What do pancakes and psychoactives have in common?
Often we feel pulled between the “fake” delicious, potent-flavored foods with sugar and white flour that make us high and are toxic to the brain and healthy, “real” foods which can also be yummy medicine. We may be unaware that we use foods as psychoactive medicines; that is, they alter our consciousness and, like all things that alter consciousness, some substances may be beneficial or detrimental to mental well-being.
Wanting comfort foods or potent, stimulating foods to alter consciousness is not the problem; it is the choice of substance and its long-term effects that can become problematic. My approach? Choose one’s “food-as-drugs” wisely, with awareness, and find the best “substitutions” to enhance mental health and meanwhile “withdraw” from the dangerous “food drugs”.
The “principle of substitutions” means that we recognize what we need and we find a way to substitute the foods we want to avoid, with foods that still enable us to enjoy the dishes and flavors that nourish our body and spirit. Children and adults alike love pancakes, but ordinarily, they contain poor-quality flour and sugar. With that in “mind”, I created this healthy breakfast (or anytime) pancake recipe. Feel free to play with the ingredients. I will also add fresh or frozen berries, bananas, nuts, or cacao nibs.
These pancakes are ideal for everyone. They are light and fluffy, sweet and satisfying, and make a wonderful meal. Place one or two poached eggs on the side for a satisfying, low-glycemic meal.
Dry Ingredients
- 1 3⁄4 cups rice flour
- 1⁄4 cup buckwheat flour
- 1⁄4 cup almond flour
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds (for fiber)
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1⁄4 cup tapioca flour
- pinch of sea salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup almond milk or coconut milk 1 cup water (or as needed)
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted 4 drops of liquid stevia
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sauce Ingredients
- 1 cup defrosted organic berries or other fruits like chopped mango or pineapple
- 1 tablespoon organic butter
- 1–4 drops stevia liquid, to taste
Serving Suggestions
Top pancakes with butter, fresh berries, almond butter, yogurt, and/or nuts.
Directions
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until almost smooth. The consistency should be pourable; if it is too thick, add a little more water or milk. Let sit for about 10 minutes to blend and hydrate the chia seeds. It should show signs of little gas bubbles due to the vinegar/baking powder reaction.
- Lightly grease your pan or griddle with coconut oil and heat over medium-high heat.
- When the pan is hot, use a ladle to pour the pancake batter into the pan. (Turn heat down a bit if the first cakes are a bit scorched.)
- Wait until you see bubbles forming in the pancake and the edges look cooked, then flip the pancake with a spatula. Cook for another minute or two until firm, then serve. Repeat with the rest of the batter.
Making the Sauce
- Defrost frozen berries or other fruits like mango and pineapple and lightly heat in a pan with added butter and stevia. Bring to a near boil, simmer for a few minutes, and decant into a syrup bowl with a spoon.
- Pour over the top of the pancakes.
Tip: Pancakes are best when eaten immediately, but if you need to keep the pancakes warm, use a large, shallow, serving bowl and place a towel inside of it. Wrap the pancakes in the towel. This will keep them warm and prevent them from drying out. Enjoy these delicious gluten-free pancakes!
Get more health-forward recipes everyone will love in my book Eat Right Feel Right: 50 Recipes and Tips to Improve Mood, Sleep, Attention, and Focus.
She served as a Fulbright scholar on traditional medicine, a Clinical Fellow at Harvard Medical School, and a National Institutes of Health-funded research scientist in mind/body medicine.
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- Decoding the Mind: The Intersection of Genomics and Mental Health - May 13, 2024
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