Sweet Potato Flapjacks 🥞

It often seems as though everyone from the butcher to the baker to the candlestick maker is telling us to eat more vegetables. So why not start with breakfast?

Pancakes are one of several quintessential breakfast foods. Sadly, conventional pancakes aren't so great for us from a health standpoint. Most pancake recipes are loaded with refined flour, sugar, and poor quality fats. Most are also made with dairy, which isn't great news for the roughly 5 million Canadians who consider themselves to be lactose intolerant, not to mention those with a severe dairy allergy. Clearly, traditional pancake recipes are in serious need of a quality upgrade!

While these won't taste exactly like the pancakes your grandma used to make (part of why I am calling them "flapjacks" instead of the more common "pancakes"), they are reminiscent and have an hearty, flavourful appeal entirely their own.

Ingredients

Adapted from Smile Sandwich

½ cup sweet potato, steamed until soft and mashed

2 eggs (preferably organic and pastured)

1 Tbsp coconut flour

1 Tbsp coconut mylk

1 Tbsp real maple syrup

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp pure vanilla extract

1/16 tsp aluminum-free baking soda

Avocado oil (for pan)

Berries to garnish (optional)

Directions

Mix together all of the ingredients (except the avocado oil and berries) until a smooth batter forms. I whip it together with a fork, but you could use a handheld blender or Magic Bullet, if you prefer an extremely uniform consistency.

Heat avocado oil in a pan over medium heat. (Substitution: You could use ghee or coconut oil, if you prefer.)

Pour 2 Tbsp of the batter into the pan and cook until small bubbles start to form.

Flip the flapjack and cook for 1 more minute OR until fully cooked.

Repeat.

Makes about 6 medium flapjacks.

Health Benefits

Sweet Potato 🍠--Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes are an excellent source of beta-carotene, or provitamin A, an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrient. Several recent studies have shown the first-rate ability of sweet potatoes to raise our blood levels of vitamin A.

Eggs--Eggs are a very good source of complete protein, as well as an excellent source of choline, an important nutrient for membrane structure and nervous system activity.

Coconut Flour--Coconut flour is a fantastic, filling, blood sugar friendly source of fibre. Every Tbsp contains 3 grams of fibre!

Coconut Mylk--Coconut mylk is a rich source of MCTs, fats lauded for their seemingly near-miraculous ability to do everything from improving cognitive function to supporting weight management.

Maple Syrup--Maple syrup is a natural sweetener that boasts over 63 antioxidants that could help delay or prevent diseases caused by free radicals, such as cancer or diabetes.