savory & Free by Debbie Adler*

1 cup of gluten-free flour (I used oat)
2 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of chia seeds, ground
2 tsp of hemp seeds
1 tsp of ground ginger
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp of sea salt
3/4 cup of coconut milk
1 ripe banana
1/4 cup of chopped strawberries

Topping:
Coconut cream
Slices strawberries
Maple syrup (optional)

Put all ingredients in your food processor except the strawberries and process until blended. Mix the strawberries into the batter. Pour the batter into a pan and turn the heat on low; I made one big pancake. Flip the pancake when it bubbles on the sides. It takes about 5 minutes to cook on both sides. Let cool as much as possible and top with the coconut cream and strawberries.

Notes: Debbie's recipe calls for baking the pancake in the oven in a 9in round baking pan but I couldn't seem to find mine so I made this on the stove. I also didn't have some ingredients that the recipe calls for such as applesauce, raw buckwheat groats, so I improvised with other ingredients.

Such an amazing nutrient dense breakfast; I ate this pancake at 11AM and it has sustained me until 5PM. GO check out Debbie's cookbooks! I'll definitely be posting more recipes!! Where to find her:

www.debbieadler.tv
www.sweetdebbiesorganiccupcakes.com
Twitter: @OrganicCupcakes
Facebook: @sweetdebbiesorganiccupcakes
Instagram: @sweetdebbies