Sweet Plantain Pancakes

Aaah, the plantain, cheap, sweet and delicious and yes, healthy! Growing up plantains were always a staple in our kitchen and if your Latin American, most likely in yours too. They are originally from Southeast Asia, but have become a staple food of Latin American countries in the Caribbean, Central, and South America.  Plantains can be used for cooking at any stage of ripeness, and very ripe plantain can be eaten raw. As the plantain ripens, it becomes sweeter and its color changes from green to yellow to black, just like its cousin the banana. Some of you might be questioning the healthy part, probably because  they are usually fried and soaked in grease when ordered as a side dish at a fancy restaurant, and most likely come served with a dollop of sour cream or crumbly white cheese. And suddenly the simple starchy plantain turns into a big greasy mess! Well guess what, with a simple do-it-yourself coconut oil saute, plantains can be quite healthy. They are high in fiber, potassium, vitamins A and C, B6  and magnesium.

Plantains are super simple to make. Simply lightly grease a pan and saute them in a bit of coconut oil. Add some lime juice, maple syrup and sea salt for flavor accents. You can  slice them into simple coin shapes. You can even mash plantains as you would a sweet potato.

Maybe you've tried and love the double-fried plantains (tostones) and sweet-cooked plantains, who doesn't?  You can also  use in stews, sautéed beef or chicken recipes and soups. Have you ever tried just baking or making pancakes with them? You're in for a simple, healthy and delicious treat, read on! 

Baked Plantain

Ingredients

• 1 plantain

• 1 teaspoon organic coconut oil

Toppings

• coconut butter

• nut butter

• shredded coconut

• chocolate (70% or higher or better raw cacao)

• avocado or really anything else you can think of or want that's healthy, of course!

Instructions

Peel your plantain. Leave it whole. Heat up your oven to 375 degrees. Coat your plantain with about 1 teaspoon coconut oil or ghee (clarified butter) or grassfed butter. Bake for approximately  30 minutes. Flip and bake for another 15-20 minutes. Once out of oven carefully cut a little slice on top and peel away (making a generous whole in the plantain) and fill with favorite topping. Best enjoyed warmed.

Cinnamon Plantain Pancakes

This is a perfect example of an easy recipe that has almost limitless variation potential. It reminds of the buckwheat pancakes from our trip to Parrot Cay in Turks & Caicos, they topped them with sweet plantain, home grown from the plantation and dripping with raw cacao frosting. My mouth is watering thinking about it. I'll post the buckwheat pancake recipe soon!

With this or any other recipe you can add chocolate chips (raw cacao nibs if keeping it dairy free and raw) nuts, shredded coconut, fresh fruit; whatever your heart desires. Or just leave them plain and top with some ghee (clarified butter) grass-fed butter or coconut manna (organic whole coconut spread).

Keep the heat to medium-low when frying up these babies, to ensure they cook through and don’t burn.

Ingredients

• 1 ripe plantain

• 4 eggs

• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon or more

• 1-2 tablespoons coconut oil  

Instructions

Puree all the ingredients and in a large pan add coconut oil, fry batter in small batches for 2-3 minutes on each side. You can layer in between the pancakes with chocolate frosting (mix cacao powder with coconut oil) and start adding your toppings! Enjoy and your welcome!

(Recipes taken and adapted from pure raw twins and chowstalker)