Chocolate Strawberry Pancakes

Tis the season for delicious strawberries! I have been getting a fresh basket of strawberries each week this July from The Greenhouse in Little Rapids, NL as part of my weekly vegetable basket. They are such a sweet treat and have been great to use in salads, baked goods and chocolate treats! Strawberries are packed with many vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, potassium, some of the B vitamins, manganese and magnesium.

Strawberries sure offer lots of nutritional benefits and taste great in their own right, but pair them with chocolate and it’s a whole new level of delicious! That’s why I developed my very own Chocolate Strawberry Pancakes. Adding cacao powder to these pancakes not only gives them that strawberry-chocolate deliciousness, but also ups the nutritional ante. Cacao is not only ridiculously tasty – it also offers a wide range of nutritional benefits of its own, including antioxidants, magnesium, iron and fibre.

Don’t’ be confused with cocoa powder! They both come from the cacao bean; however, cacao powder still has the majority of its nutritional benefits intact, as it has not gone through the same refining process as cocoa powder. Cocoa powder still has some nutritional benefits, but some nutrients get lost in the refining process at very high heats. For optimal nutritional benefits, be sure to stick to raw cacao powder when making your chocolate treats!

Why not try out my gluten- and dairy-free Chocolate Strawberry Pancakes for a nutrient-rich, chocolaty strawberry breakfast? Here’s the recipe:

Chocolate Strawberry Pancakes

Yield: 4 servings (2 pancakes each)

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients

½ cup buckwheat flour

½ cup brown rice flour

2 tablespoons arrowroot flour

¼ cup cacao powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

A pinch of sea salt

Wet Ingredients

1 egg

½ tablespoon vanilla

¾ cup almond milk

Additional Ingredients

¼ cup strawberries

Coconut oil to grease pan

Directions:

1. Combine dry ingredients in medium-sized bowl.

2. Combine wet ingredients in small bowl.

3. Pour the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients and whisk together until combined. Fold strawberries into mixture.

4. Grease pan over medium heat and use a ¼ cup measure to scoop out pancake mixture into greased pan.

5. When you start to see bubbles coming through the pancake mixture in the pan, flip over and cook for another minute or until golden brown.

6. Garnish with some extra strawberries and a drizzle of maple syrup. Enjoy!

Sources:

Balch, Phyllis A. Prescription for Dietary Wellness. New York: Avery, 2003. Print.

"Cacao Powder." Navitas Naturals. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 July 2016.

"Cacao vs. Cocoa: What You Need to Know." One Green Planet. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 July 2016.