Banana Spice Pancakes in 5 Easy Steps =)

I made these for my cousins over Christmas break when we were snowed in together at my grandma's. There was an abundance of bananas and no one knew what to do with them. I'm glad that those bananas were put to use in these pancakes. ^__^ These pancakes are sugarfree! Agave nectar has a very low glycemic index. Well, they are sugarfree, except for the vanilla soymilk, I guess. Plain, unsweetened soymilk will work just as well, if you are diabetic or don't want to eat sugar. :)

Banana Spice Pancakes

1½ cups whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)

2 tsp baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon allspice

3 medium sized ripe bananas, peeled and sliced or mashed

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1¼ cups vanilla soymilk

1 to 1½ tablespoons agave nectar

some oil for the pan/griddle

Note: The measurements for the spices are approximate; I don't really remember how much I put in. I used my nose. ^_~ If you want your pancakes to be more/less spicy, change them according to your taste. ;)

1. In a bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients, except for the bananas.
2. Put half of the bananas and the soymilk into a blender. Puree until smooth. Add the other wet ingredients & the rest of the bananas to the blender. Puree until smooth.
3. Heat a griddle or pan with some oil in it over medium heat.
4. Using a spoon, pour some of the pancake batter on the pan.
5. Cook until you start to see lots of tiny bubbles popping. Flip the pancake over and cook until it is browned on the bottom. You could do more than one pancake at a time, depending on the size of your pan/griddle.

I served these with sliced fruit and agave nectar or pure maple syrup (none of that high fructose corn syrup crap!). My cousins gobbled them up, and I hope you enjoy them too! <3

Whole Grain Mexican Rice

Yesterday, Anna and I were craving something Mexican-like for lunch. While Anna was at school, I improvised this Mexican rice. It was scary for me, improvising a cooking recipe without Anna! And when I got done, I was afraid that the flavor was too strong and that it would have to be fixed by Anna when she got back from school. However, when she got back from school, Anna tried my rice and she said it was perfectly fine, which is kind of a big deal for me. I have never made a new cooking recipe without Anna before. I'm more of a baker than a cook. ^_^'Anyway, here is the recipe; the measurements are approximate. Don't forget: the most important tools here are your tastebuds! At least, that's what Anna says all the time. ;P

Mexican Fried Rice

Some vegetable/canola oil

½ large red onion, diced

1 or 2 green bell peppers, diced

1 small can of tomato paste (about 6 oz.)

2 ½ to 3 cups of cooked, whole grain brown rice

Garlic Powder

Cumin

Mushroom Powder

Any other seasonings of your choice

1. Heat up a saucepan on high heat.
2. Pour some oil (about 1 tablespoon or so) into the saucepan (keep it on high heat).
3. Add the onions when the oil gets hot.
4. Once the onions start to smell good, add the green bell peppers, and add half of the tomato paste. Stir the mixture around so that it doesn’t burn.
5. Add all the rice to the mixture, and lower the heat to medium heat.
6. Put the rest of the tomato paste into the rice (put some rice into the can to get the last bit, if you know what I mean).
7. Keep mixing, and add dashes of garlic powder, cumin, mushroom powder, and any other seasonings to your taste. I would suggest chili powder.
8. Once you are done seasoning the rice, take the saucepan off the stove and transfer the rice to a rice cooker to keep it warm until you are ready to serve. Be sure that the rice cooker is set on the “keep warm” setting, not the “cook” setting.
9. Serve with a dash of pepper, a couple of scoops of guacamole and refried beans, or whatever you like! ^__^