My heart is heavy this morning. Our little Sketchie cat is going through a surgery right now. It broke my heart saying good-bye this morning. He has no idea what he’s in for, what he will wake up to, and have to recover from. I haven’t written much about Sketchie’s bowel problems (most likely because it doesn’t tie into the topic of food very well!), but our vet suspects that he has Irritable Bowel Disease. Many days he is running to get to his litter box in time. I won’t get into details, but it’s so sad to watch. His problems were there as a kitten and have gotten worse over the years. We’ve tried relentlessly to find a cure for his problems – grain-free food, the raw food diet, single protein food sources, pumpkin, probiotics – you name it, and nothing seemed to help for long and he’s also extremely picky with food so that complicates things too. He has had blood work and stool testing galore! I feel so bad for him because he obviously doesn’t understand what is going on with his body.
Our vet recommended that Sketchie have exploratory surgery where they will take a biopsy of his intestines, examine his organs, and look for anything unusual like cancer. If we just put him on medication it might cover up a serious problem that’s going on, so we decided it was best to know what’s really going on inside him. His recent blood work came back that he has low B12 which could be a result of IBD or it could be due to something more serious like lymphoma. The hardest part about this decision is that we don’t know for sure if it will end up finding a solution to his problem, but we figure it’s worth a shot for his long-term health and happiness. We really don’t know what else to do at this point. One thing is for sure; this wacky, quirky little cat has left such a mark on my heart, I can’t imagine my life without him and I would do anything to help him.
The house feels so empty and quiet this morning (there’s no one rubbing his head on my computer screen right now or meowing at me!), but I know he’s in great hands. And he will be spoiled and taken care of 24/7 when he’s home, so hopefully his recovery goes well. I’ll keep you posted on how he’s doing. Hopefully he doesn’t hate us too much, especially with that cone around his head and mystery incision.
There’s no good way to transition into a pancake recipe today, but let’s just go with it. I need a little comfort food right about now! I made these pancakes for Eric and I after the hockey game on Sunday to celebrate the Olympics. It was an event we looked forward to for weeks and I couldn’t think of a better way to treat ourselves. It’s been a LONG time since I wrote about pancakes on this blog…too long, in fact! Hopefully this makes up for lost time.
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
Easy Vegan and Gluten-Free Pancakes (Strawberry Shortcake + Whipped Cream)
Yield
9 pancakes
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
These vegan pancakes are made with raw buckwheat flour, rice flour, and arrowroot flour - making them naturally gluten-free - and chopped bananas are folded into the batter to provide a fluffy, pillow-like texture. You can enjoy them plain (they are seriously really good without anything added!), or you can get fancy and serve them with some coconut whipped cream, fresh berries, vegan butter, and/or maple syrup. The sky is the limit, pancake lovers. They are also fantastic with some finely chopped chocolate thrown into the batter or blueberries! You can tell I’ve made this recipe a lot! One word of caution: The combination of gluten-free flour is sensitive to changes. I don’t recommend subbing any of the flours with oat flour, for example - it tends to create a pancake that cracks, sticks to the pan, and falls apart. I don’t have any issues with this recipe when I follow it as written and use a non-stick skillet though. This recipe is adapted from my Vanilla Blueberry Buckwheat pancakes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw buckwheat groats, ground into a fine flour
- 1/2 cup brown rice flour
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1.5 cups + 3 tablespoons almond milk
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or agave nectar)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 heaping cup diced ripe bananas (about 2 small/medium)
- Coconut Whipped Cream, for garnish
- Chopped Fresh Strawberries, for garnish
Directions
- Preheat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. A drop of water should sizzle on the skillet when it’s ready.
- In a blender, blend the buckwheat groats on high speed until a fine flour forms. Place into a large bowl. Now whisk in the rest of the dry ingredients (rice flour, arrowroot, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond milk, syrup, and vanilla extract. Pour this onto the dry ingredients and whisk the batter until no clumps remain.
- Dice the banana until it's the size of peas or a bit larger. Fold the diced banana into the batter.
- Lightly grease skillet (I spray olive oil on it). Scoop a heaping 1/4 cup of batter onto the preheated skillet and quickly spread the batter out into a circle. Cook until some bubbles appear and the edge looks deeper in colour and more firm. Flip and cook for another couple minutes until golden. Adjust heat as needed. Repeat for the other pancakes. I spray the skillet with oil before each pancake is cooked and this seems to work well.
- Stack and serve with Coconut Whipped Cream and fresh chopped strawberries, if desired. Or simply serve with pure maple syrup!
Tip:
- If using frozen blueberries, pour batter onto skillet first and then top with blueberries to prevent bleeding.
- I tried subbing the rice flour for oat flour and the pancakes stuck to the pan, so I would advise against that substitution.
- If at any time your batter is too thick or if you want thinner pancakes, simply thin it out with a splash or two of almond milk.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Lastly, I want to thank all of you who have let me know you received the cookbook a bit early (Indigo is shipping early and stocking the book in some stores, FYI). I’ve received so many tweets from you sharing pictures of the book in your home, recipes you’ve already made, and the like. It’s really brightened up my week and I’m so grateful for your excitement and support. One week from today, the book will be officially released and out in the world. I feel nervous, excited, anxious, scared, and grateful all at once.
Don’t forget, if you haven’t taken advantage of the Bonus Recipe Bundle with 10 bonus recipes you can still do so until next week. Details here.
Now go on and treat yourself to some pancakes!
I hope your kitty is ok!
I just pre-ordered your cookbook… can’t wait!
I am totally going to try these this weekend if I can find arrowroot. I used to make buckwheat pancakes all the time, I’m not sure why I ever stopped, they are the best!
I hope Sketchie is feeling okay and they figure out what’s going on. My cat, Bella, has been fighting a mystery illness for about 6 months. They thought it was a UTI but they have no idea why or how she got it and why we can’t get rid of the symptoms. Poor thing lost 4 pounds in 6 months (she’s only 8 lbs right now) and it hurts her if I touch her below the shoulders. She’s been recently looking a little better but I hope we can nip it in the bud soon – I adopted her 8 years ago and I know the house would be so lonely without her! Good luck, Sketchie!
Get better soon Sketchie!!! Not knowing what is wrong with our babies (human and fur ones lol) is THE worst!!!
Sending your kitty some love and healing vibes :-)
And I love pancakes, will have to try out this recipe!
My kitty Ludacat & I will be sending lots of positive thoughts Sketchie’s way.
Saying a prayer for the kitty and I know he’ll be fine. Hopefully it’ll give you some answers but regardless the best medicine is love and he’s got a lot of that. ;-)
Perfection, I have been loving gluten free waffles made similar to this, buckwheat is becoming a quick gluten free favorite!
Hi Angela,
Thank you for this fabulous recipe! Sending lots of positive thoughts for Sketchie, hope he gets well soon!
I’d like to ask you if I can use buckwheat flour instead of the groats and what could I replace the banana with (or would they work without banana)? Thank you so much!
I hope Sketchie feels better! I was so happy to receive your cookbook last week. It is gorgeous and I love every one of your recipes. I can’t wait to dig in and cook.
Pancakes are perfect for today! My kids are enjoying Mardi Gras celebrations with pancakes at school today – so this day and pancakes are a natural, and go hand-in-hand for our family.
Mmm, I love pancakes! Would these work if I used buckwheat flour instead of ground groats?
I hope Sketchie is okay! I used to have a cat with chronic urinary tract infections and it was heart breaking.
Amazing photos and I love the ingredients in this pancake recipe! I wonder if I could ground up the buckwheat flour ahead of time and keep and keep a canister of it on the counter?
So sorry to hear about Sketchie’s health issues and surgery – I will definitely be sending happy thoughts your way.
Wow! That picture looks unbelievably good! Pancakes are my favorite meal to enjoy post long run! I have an 18 mile progression run this afternoon….if I manage to work down to the 6:00 pace I hope to by the end, I think I will reward myself with this as a wonderful post workout meal!
Hope Sketchie is feeling better, that sounds horrible :(
Get well soon Sketchie! Having a sick animal is certainly no fun (one of my cats has season cystitis flare-ups every spring… it’s a good thing he’s so cute, because he costs me a fortune every year). Hopefully they will find something and it will be easy to fix or work around. If he’s picky with wet food, the one that I’ve found that my guys love and will actually eat) is Taste of The Wild (the green can is their favourite). It’s grain free and fairly cheap, might be worth a try.
So excited! I received my copy of the “Oh She Glows” cookbook yesterday. Couldn’t stop looking at the beautiful pictures and recipes. Congratulations Angela! I know this sounds silly, but….I’m so proud of you!!!!!
Those pancakes look so good!
Oh poor Sketchie! It’s so hard to watch our fur babies go through something that we can’t explain to them or ask them how they are doing. But I think having the answers is sometimes half the battle. Once you are through the whole thing and he is doing better, it will feel like a miracle! I’m sure you will be hearing meows and getting head rubs before you know it.
Pancakes look amazing as well!
I hope all goes well for Sketchie. My thoughts are with him….
Those pancakes look amazing. I will definitely have to try them this weekend. And as for the book, I’m jealous that others have gotten their copies and I haven’t gotten mine yet, LOL! Hopefully it will be soon. I can’t wait to see it.
Angela, Your beautiful cookbook was in my mailbox this morning!!! I’m so excited to really sit down and enjoy it. My resolution for 2014 is to make 30 new recipes. I’ve already made 8 from your blog and 1 from another. I think your book will make a huge dent in my numbers. Thank you for your good work, and your beautiful gift to the world. Warmly, Andrea
I’ll keep my fingers crossed for Sketchie. I have two bengals and one has had tummy issues since we got her. We finally figured out that she is sensitive to chicken. The only food that she can handle is Acana Lamb flavour. I hope that Sketchie’s problems aren’t a concern for all bengals. Maybe there is a genetic line of bengals in Ontario that have IBS issues?