Sweet Potato & Date Pancakes

Pretty much our ONLY option for vegan breakfasts now are:

A. Being productive on the weekends and cooking for ourselves

B. Being lazy and hungover and going to The Red Lentil instead

Jim will still eat eggs and cheese for the most part, but the strict vegan options for me at The Lentil are generally anything tofu-based (which I don’t touch), vegan French Toast (which is UNREAL) and the vegan pancakes (also UNREAL). The French Toast really seems to weigh me down for the rest of the day so I usually opt for their sweet potato and date pancakes. We didn’t venture out this weekend for breakfast, so instead I tried to recreate these pancakes on my own. The flavor was great, but I did discover that using coconut milk rather than almond or a light milk, makes for a less-fluffy pancake. So make sure to use a thinner liquid so the cakes aren’t so dense.

1 1/2 cups shredded sweet potato

1 1/2 cups almond milk

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup organic unbleached flour

1/2 cup water

6 pitted dates

1 tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp pure vanilla

Dash of sea salt

Coconut oil for baking

• In a small frying pan over medium heat, melt a little coconut oil
• Add shredded sweet potatoes and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until softened
• Then, add dates and water to a small saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until softened
• Drain dates, then put into blender
• Add flours, almond milk, dates,  brown sugar, vanilla and salt to the blender and pulse until the mixture is smooth and creamy
• Pour into mixing bowl and then add baking soda and sweet potatoes and stir together well
• Put some more coconut oil into a large frying pan over medium heat
• Once melted, pour batter into pan and cook on each side for about 5 minutes