Gingerbread pancakes and 5 ways that you can #getyoursparkback

I don't know how it is where you are, but it's definitely getting cold in London! When the weather changes, my recipes change to fit the season, but before I share with you all the recipe for these delicious gingerbread pancakes, I wanted to share with you some tips that I live by, especially in the winter months! The team at Beechams wanted to know what I try to focus on in the winter to make sure I stay my best self, so here are some ways you can #getyoursparkback: 

1. Get enough sleep. Try shutting off all your electronic devices an hour before bed (I struggle a lot with this), read a good book and sip on some warm tea (caffeine free!) You’ll be telling your mind that you’re reading for bed, and your body will listen!

2. Stay hydrated (at least 8 glasses a day). I know this may seem difficult at first, but once you get used to it, you won’t go back! Carry your water bottle with you at all times, and drink even more right before and right after your meals. A quick tip is to mark goals on your water bottle using tape or a market (ex: 8oz by 10am)

3. Try to make time to exercise in the mornings. It’s getting darker earlier, so try to squeeze in a quick run or cycle when it’s light outside. After a long day at work or school, you’ll find that motivation will quickly fade as the days get shorter!

4. Eat healthy, warm meals (like mine!) instead of forcing cold salads on yourself. Cold meals when we're craving warm ones will leave us less satisfied, most likely resulting in overeating later in the day. Find healthier alternatives to comforting dishes, like my pumpkin gnocchi!

5. Try sneaking veggies into your meals, like adding spinach or kale to your berry smoothies or adding zucchini to your oats! Vegetables don’t have to be boring; you just have to get creative!

Now onto the recipe! Christmas is only two weeks away, pretty hard to believe. These pancakes are perfect for the holiday season, whether they're for your friends/family or all for you ;)

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

½ tbsp ginger

1 heaping tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp lucuma powder** (optional but recommended)

1 banana (mashed)

½ cup almond milk

2 flax eggs* (2 tbsp of flax + 6 tbsp of water)

Coconut oil (for cooking)

*To make your flax eggs, combine the flax and water, and let sit in the fridge for at least thirty minutes, but preferably overnight.

**I recommend using this because it helps take away the flavor of the buckwheat flour. You could also use maca powder!

Method: First combine all your dry ingredients. Combine your banana, almond milk, and flax eggs in a separate bowl. Add the dry to the wet and stir well. Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat with a little bit of coconut oil, and pour about ¼ cup of batter onto the pan, allowing to cook for a minute or two, until it begins to bubble. Flip, and let the other side cook for the same amount of time. Top with your favorite fruit, nut butter, or maple syrup! 

Pumpkin pie pancakes

That's a lotta p's. Do I make too many pumpkin recipes? Is that possible?

Ingredients: 

½ cup buckwheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

½ tsp nutmeg

1 banana (mashed)

1/3 cup pumpkin puree

½ cup almond milk

2 flax eggs* (2 tbsp flax + 6 tbsp water)

Coconut oil for cooking

*To make your flax eggs, combine the flax and water and let sit in the fridge for at least thirty minutes, but preferably overnight. 

Method:  Combine all your dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine your banana, pumpkin, almond milk, and flax eggs. Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat, and add a bit of coconut oil. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter onto the pan, and let cook for a minute or two, or until it begins to bubble. Flip and let cook for another minute or two on the other side. Top with fruit and hella peanut butter

basic buckwheat pancakes

This recipe is long overdue, seeing as I make it at least once a week. Once you have this super easy recipe down, you can do so many variations! 

Basic buckwheat pancakes with raspberries and Rebel chocolate mylk on the side ;)

Yields 5-6 pancakes 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp maca or lucuma powder (not necessary, but recommended)
1 ripe banana (mashed)
1/2 cup milk 
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 flax eggs* (can sub real eggs) 
Oil (for cooking - I use coconut)

Method:

1. Combine all dry ingredients.
2. Combine all wet ingredients, add to the dry. The batter should be thick!
3. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat, and add a little bit of oil. Add about 1/4 cup of batter to the pan, flipping it after a minute or two. Repeat until you get a stack of heaven.
4. Top with fruit, syrup, almond butter or whatever ya want!


*Note: To make your flax eggs, combine 2 tablespoons of flaxseed with 6 tablespoons of water, and keep in fridge for at least half an hour, but preferably overnight.


Pancake Sunday, ladies and gents.

Meg 

Chocolate maca buckwheat pancakes

Happy Halloween errybody! I had to get up super early this morning because I'm going to Spain this week WOAH and on Halloween?! It's gonna be awesome. So I whipped up these pancakes that I first saw on the lovely Naturally Meghan blog, and made a couple variations to adjust to my own taste. This recipe is SO healthy because it has flaxseed, cacao, maca AND a sneaky extra serving of fruit. Here we go:

Ingredients:

2 flax eggs (2 tbsp flaxseed + 6 tbsp of water) (you can use 2 real eggs if your diet allows you to!)

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp raw cacao powder

1 tsp of maca powder (more or less to taste)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup non dairy milk

1 ripe banana (mashed)

Method:

First, make your flax eggs by combining the flaxseed and water. Let sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, but I recommend doing it overnight.

Pancake time: combine all the dry ingredients (buckwheat, cacao, maca, baking powder), mix well.

Then, add your flax eggs, vanilla, milk and banana. Mix well again. It should be a cake-like thickness. If you want thinner pancakes, add more milk!

Heat up a nonstick pan on medium heat (or use a little bit of oil, not too much). Put a heaping spoonful (about 1/4 cup) of batter onto the pan, and let cook until it starts to bubble, about a minute or two. Flip and let it cook for another minute. 

Add with your favorite nut butter, crushed nuts, fruit, I DON'T CARE THEY'RE YOUR PANCAKES.

Happy Halloween everyone, treat yourself today!!

Meg