Holiday pumpkin-garbanzo bean flour pancakes

It seems like a cruel joke to have to be on the anti-candida diet over the holidays. Every time I turned around someone was bringing over a gift bag containing candy, cookies or other sugary treats. I appreciated the gesture while my husband appreciated the treats.

I survived Christmas without succumbing to temptation and going off my low-carb diet. Now, it's on to phase 2--New Year's. The holidays truly are a difficult time for anyone who is watching what they eat. Avoiding carbs, as well as certain food allergens, just adds new layers to the difficulty level. My approach is to always take food with me. That way I won't be tempted to stray from my eating plan. It's not as much fun but at least, it keeps me well as I continue to battle my problem with candida.

I don't expect to start a new holiday trend but healthy foods, low in carbs, can actually be delicious. For Christmas breakfast, I enjoyed some yummy Pumpkin-garbanzo bean flour pancakes. These gluten-free, egg-free pancakes can be eaten any morning but make an extra special breakfast for Christmas or New Year's. They also are super easy because you can bake them in the oven all at once and use less oil.

Pumpkin-Garbanzo Bean Flour Pancakes
(makes 8 medium-sized pancakes)

Ingredients:
1 cup garbanzo bean flour
1 cup pumpkin puree (You can use canned.)
2 T. canola or other healthy oil
In place of 1 egg: 1 T. flax mixed with 3 T. water to form a slurry
1/4 cup ground flax meal
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. gluten-free baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1-1 1/2 cups water
Extra pumpkin puree
Pure stevia powder
Toasted pumpkin seeds

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place all dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to mix. Add the pumpkin puree, oil and egg or egg replacer of your choice. At this point, the mixture will be thick. Begin adding water to thin the mixture to a consistency somewhere between pancake and muffin batter. I used about 1 1/2 cups. The batter will still be thicker than regular pancake batter because the garbanzo bean flour absorbs water. Set aside.

Spray a large cookie sheet with pan spray. A little oil may be placed on the pan if desired. Place the pan in the oven for a few minutes to heat the oil. Once heated, spoon the batter with a ladle or large spoon onto the pan. Leave a little room between pancakes because they will spread out slightly.

Bake the pancakes for about 10 minutes per side. Serve hot with a topping of pumpkin puree mixed with stevia powder to desired sweetness. Sprinkle a few toasted pumpkin seeds on top.