Recovery Pancake

By Leeny Hoffmann

Did I just say "recovery pancake"?  You heard me.  And it's not because this pancake just came out of the Betty Ford Clinic.  This pancake is good recovery food.  It looks pretty legit, right?  It has a nice brown color, light fluffy texture, and a delicious crumb and chew.  Here's the good part...it is sugar, grain, nut and dairy free!  I know what you're thinking..."Then what the heck did you possibly make it with?"  Here's my secret.  GREEN PLANTAINS.  If you are skeptical, then you are just like I was.  I saw a blog post from The Paleo Mom about making delicious pancakes with green plantains.  I thought there was no possible way this could be any good.  I watched her video on how to pick out the plantains and then headed over to Global Foods in Kirkwood because I know they always have good, weird produce.  (But I'm sure you can find plantains at most grocery stores.)  They had plenty of the big green ones so I paid for my fruit and headed home.  

I cut open the plantain and pried it from its skin.  Then I cut it into pieces and threw it into my food processor.  A blender would work fine too.  I added the eggs and the rest of the ingredients and gave it a try.  It. Was. Amazing.  Really!!  And believe me, I've tried A LOT of paleo pancakes, some of which have ended up in the trash can.  I made another batch this morning after getting my butt kicked in Emily's rowing class. I needed recovery food so I would be ready for an afternoon Oly lifting session.  The results were stellar and I feel compelled to share this with the world.  These are made with good fats from coconut oil, eggs, and plantains and are loaded with Vitamins A, C, and Magnesium.  Here's what you have to do:

Recovery Pancakes

1 large green plantain (about 200g cut up without skin)

2 large eggs

2 t. vanilla  (I like Mexican vanilla)

1 1/2 T melted coconut oil

pinch salt

1/4 t. baking soda

Peel plantain and cut into cubes. Place in food processor or blender and puree.   Add eggs, vanilla, coconut oil, salt and baking soda and continue to process until it looks like pancake batter.  In a small skillet, heat up a teaspoon more of coconut oil on med to low.  Add pancake batter and cook about 3-4 min on that side, until it is bubbly and starting to dry.  Flip over and cook about 1 more minute on the other side.  Enjoy with almond butter, pure maple syrup or honey.  Makes about three 7-inch pancakes.  

Nutrition facts per pancake (3 per batch)

Calories - 188

fat - 10.3 g

protein - 5.2 g

carb - 21 g

Make ahead and stash in your gym bag.  Add a piece of ham (for more protein) and you've got a nice post wod meal.  This is a good starch for replenishing muscle glycogen.  The coconut oil is a good source of medium chain triglycerides that also aid in recovery and provide immediate fuel.  

To see the entire post from which my plantain eureka came, please visit the Paleo Mom blog here:   http://www.thepaleomom.com/2012/09/perfect-paleo-pancakes.html

Be sure to watch her plantain video too.

This could have been a little greener.

Pancake starting to bubble.  I used a small skillet and cooked one at a time.

Reovery food!