Simple Pleasures

A lot of times I think I tend to make my diet too complicated. Of course, being gluten-free and vegetarian isn't easy by any means, but I think I tend to make it more difficult than it really is. And I forget the simple things.

Like pancakes.

Pancakes are awesome. You can put anything you want in them, on them, under them, or in-between them...You can make them sweet or salty...You can make them small or large...And they're relatively simple to make. Plus, you can make the batter in advance for a quick breakfast (or lunch....or dinner...) over the next couple of days.

Most gluten-free recipes (I think) tend to over-complicate things. They call for four different types of flour, Xanthan or Guar gum, mix certain ingredients first, make sure this is room temperature, blah, blah, blah...

I've found that most of this just isn't necessary. At all.

When I'm looking for a recipe, I don't look for a gluten-free recipe. Luckily, over the last (almost) three years of being gluten-free, I have learned all about substitutions. Basically what I do, is I find a recipe that sounds good. If anything in it isn't gluten-free, I substitute it for something that is. Voila! Gluten-free awesomeness! And it holds up just fine.

So, yeah, back to pancakes. They're awesome. And I'm going to make some. Here's my recipe:

1 cup of all purpose, gluten-free flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk (I use almond milk. Dairy isn't my best friend all the time. It adds a nice sweetness to the pancakes!)
2 tablespoons oil (I use vegetable oil)

Mix everything together in a bowl. Heat up a griddle drizzled with oil. Pour 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the batter on the griddle. Add mix-ins like chocolate chips, M&M's, blueberries, etc... When the edges start to cook and bubbles form, flip them. NOMZ.

Not hard, right? Right. I think a lot of the time we forget just how simple some things are. And we forget how happy they make us.