GF Buckwheat Pancakes with Berry Sauce
Do you love berry season? If so, you will love these gluten-free Buckwheat Pancakes with Berry Sauce. Not only do they taste delicious, but they are packed full of nutrients too. Berries are soooo good, and good for you, I can never get enough berries.
In fact, berries have more antioxidants than just about any other food out there. And Buckwheat (not really a wheat at all!) is also high in antioxidants like quercetin and rutin. And as you may know, antioxidants are super important to a healthy lifestyle. They help us fight those pesky free radicals that we get from sun damage, overexposure to radiation, (including from our cell phones!), and coming in contact with other environmental toxins in our food, water, and air.
So these gluten-free buckwheat pancakes with berry sauce are a perfect way to start your healthy day!
Eat organic berries whenever possible
Since most berries are on the Dirty Dozen list, and contaminated with pesticides, it’s important to choose organic berries whenever possible. Pesticides can’t really be washed off of berries because their skin acts like a sponge and absorbs them inside.
Once berry season is passed, your next best bet is to eat frozen berries. Since frozen berries are flash-frozen as soon as they are picked, they retain most of their health benefits. So while fresh berries are always best, frozen berries aren’t a bad way to go.
When I was a kid we’d go berry picking, “one for the basket, one for me!” Thankfully they were pesticide-free. My favorite berries are raspberries, but blueberries are a close second. Which berries do you love most? No matter which berries you choose, they are all packed full of amazing nutritional benefits. So eat up while they are fresh!
Health benefits of eating gluten-free buckwheat pancakes with berry sauce
The numerous antioxidants found in berries and in buckwheat have a wide range of benefits including:
- Promoting skin health
- Promoting gut health
- Protecting our hearts and cardiovascular system
- Fighting cancer
- Fueling our brain
- Supporting our vision
- Preventing urinary tract infections
- Boosting our immune system
Wow! That’s a lot of fantastic benefits from one breakfast! Quercetin gives Buckwheat its anti-inflammatory properties. And rutin can help to strengthen the capillaries as well as improve circulation in the cardiovascular system. Buckwheat also has mucilaginous fiber which acts as a prebiotic, feeding helpful bacteria in the gut, aiding digestion, and preventing constipation.
Yet the name Buckwheat is a little misleading. It’s not a member of the wheat family at all and contains no gluten. So buckwheat is a perfect food for people with celiac disease or who are allergic to wheat, or gluten intolerant. Interestingly, it’s not even a true grain. Oddly, it is a member of the rhubarb and sorrel family.
With so many health benefits in this delicious breakfast let’s get to the recipe and get cooking so we can eat… Mangia mangia!
Gluten-free buckwheat pancakes with berry sauce
This recipe comes from Neal’s Yard Remedies Healing Foods book. And it’s one of my favorite books because not only does it have great recipes—it also has tons of information on how food IS medicine—like the berries and buckwheat information above. From fruits and veggies to grains, nuts, seeds, to herbs, spices, and more it’s a virtual encyclopedia of the health benefits of whole foods. Plus, it has over 100 recipes categorized by health benefits like heart health, skin health, women’s health, and more.
GF Buckwheat Pancakes with Berry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups fresh organic berries blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, or a mix
- 1 3/4 cups buckwheat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- pinch of sea salt
- 1 1/4 cups rice milk or other non-dairy milk
- 1 large egg or egg substitute like EnerG, or flax-egg
- 1-2 TBSP coconut oil
- Organic Maple syrup to serve
Instructions
- Place fresh berries in a Vitamix or food processor and puree until smooth. (If using blueberries along with other berries, don’t puree the blueberries as their flavor will be lost when mixed with other berries.) Set aside.
- Mix together buckwheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a mixing bowl.
- In another bowl whisk the rice and egg or egg replacer. Pour egg mixture into dry ingredients, whisking constantly to form a smooth batter.
- Heat a cast-iron skillet and brush the sides and bottom with coconut oil. Then spoon a bit of batter into the skillet to make a thin pancake. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then turn when the edges bubble.
- Continue cooking pancakes until the batter is gone, keeping them warm in the oven or over a bowl of hot water. If using blueberries, stir them into the mixed berry sauce. Drizzle pancakes with maple syrup and berry sauce.
Be sure to check out the Healing Foods book for more healthy-licioius recipes. And please share and leave a comment to let us know which berries you used, or other substitutions you made, and how they turned out? Enjoy!
