Healthy Carrot Cake Pancakes

Fluffy, healthy carrot cake pancakes made right in your blender with delicious spices.  Makes 6

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 eggs
1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (or sub coconut sugar or honey)
1 ½ cups old fashioned rolled oats,
2 teaspoons BP
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
Mix-ins:
1 cup shredded carrots (shred with a cheese grater)
¼ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
3 Tab sultanas
For cooking:
Olive oil or coconut oil

1.  Add all of the ingredients (besides the carrots, walnuts & sultanas) to a blender and blend on high until completely smooth, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in the carrots, chopped walnuts and sultanas (DO NOT BLEND THESE IN).

2.  Lightly coat a griddle with oil over a medium heat. Once pan is hot, add about 1/3 cup of the batter to the griddle for each pancake and use a spoon to spread them out a bit into circles; cook for 2-4 minutes until pancakes slightly puff up and you see a few bubbles along the edges.

3.  Flip cakes and cook until golden brown on underside. If you find they are browning too quickly, then you need to lower the heat. I normally start on medium heat, then reduce to medium low later so they don’t burn. If at any point your griddle starts smoking, it means your pan is too hot.

4.  Wipe skillet clean and repeat with more oil and remaining batter.

How to freeze pancakes

If you want to make your carrot cake pancakes ahead of time and serve them at a later date, you can place the pancakes on a baking sheet so they aren’t touching and place in the freezer for 30 minutes, then place them in freezer safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Once ready to reheat, simply add pancakes to a plate and microwave for 30-60 seconds or until warm.

Fudgy Black Bean Zucchini Cookies

These decadent Fudgy Black Bean Zucchini Cookies make the best healthy treat! They are chocolatey pillows of glory for your face!  Makes about 14-16 cookies.

Ingredients

  • 1 medium zucchini, grated + water squeezed out
  • 115oz can black beans, drained, rinsed, and patted dry
  • 2 Tab almond butter (or nut butter of choice)
  • 4 Medjool dates, pitted
  • ¼ cup cacao powder
  • ¼ cup old-fashioned oats
  • ½ cup coconut sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp BP
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ⅓ cup chocolate chips + more for topping

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silipat.
  2. Chop ends off and grate zucchini. Place in a sieve or strainer to drain.
  3. Add black beans, almond butter, dates, cacao, oats, coconut sugar, vanilla, baking powder, and salt to a food processor. Process until well-combined.
  4. Add zucchini and process again for another 30 seconds, or until well-combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
  5. Drop spoonfuls of batter onto the baking sheet. The batter will be wet and sticky and that’s okay! Wetting your hands may help. You should have about 14-16 cookies.
  6. Bake for 15 minutes.
  7. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. (I love popping them in the microwave for 10 seconds before eating!)