*All photos by Amanda Rowan*

One of my fondest memories from when I was little was walking downstairs in my pajamas on a Sunday morning, ready to indulge in a stack of pancakes. Making pancakes has always been one of my favorite things to do on the weekends so in order to challenge myself and my cooking capabilities, I made a new recipe. Needless to say, after these delicious, allergy friendly banana pancakes entered my life, I will never be able to go back to ordinary white flour pancakes.

The following ingredients will be needed: vanilla extract, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, almond milk, one egg, two bananas, gluten free rolled oats and maple syrup. This recipe should make about eight to 12 pancakes, allowing for size variations.

Begin by adding one and one half cup of gluten free oats to a blender. Any blender will work for this recipe, I used a NutriBullet as I found it most efficient.

Next, add two bananas to the mix. The riper the banana, the better it will mix as the banana is softer. It will also add a sweeter taste to the pancake.

After adding the banana, all of the dry ingredients can be added as well. This includes two teaspoons of baking powder, one half teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of sea salt.

Next, begin measuring and adding the wet ingredients. This includes one egg, one teaspoon vanilla, one tablespoon maple syrup and one cup of almond milk. In order to make this recipe vegan, the egg can be substituted for a flax egg.

Now that all the ingredients have been added, blend for about two to four minutes or until all ingredients have been properly incorporated. If you would like your batter to be thinner, add more almond milk and blend.

Now that the batter has been prepared, turn on the stove and place your desired pan on medium heat. I used a 12 by 12 square pan in order to maximize the amount of pancakes being cooked at a time. Use coconut oil, butter or cooking spray to coat the pan in order to prevent sticking.

Next, pour about one third of a cup of pancake batter onto the pan and let sit until bubbles appear. This should take about three minutes. If you would like to add anything into your pancakes, now would be the time. I added blueberries to some of mine as I have found it compliments the sweetness of the pancakes very well. Flip the pancakes once the front side is golden and repeat until thoroughly cooked through. This step should be repeated until all the pancake batter has been used.

Finally, the pancakes are ready to eat! The pancakes can be topped with any food of your choosing. I use almond butter or maple syrup, depending on whether I’m craving salty or sweet. I hope you’re convinced to incorporate this healthy pancake recipe into your weekend breakfast rotations, as I have to satisfy your tastebuds.