Healthy two ingredients pancakes with red clover

Packed with nutrients, gluten and dairy-free, these healthy and tasty pancakes with red clover and banana are easy to make. Enhanced with sweet red clover blossoms they make for a delicious snack or breakfast for the whole family. 

I noticed that more and more people are discovering wild plants and implementing them in their daily lives, this is for various reasons. One wants to be slimmer again, the other healthier and some just like the taste of wild herbs. Wild edibles are magical as they can transform one ordinary dish into a delicacy.  Thanks to various vital substances, tastes and healing properties, wild herbs enrich our food not only as a spice but also serve as a medicine or aromatic component of dishes.

Like these tasty violet Panna cottas, there were just delicious and healthy at the same time. Or this lovely Elderberry curd tart made my friends really happy.

Knowing all the medicinal benefits of red clover I wanted to use it in our daily meals. I like to eat fresh blossoms in herbal salads or smoothies. With children it is a little bit more complicated. If I put them in salad they usually remove all blossoms right away.

But what they really like and appreciate are pancakes! Every time I say we are going to have pancakes for a snack or breakfast they are excited. I am less though as ordinary pancakes are full of sugar and white flour, these aren’t things I like to use often.

But making healthy pancakes enhanced with wild edible plant is just a win-win situation. They are the best if you eat them with this Whipped Ricotta, splash of this lilac syrup, and with this maple whipped cream on the top. I just can’t resist:)

3 Ingredients to make healthy pancakes

Red clover

Red clover is a wild plant that grows abundantly and is available from early spring to late autumn. Many of us remember it from our childhood when we were eating its sweet purple blossoms. They are the most nutritious part of the plant, however, leaves and roots are also edible. 

This powerful herb is packed with vitamins A, B, C and also contains calcium, magnesium, potassium and selenium. Red clover is a great source of protein, fat, as well as fibre.

Health care practitioners believe that red clover has an ability to purify the blood and remove dead red blood cells. 

It also acts as an expectorant to clear the lungs from mucus 

Red clover cleanses the liver by improving blood circulation and aids in the detoxification process. However, I didn’t find any clinical studies to support this hypothesis. 

It’s also beneficial in the prevention of osteoporosis. 

For all these above reasons we implement red clover in our daily dishes and remedies. But be careful not to use too much.

We have talked about its positive effect on the skin and its use in anti-ageing products in the Red clover oil and Red clover lip balm post.

Red clover is also considered as a herb solving women problems. Its mechanism of this effect in particular on reducing menopause symptoms such as hot flashes has been explained in the post Red clover vinegar .

Banana

Bananas are the second ingredient in our healthy pancakes with red clover. It belongs to the most popular fruit category. Loved by many for its sweet taste and texture, bananas also contain a fair amount of fibre, as well as several antioxidants and therefore provide several health benefits.

In this study they explain how fibre intake is associated with lower body weight. In spite of their sweet taste, bananas contribute to weight loss because they’re low in calories and high in nutrients and fibre.

Bananas contain a good amount of magnesium and potassium that are very important for a healthy heart. 

You can include bananas even in these banana oat muffins.

This popular and tasty fruit is also packed with antioxidants such as dopamine that help fight free radicals and lower the risk of potential diseases.

Eggs

The only ingredient that can keep a banana and red clover together is an egg. High in protein along with vitamin B2, B6, and minerals such as zinc, iron and copper egg can create a homogeneous mixture that can further be converted into desirable pancakes.

How to make these tasty and healthy pancakes with banana and red clover:

Start with Red clover blossoms preferably early in the morning. When you go to collect them make sure to avoid any agricultural fields or other chemically treated places. The best is to look in your own garden but red clover mostly grows in wet meadows and open grassy areas. 

The preparation part when you just mash 1 banana and mix it with 2 eggs into the batter is quite an easy task to do. Just make sure the banana is ripe enough so it’s easy to mash. Pluck out the small purple petals and add it to the mixture.  (You can eat the whole flower head, but I only use the little petals for this. The tricky part comes with flipping them on the pan to cook the second side. The batter is quite runny and the structure is fairly delicate. Since there is no flour they are not as elastic as these Fluffy Banana Pancakes. You better be careful with quick scoop-and-flip like you do with regular pancakes as they might break apart.

Tips and tricks

1. Make them small – a smaller size makes them easier to flip. I used 2 tablespoons of batter for 1 pancake. 
2. Make sure the first side is fairly golden before you lift it and turn
3. Use a nonstick pan, preferably iron skillets made for pancakes
4. a sufficient amount of coconut oil is desirable to avoid any stickiness
5. a very thin spatula might also do the trick

I love the idea of implementing red clover blossoms into pancakes, but what if I don’t like bananas?

here is another alternative. You can ground dried red clover flowers into baking flour. Dry the flowers first in a cool dry place till they are crispy and crumble at the touch. Grab a mortar and pestle and ground the flowers into a very fine powder. This powder can be used instead of flour that you will use for your pancakes or hue cakes. Its sweet taste makes them very delicious.

What is your favourite topping for pancakes?