Recipe #2: Monkeycakes
This is another really simple recipe that my family loves. I’ve served this to other people’s kids, too, and they gobbled them up. Monkeycakes are healthy pancakes that use only three ingredients, although if you’re using a stainless steel skillet like I did, you’ll need a little coconut oil to keep them from sticking in the pan. We added some Grade B Maple Syrup and some berries to ours. I put blueberries and raspberries on each one of mine and then folded them up and ate them like tacos. They were delicious. For the picture, I was going to put some bacon on the plate, too. I cooked the bacon before I started cooking the Monkeycakes. While I was waiting on the Monkeycakes to cook, I ate the bacon, because bacon is good. While I was setting up a plate of Monkeycakes and berries for the blog pictures, I realized that I ate the bacon that I cooked for the picture. Oops. I do suggest adding bacon to your plate. It’s good.
I did all of my mashing, whisking, and mixing on one plate. I probably could have gotten smoother batter by mixing it in a food processor or blender, but I’m all about simplicity and fewer dishes. The only thing that’s challenging about using the plate is that you can’t really pour the batter off of it. Well, you can, but your pancakes will be shaped more like Jamaica than a typical pancake. I just spooned the batter onto the skillet, and that gave me pretty rounded Monkeycakes. I did make one of my Monkeycakes by pouring from the plate. You can see it in one of the pictures. If you’re making more than one batch, either make them a batch at a time on the same plate (that’s what I do) or use a big bowl.
One banana, one egg, and one teaspoon of arrowroot flour made seven small pancakes, as you can see in one of the pictures. I ate four of them, and then I made two more batches and fed those to my kids. They were rushing to go somewhere, or I would have made another batch for them. Monkeycakes really are quick to make.
I do not recommend eating these on a regular basis. While the ingredients are all healthy foods, this meal is high in sugar, especially for breakfast. Even natural sugars from bananas, berries, and maple syrup are unhealthy when you eat too much.
This recipe is not compliant to the Autoimmune Protocol. I was able to successfully reintroduce eggs after eliminating them, and I eat eggs almost every morning. If you are just starting on the AIP, you could make monkeycakes for your family, but make yourself something that is AIP compliant. Autoimmune Paleo’s Three-Herb Beef Breakfast Patties are good.
I found this recipe a long time ago on Allrecipes.com, under the name “Paleo-Pancakes.” Our family calls them Monkeycakes because that’s a lot more fun. Here’s how to make them. Enjoy!
Monkeycakes
Ingredients:
- One banana
- One egg (from a happy hen that live on a pasture – check out your farmer’s market)
- One teaspoon of arrowroot flour
Instructions:
- Start heating your skillet on medium heat.
- Add a little coconut oil to prevent sticking.*
- Mash the banana.
- Whisk the egg and the mashed banana.
- Add in the teaspoon of arrowflour and whisk.**
- Pour your batter into the skillet, like you would for pancakes.
- Once they start to bubble, flip them over. It usually takes a couple of minutes for mine.
- Cook for a few minutes on the other side, until Monkeycakes are browned to your liking.
- Put them on a plate.
- Add maple syrup if you desire. Use good quality, pure maple syrup.***
- Eat. Don’t gobble them up, though… chew your food! Digestion begins in the mouth!
- Relax while your kids take care of the dishes. 🙂
* If you are using Teflon or other non-stick pans: Teflon and other nonstick coatings produce toxic gases when they are heated to high temperatures. Also, have you even noticed that over time, the Teflon wears down and it doesn’t look as nice as it used to? Ever noticed scratches in it? Where does that Teflon go? Think it could have gotten into your food? Think you might have eaten it? I hope not! Consider investing in some good stainless steel or cast iron pots and pans!
** You can actually make this recipe without the arrowroot flour. The batter will be thinner and more difficult to work with, though. Make small pancakes, otherwise they’re very difficult to flip. Most grocery stores in my area carry arrowroot flour. You can usually find it on the baking aisle.
*** Maple syrup is a food that comes from maple trees. Basically, it’s what you get if you boil the sap from maple trees. This is very different from the typical syrup you would find at IHOP or in the refrigerator of most Americans. The one and only ingredient that is listed on my bottle of maple syrup is: 100% pure maple syrup. These are the ingredients that you will find listed on a bottle of Aunt Jemima’s original syrup: CORN SYRUP, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, WATER, CELLULOSE GUM, CARAMEL COLOR, SALT, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, SODIUM BENZOATE AND SORBIC ACID (PRESERVATIVES), SODIUM HEXAMETAPHOSPHATE.
Here are some pictures of the process: