Vegan, Gluten-free, sugar-free, organic and delicious Pumpkin Pancakes…can it be done? Every October and continuing through the holiday season I crave everything pumpkin. I was born on Halloween so maybe that has something to do with it. Literally every year I turn into a "pumpkin-holic"  craving virtually anything sweet made with pumpkin. Since I’m a vegan and eat healthy this time of year becomes very difficult for me because everything I see i.e. pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream has something I don’t consume in it. I don’t do milk, eggs or sugar so I find myself  with no pumpkin options. But this year something changed after talking with my sister’s boyfriend who also is a fellow "pumpkin-holic." He told me for his birthday, also in the Fall which is just furthering my theory that Fall babies love pumpkin, he had pumpkin pancakes. Pumpkin pancakes! I had never even thought of the idea but it hit a note deep down inside of me and knew what I had to do I had to create my own vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, organic pumpkin pancakes. Well, I had my work set out for me, could I make a tasty and delicious pancake with only healthy ingredients? I headed to Clark’s to find all the organic ingredients I needed. I goggled vegan pumpkin pancakes and found a good recipe to start from.  I needed to modify it to make it gluten-free and sugar-free. I used coconut sugar because it doesn’t affect the glycemic index like other sugars do. I also used organic brown rice flour instead of pastry flour because it is gluten-free. My first batch the pancakes wouldn’t stay together and I was frustrated because I really wanted delicious pumpkin pancakes that weren’t bad for me. My second batch came out much better because I realized I was supposed to mix the wet ingredients in separate bowls and the combine them. Whoops! I tasted them and they were delicious, I put some earth balance “butter” and maple syrup on them and indulged myself. Here is my recipe for guilt-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, vegan, and organic pumpkin pancakes…Enjoy! Guilt-Free Pumpkin Pancakes What you will need: ¾ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk 1 tsp lemon juice 1/3 cup Pumpkin Puree 1 tbsp earth balance “butter” (melted) ½ tsp vanilla extract 3 tbsp Cocomunt sugar 1tbsp Maple Syrup 1 tsp Baking Powder ½ tsp Baking Soda Pinch of Salt 1 tsp Pumpkin Spice ¼  Cinnamon 1 cup of Brown Rice Flour Step 1: Preheat skillet or griddle to med-high heat Step 2: In a bowl  pour Almond milk and add lemon juice, let sit and curdle for about 5 minutes Step 3: In a separate bowl combine melted earth balance “butter,” maple syrup, pumpkin puree, coconut sugar and vanilla extract and whisk together. Step 4: Then add the milk with the lemon juice to you butter/sugar blend Step 5: In yet another bowl add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin spice and cinnamon. Step 6: Then sift dry ingredients into wet ingredients stirring constantly with a whisk. Step 7: Now is the tricky part, the cooking of the pancakes. Spray or add some earth balance or coconut oil to your skillet or griddle and measure ¼ cup of batter and pour it onto your skillet/griddle. Flip when bubbles start to appear and the edges of the pancake don’t stick to the pan (about 1 minute). Then cook for  another 1-2 minjutes until golden brown and cooked through the center Step 8: Serve and enjoy!  

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