As I've mentioned before, my grandchildren have fairly severe food allergies. We have them on the boat with us for the summer, so finding food that they can eat is challenging. Since I hear from many of you that you are facing gluten and allergy issues, I'll be posting some of the recipes that we have found usable and, quite frankly, delicious.
One of my grandkids is allergic to wheat, one to dairy, and all of them are sensitive to colors, preservatives, and additives of all kinds. They also all suffer from the gut issues that the GAPS diet addresses. This means that the rice flour recipes that we were using last time they were here are off the table so this summer has been even more challenging. They are also not able to tolerate the high starch content of the popular gluten free products. The loss of the flours really hit hard since the rice flour chocolate chip pancakes were their favorite.
Enter the wonderfully adaptable plantain.
Plantains are so infinitely versatile when you are cooking and baking for the gluten intolerant and allergy-prone eaters. When green, they are higher in starch and make a wonderful pancake that is almost impossible to tell from a flour one, as well as some tasty pumpkin muffins. When yellow, but with no brown spots, they make a thinner but much sweeter pancake and when fully ripe with many brown spots they are great for smoothies and puddings. I'll be listing some new recipes as we experiment, but since plantains are so readily available in the tropics, these are a great staple for cruisers.
So without further ado, here is the plantain pancake with or without chocolate chips.
Ingredients:
2 large green plantain
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 Tbl coconut oil
1/8 tp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
One of my grandkids is allergic to wheat, one to dairy, and all of them are sensitive to colors, preservatives, and additives of all kinds. They also all suffer from the gut issues that the GAPS diet addresses. This means that the rice flour recipes that we were using last time they were here are off the table so this summer has been even more challenging. They are also not able to tolerate the high starch content of the popular gluten free products. The loss of the flours really hit hard since the rice flour chocolate chip pancakes were their favorite.
Enter the wonderfully adaptable plantain.
Plantains are so infinitely versatile when you are cooking and baking for the gluten intolerant and allergy-prone eaters. When green, they are higher in starch and make a wonderful pancake that is almost impossible to tell from a flour one, as well as some tasty pumpkin muffins. When yellow, but with no brown spots, they make a thinner but much sweeter pancake and when fully ripe with many brown spots they are great for smoothies and puddings. I'll be listing some new recipes as we experiment, but since plantains are so readily available in the tropics, these are a great staple for cruisers.
So without further ado, here is the plantain pancake with or without chocolate chips.
Ingredients:
2 large green plantain
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 Tbl coconut oil
1/8 tp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1-1/2 tsp sugar (optional)
Enjoy Life Dairy Free Chocolate Chips (optional)
Directions:
Heat griddle to medium and grease with high heat oil like sunflower. Coconut oil works, but not as well, especially if the plantains are yellow. Pour the batter on the griddle in 1/4 cup increments. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.
Watch griddle carefully because these take a little lower heat than normal pancakes. As you go through the batches you have to continually turn the heat lower. Also, the greener the plantain, the higher the heat can be. The yellower, the lower.
Enjoy with dairy free butter and maple syrup.
