Banana Coconut Pancakes

Lately you hear a lot of talk of folks trying to eat a bit healthier. So in that personal journey myself I have been learning to cook more with coconut oil. It is a healthier alternative to good ole butter. Love my butter, but a lot of it is not so good for you ;-) One of my coconut journey's led me to Banana Coconut Pancakes!

So here is the recipe for my Banana Pancakes. Below I will add my notes of how I changed it up a bit to make it a little healthier. Enjoy!!!
Ingredients:

2 large eggs

2 cups buttermilk

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

OR1 tablespoon butter and 5 tablespoons coconut oil (melted)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup coconut sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup diced bananas (2 large)

1/8 cup finely shredded coconut (you can do sweetened if you want, or not, coconut comes in many different types of shreds, fine, ribbons, sweetened or plain. I go for the unsweetened fine shred, because I get my sweetness from all the real maple syrup that I add on top!!!!!

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and buttermilk. Stir in the melted butter. Here is where I add my coconut oil. This morning I used one tablespoon of butter and 5 tablespoons of the coconut oil.
In a small bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined — don't worry if there are a few lumps.

Stir in the bananas and coconut.
Lightly grease a large sauté pan or griddle with the nonstick spray or butter or coconut oil. Heat the pan until hot and then spoon out 3 tablespoons of batter per pancake.

Cook the pancakes until the tops look dull and a few of the bubbles pop, about 3 minutes.

Turn the pancakes over and cook for another minute.

You can top them with so many yummy toppings. Real maple syrup, yogurt, strawberries

On another note, when I make oatmeal, the old fashion gotta cook it for ten minutes kind. I will add a generous tablesppon or two of the coconut oil to my oats while they are cooking. It's really tasty. I have pretty dry skin and by adding coconut oil to my diet it helps that issue. You can google all the health properties of coconut oils.

Next I am learning how to use the sweetner that is made from coconut. A simple cane sugar alternative that is naturally low on the Glycemic Index (GI), which has benefits for weight control and improving glucose and lipid levels in people with diabetes (type 1 and type 2).
Coconut Sugar is produced from the sweet juices of tropical coconut palm blossoms.
Coconut Sugar is a natural, high energy food source made from the sweet sap of the flowering stem at the top of the coconut tree.
It is slowly bent for collection and this sweet sap oozing out from the inflorescence is collected, boiled, and concentrated to form a granulated sugar. Our Coconut Sap Sugar is wet and has an oyster-white translucent color when first gathered. After boiling, the sweet sap turns into a light brown color. Once collected, the nectars are kettle-boiled into a thick caramel and ground to a fine crystal. Sounds exotic doesnt it???? :-)Here are some other really awesome factoids about coconut sugar;
Coconut Sugar is rated as a GI 35. By comparison, most commercial Honeys are GI 55 and Cane Sugars are GI 68.
Coconut Sugar has a nutritional content far richer than all other commercially available sweeteners.
Coconut Sugar is especially high in Potassium, Magnesium, Zinc and Iron and is a natural source of the vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6 and C.
Coconut Sugar is a 100% Organic, unprocessed, unfiltered, and unbleached natural sweetener. And contains no preservatives.
Coconut sugar is produced by smallholder farmers. 100% of the money from growing, harvesting and primary processing of this ingredient stays in the local communities.
Through market access and production training, smallholder sugar tappers have risen well above the poverty line and are able to earn an increase in personal income of close to 200%, while maintaining a competitive market price as a cane sugar alternative!
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the World Bank has reported that palm sweeteners like this coconut sugar are the single most sustainable sweetener in the world!
Coconut Sugars are not produced from the same palm species as is used for the production of Palm Oil.
Coconut Palms produce an average of 50-75% more sugar per acre than Sugar Cane and use less than 1/5th the nutrients for that production.
Tropical palms are an ecologically beneficial tree crop that grows in diverse, wild-life supportive agro-ecosystems, restore damaged soils and require very little water.
Coconut Palms are considered the “Tree of Life” by many traditional communities throughout the world as they provide over 100 smallholder accessible products from which to make livelihoods. The production of Coconut Sugar has the single highest potential for lifting these farmers into a better life while creating a net benefit to their surrounding environment.

So where do I find it?

You can find coconut oil & sugars in healthfood stores. Larger chain stores are providing consumer demand for organic, natural, and sustainable products. The brand of oil I like to use is Spectrum. This is from their web site: "Coconut Oil, Virgen Unrefined, OrganicSize: 14oz This oil is best for sautéing at medium heat where the oil’s full flavor is intended as an integral part of the finished dish or, because of its unique flavor, for baking. IngredientsNaturally unrefined expeller pressed virgin organic coconut oil".http://www.spectrumorganics.com/?id=87

Coconut sugars are not as main stream yet, but are soon to be!!! I use Coconut Secret, raw coconut crystals.

So it's sweet, Can be used for cooking and baking, it's healthier for you, healthier for the environment, sustainable. Don't you just love coconuts??????
Now go and Enjoy you some pancakes :-)
With Fond Aloha