Friday, June 11, 2010

Raw flaxseed pancakes

Yep, more rawness! I’m following up my savory chilly chili with a sweet raw breakfast duo of flax pancakes ("flaxjacks," if you will) with blackberry-date sauce, both recipes adapted from Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen. This meal is way (way WAY) faster to put together than the chili, so if you found that a bit intimidating, you’ll appreciate the preparatory brevity of this dish. These are obviously pretty dissimilar to real pancakes ("breakfast patties" may be a more apt moniker, but the method by which you eat them – with a knife and fork, drizzled with a syrupy fruit concoction – earns them the "pancakes" label), but they’re delicious in their own right.

This post was made possible by the munificent people at Pizzey’s Nutritionals. Pizzey’s is the only company on the market whose flax contains all three Omega-3 fatty acids (ALA, EPA, and DHA), and its shelf life is blessedly long (2 years without refrigeration!). Awhile back, they offered me "samples" of some of their high-quality flaxseed products—imagine my surprise when two 2-lb. bags (milled golden flax and SmoothOmega milled flax) arrived at my door, followed some time after by two more 2-lb. bags (organic milled golden flax and – get this – blueberry milled golden flax!) plus a box of individual-serving flax singles! WOW. I was blown away.



You can order Pizzey’s flaxseed online at FlaxMatters.com and get free shipping on all orders over $50! They’ve got numerous varieties of flax to choose from, plus some cool accessories like a flaxseed grinder and this cute lil flax scoop. I also think their flaxseed starter kit is a great idea. Thanks again, Pizzey’s, for your generosity!

Ok, I’m done flaxing poetic; on to the recipes!

For the pancakes:
1 1/2 cups ground flaxseed
1/4 cup (raw) agave nectar
1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp water


For the sauce:
1/2 cup blackberries
2-3 pitted dates


I recommend prepping the sauce first, so it can chill and thicken as you make the cakes. Just combine the blackberries and dates in a blender or food processor...



...and blend until smooth, adding a splash of water as necessary. Transfer to a small container and place in the fridge until you’re ready to use it. (It’ll keep for several days in there.)



For the flaxseed in this recipe, I used Pizzey’s milled golden flax with blueberries to give my cakes some fruity pizzazz. (Of course, regular flax will work just fine. If you’re grinding your own, start with one heaping cup whole flaxseeds, which should amount to roughly 1 1/2 cups when ground.)



Combine all the pancake ingredients in a bowl.



Mix well with your hands or a wooden spoon.



Divide the mixture into eight portions. Roll into balls and, somehow or another, form the balls into flat medallions.



I greased a half-cup measuring cup and used the back of a spoon to press each ball into a patty. A biscuit cutter would work even better for this, since you wouldn’t have to bang the cup on the counter each time to free the cake.



Place the cakes on a platter, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to eat. They’ll stay good for up to a week, so you can just take out one or two each morning for breakfast.



Serve the cakes with the blackberry-date sauce, and feel free to add other toppings (like maple syrup, agave nectar, or vanilla yogurt) in addition or instead. You might not guess it thanks to their diminutive size, but these babies are filling. They’re pleasantly mealy and mildly sweet, plus you’ll get a day and a half’s worth of Omega-3s in each cake! If breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, these cakes give it the respect it deserves.



(Pancakes) Yield: 8 pancakes. Per pancake: 157 calories, 10.6g fat (2g sat), 14.1g carbs, 6g fiber, 3.8g protein.
(Sauce) Yield: 8 servings. Per serving (about 2 Tbsp): 21 calories, .1g fat (trace sat), 5.5g carbs, 1g fiber, .2g protein.

If you like this, you might also like...
Maple cinnamon pecan milk
Quick blueberry compote
Raw pecan pie cookies

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13 comments:

  1. these look wonderful!

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  2. This really, really excites me. Hurrah! I'm actually not a fan of normal pancakes (they make me feel like I've eaten a doona), but these have somehow tapped into a big want-want-want part of me. Plus, I adore berries :) Now to find a flaxseed stockist in Canberra that won't break my waiting-to-hear-if-I-got-a-scholarship bank...

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  3. These look good! And that's soo cool that they make blueberry infused flax?!

    I love Ani's raw dessert cook book- I need to make some of those again. I feel so healthy eating them :>

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  4. Those look so interesting! I love pancakes, but I don't know if I could do the raw pancake...is the texture weird? They sound yummy though! :)

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  5. These definitely sound healthy & I love the choices for toppings!

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  6. Fit&40 & Angela—Thank you both!

    Hannah—Firstly, what's a doona? Secondly, you don't have easy access to flax?! For shame...sooo, when is our bloggie swap happening? :]

    Kati—I have that book too! I made her raw cheezecake recently and it was great! "Virtuous" desserts are just the best, aren't they?

    Aimee—Definitely take the word "pancake" with a grain of salt (or flax?). When kept chilled, their texture is sorta chewy, but a little crumbly, yet also rather dense..."weird," I suppose, but [I think] in a good way!

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  7. Amber

    As soon as I locate some flaxseed I will try these; I like their rustic look and the fact that they are filling! Perfect to start the day! How interesting what you did with the blackberry coulis, adding the dates is such a brilliant idea to give depth and texture!

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  8. Miss Amber let me say - these look delish! And I have a bit of VITA envy :)

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  9. Hmm, I think you'd call it a duvet? It's a big warm thick blanket quilt thingamabob :) And yes, the bloggie swap! Maybe once I've found out about whether the scholarship is to-be-or-not-to-be? :)

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  10. tasteofbeirut—Thank you! I've been enjoying using dates in my sweets more often lately. Just bought a 5-lb. bag of them, in fact.

    Amanda—I can understand; I suffered from Vita-envy for quite a long time before I became the proud mama of my own Vita-baby. Worth every penny!

    Hannah—Deal :] And by the way, good luck!

    Eric—Thanks! I'd love to know if you try them out.

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  11. looks deelish!! I have to try. I love your blog title, since that describes me. I love cupcakes, honey and marshmallow-peeps, fluff, anything marshmallow, and chicago deep dish pizza, so I won't give up ALL but have chosen to be almost vegan and raw when I can.

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  12. Lisa—I can relate! I like marshmallows and honey too. Flexibility – and just doing what you can, when you can – is, if you ask me, the best way to dip your toes into the waters of veganism or raw foodism :] And before you know it, you might find yourself happily swimming!

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