Delicious Vegan Zucchini Pancakes

Clean eating is a priority to me, so for these gluten free vegan zucchini pancakes, I fumbled upon the making of this recipe on accident.  Maybe a chef wouldn't call it an accident, creative is likely the better used word.  

I still have a hard time considering myself a chef in the kitchen, that's always been my brothers role.  But, I suppose if you spend enough time making food, you'll get blessed with finding the inspiration for tasty food combinations. 

So the inspiration today came out of having a zucchini in the refrigerator that needed using, and I had one more banana left, and i absolutely love both hash browns and pancakes.  

The combination of mashed banana and grated zucchini turned into something more of a 'hash cake.'  The best of both worlds in my opinion!   I just needed something to bind it all together, and the flax, chia and oat flour worked well.

It was a happy combination to the palette. 

The zucchini pancakes fry up well like hash browns would, and you don't need oil if you have a non stick pan.  This recipe would definitely not work in a pan that sticks. 

I try whenever possible to eat with purpose, with all ingredients serving as medicine.  Here's some medicinal benefits of the ingredients in this recipe.

These zucchini pancakes have a little more fat than I would normally combine with fruit, but the fats in walnuts, hemp seeds, and coconut yogurt are all fats of the highest quality and once in a while is a good rule to have when combining fats and sugars.

1. Zucchini:  a great source of potassium, which creates inner cellular electrolyte balance. 
2. Banana:  antiviral food and anti inflammatory food.  Amazing food for reducing the viral load of a shingles virus.
3. Walnuts:  powerful antioxidant and an excellent source of omega 3 fatty acids which reduces inflammation in the body.
4. Hemp seeds:  this is another antiviral food, and an excellent food for the skin and healing skin disorders like acne, psoriasis, and eczema.
5. Flax seeds: high in omega 3 fatty acids, thus reducing inflammation. 
6. Oat Flour:  since I do not adhere to the lectin theory, I am fine with most gluten free flours.  I prefer oats, millet, or buckwheat flours over nut flours, to reduce the fat content.  If the nuts are sprouted, I will choose a sprouted almond flour.
7. Cinnamon:  an amazing spice for inflammation because it is an antiviral.  And plus it tastes delicious. 
8. Maple Syrup:  for sweeteners, I prefer a high quality maple syrup, raw unprocessed honey, organic dates or unprocessed stevia as a fourth option.  Since my diet is 80% fruits and vegetables, I can afford to use any sweetener of choice without concern for calories.  If I were making a different choice on fruit/vegetable ratio, then stevia or monk fruit would be my first choice for sweeteners. 
9. Coconut Yogurt:  there is very little fat in harmless harvest plain unsweetened coconut yogurt.  2 grams per 4 ounces approximately.  Mixing high fats and fruits is not ideal, so this is an ideal topping in moderation.

Zucchini Pancakes

Try these delicious vegan zucchini pancakes for breakfast or even as a savory pancake for dinner.

Substitute the banana for a steamed sweet potato and place it under a bed of mixed greens for a lunch meal. 

Ingredients

• 2 small zucchini
• 1 ripe banana (with a few brown spots)
• 1/4 cup hemp seeds
• 1 tbsp ground flax seed
• 1 tbsp. ground chia seeds
• 1/4 cup oat flour or most other gluten free flours will work
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon (optional)

Zucchini pancake toppings

• Banana slices
• Maple syrup
• Coconut Yogurt
• Chopped walnuts
• wild blueberries /blackberries blended into a jam.
• hemp seeds
• chopped dates
• honey

Directions

1. Peel the zucchinis, grate and dry out as much moisture as possible.
2. Add the dried zucchini to medium sized bowl.
3. Add the banana, flax, chia, oat flour, walnuts and cinnamon.
4. Mash it all together with hands until all ingredients are well combined.
5. Make 1/4 cup sized pancakes and smash the pancake flat with your fingers or spatula once in pan. Mixture will be very sticky at first until cooked.
6. Cook oil free on a medium-high heat non-stick skillet. 3-4 minutes per side, flipping frequently once you are able. Flatten the pancake more as it cooks, to get any uncooked batter in the middle to squeeze through the pancake. Once both sides are golden brown, crispy, and no more batter is squeezing through when you flatten it, your pancake is done. 

ENJOY the zucchini pancakes friends!