You’ll love how energized these pancakes make you feel. With a slew of superfoods, can you expect anything less?
Table of Contents
How to Raise Healthy Kids
Have you heard of “selective eating syndrome?” That’s the official label for children and adults who are picky eaters. While everyone has their likes and dislikes, it’s important to have an open mind when it comes to healthy foods. We nip picky eating in the bud, which is why our kids love these gluten-free pancakes!
Here are some of our best tips for raising healthy kids.
- Involve your kids in pursuing your health goals. Energetic children can be the best exercise buddies! Families are teams, and working towards a common goal unites everyone.
- Show your little ones how fun natural living can be. Gardening, baking sweet treats, and forest bathing are joyful times. They won’t miss unhealthy habits!
- Stay consistent and authentic. Lead by example and have a good attitude while doing so. Your kids will follow suit.
- Instead of rewarding your kids with unhealthy treats, bless them with healthy snacks. Our kids love gluten-free cookies and crackers, any of my desserts, and our homemade pizza found in the Italian Cooking Class.
- Give your family input in menu planning. There are healthy swaps for every recipe, including tacos, pasta, sweets, and pancakes.
- Start feeding them healthy foods at a young age. This gets their tastebuds used to nutritious foods. The more healthy things you expose them to, the better!
- Kids are more likely to eat things they made. Let them help in the kitchen as much as possible. There’s a job for everyone! Many hands make light work.
- When there are community events, don’t let your healthy eaters feel deprived. We always make sure our kids have a comparable alternative to cupcakes, candy, etc.
Over time, your kids will see the benefit of eating healthily. They won’t want to feel sick and sluggish! Stick with it, and it will become a lifestyle.
Healthy Breakfast Ingredients 101
What goes into healthy pancakes? The answer may surprise you! Here’s what you need to add to your shopping cart.
Eggs: Every pancake recipe needs a good binder, and eggs do just that! They also provide your body with a boost of protein. When choosing eggs, purchase pasture-raised organic eggs. These chickens are fed a healthier diet and treated better.
Pure Vanilla Extract: Imitation extract has nothing on the real deal. Pure vanilla is simply vanilla beans and liquid to extract the flavoring. Imitation usually doesn’t contain any vanilla, but it does contain caramel coloring and a bunch of fake flavoring. This is a simple swap that will make all the difference in your cooking.
Unsweetened Coconut or Almond Milk: To keep this recipe dairy-free, we use coconut or almond milk. These options are smooth, creamy, and taste great. Be sure to grab varieties that are unsweetened.
Coconut Oil: Coconut oil is a favorite at our house. We use it to sauté veggies, create moist baked goods, and fry pancakes! Coconut oil contains medium-chain triglycerides that provide your body with a boost of energy. (1)
Flours: We use a mix of almond flour, coconut flour, potato starch, and rice flour to create fluffy pancakes. When combined, these flours create an amazing DIY baking mix that works great for any treat!
Almond and coconut flour are heavier flours that tend to soak up liquid. Adding potato starch and rice flour lightens your recipe and gives our pancakes the traditional texture we all love. This recipe was created during a time when gluten-free flour blends were scarce. Nowadays, there are wonderful options.
If you don’t have all of these individual flour components on hand, feel free to substitute with equal parts gluten-free flour. Be sure to read the back of your label, because some brands may ask you to include an ingredient you aren’t comfortable with.
Super Greens Powder: This amazing super greens powder contains cancer-fighting ingredients and tastes incredible. A few stand-out elements include:
- Chlorella powder– A detoxing agent that binds to heavy metals (2)
- Ginkgo leaf powder- Can improve mental health and promote feelings of calmness (3)
- Guarana powder– Great for boosting cognitive function and giving a boost of energy (4)
Our recipe makes enough to last a year! It tastes amazing and is so nutritious. Learn how to make it for yourself here!
Raw Cacao Powder: Have you ever experienced the euphoria that comes with eating a piece of chocolate? It won’t surprise you to learn that cacao is an instant mood booster! (5)
Cacao powder is different than cocoa powder as it contains higher levels of the cacao bean and is less processed.
Powdered Stevia: Low-glycemic sweeteners are a great way to ensure you still get sweet treats! Powdered stevia is a great option that’s also budget-friendly. One teaspoon sweetens the entire batch.
Sea Salt: Traditional table salt undergoes a rigorous harvesting process that strips it of most nutrients. We recommend using sea salt because it’s hand-harvested. This leaves the good stuff intact. You can also use pink Himalayan salt.
Pumpkin Pie Spice: This delicious blend of warm spices is a constant at the Z house. We use it to enhance many recipes! For our non-American friends, pumpkin pie spice consists of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
You can usually find it in most well-stocked grocery stores or follow our easy tutorial to make your own blend.
Make Gluten-Free Pancakes
These pancakes come together in minutes. Any leftovers can be frozen for easy meal prep later on! There’s nothing better than a freezer full of healthy options.
- 2 pasture-raised organic eggs
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1½- 2 cups unsweetened coconut milk or almond milk
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- ½ cup almond flour
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup rice flour
- ¼ cup potato starch
- ¼ cup Super Green Powder
- ¼ cup ground flax seed
- 1 teaspoon stevia powder
- ¾ cup raw cacao powder
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pink Himalayan salt or sea salt
- 1 teaspoon organic pumpkin pie spice powder
- 1 tablespoon egg replacer
- Mixing bowls
- Large skillet
- In a large bowl, combine the eggs, vanilla, coconut milk, and coconut oil until well blended.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the flours, potato starch, super greens powder, ground flax seed, stevia, cacao powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and egg replacer.
- Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined.
- Place the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Be sure to add plenty of coconut oil to the pan!
- Once the oil has melted, add ¼ cup of pancake batter to the pan, and fry until bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake. Flip and cook for a few more seconds.
- Serve with coconut whipped cream and fruit.
Step One: Combine Ingredients
In a large bowl, combine the eggs, vanilla, coconut milk, and coconut oil until well blended.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the flours, potato starch, super greens powder, ground flax seed, stevia, cacao powder, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and egg replacer. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until well combined.
Step Two: Fry the Pancakes
Place the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Be sure to add plenty of coconut oil to the pan!
Once the oil has melted, add ¼ cup of pancake batter to the pan, and fry until bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake. Flip and cook for a few more seconds.
Serve with coconut whipped cream and fruit. Yum!
Mama Z Pro Tip: This recipe makes fantastic waffles. Gluten-free flours can be more finicky, so spray your waffle maker with both non-propellant organic olive and coconut oil cooking spray between batches.
You can also add fruit to your batter for a fun twist! Try whole washed blueberries or chopped washed strawberries. Use a strawberry cutting tool to make this job easier.
