For many of you pancakes are probably a must-have on Sunday mornings, even if you are on  diet, like myself. The good news is that you don’t have to give up the comforting traditions just because you have dietary restrictions or simply want to be healthy.

t is the time of the year when it’s cold and dark outside and I need to consume food that comforts me and offers heat, so I spiced those pancakes up with the traditional winter spices – cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon. Sometimes it feels as if I was living off those spices – not a day goes by without a fair amount of them sprinkled on or stirred in my porridge, chia pudding, drinks, cookies and cakes.

To keep things short for those not keen on reading long posts, my fluffy and spiced squash-carrot pancakes with buckwheat and oat bran are Candida diet friendly, plant-based, vegan, sugar-free and oil-free. One might claim them to be gluten-free as well, but there’s a debate on avenin in oats – some people with celiac disease can tolerate gluten from uncontaminated oat products, but others react with an autoimmune response. Should you be one of those people, substitute oat bran with rice bran.

Fluffy Buckwheat-Oat Bran Pancakes

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 8 minutes

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Ingredients

• 150g (5.3oz) raw buckwheat groats
• 150g (5.3oz) oat bran
• 450g (16oz, 1.9 cups) water
• 350g (12.3oz, 1.4 cups) oat or rice milk
• 2 tbsps. ground flax seeds
• 2 tbsps. carob powder
• 3 tsps. cinnamon
• 2 tsps. dried ginger
• ¼ tsp. cardamom
• ⅛ tsp. ground nutmeg
• ⅛ tsp. ground cloves
• Himalayan salt to taste (I put ½ tsp.)
• 60g (2.1oz, ½ cup) summer squash cubes
• 100g (3.5oz, about 1 cup) finely grated summer squash (add later)
• 100g (3.5oz, about 1 cup) finely grated butternut squash (add later)
• 1 medium carrot, finely grated (add later)

Instructions

Soak buckwheat groats overnight or at least for 6 hours. Rinse and drain.

Add the rinsed groats along with other
ingredients, EXCEPT grated veggies, into blender and blend until smooth
and homogeneous batter forms.

Taste and adjust by adding more spices/salt if necessary.

Finally mix in finely grated veggies.

Take a good non-stick pan free of Teflon and
PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic Acid). Add a few drops of oil onto the pan and
swipe it off with folded kitchen paper. Let all the oil absorb into the
paper and use it to swipe the pan clean between pancakes.

Put a ladleful of batter onto the pan and even
it out with a spoon or by shaking and/or tilting the pan to get the
exact shape of your pan bottom. The frying time greatly depends on your
stove. I flip it around when it is almost dry and also check the colour
of the bottom side.

Nutrition Information

Yield 15 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 52Total Fat 1gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 0mgSodium 37mgCarbohydrates 11gFiber 4gSugar 3gProtein 2g

Tips on toppings:

• Blend berries of your choice with banana.
• Blend fruits of your choice. Mango puree is my boys’ favourite.
• Add spices of your choice, e.g. cardamom, vanilla, cinnamon, to either the pancake batter or your sauce/jam.
• Unsweetened applesauce makes a great pancake jam, especially if you add a splash of coconut milk.
• Hummus with salad would also make a great addition to these pancakes.

As I’m on Candida diet, I just have them plain with chicory root coffee. I really don’t miss any toppings, because the pancakes are so fluffy and moist from the veggies hidden inside them. I even like to have them instead of bread as a side to my lunch or dinner.