Shamrock shake pancakes with minty avocado drizzle

"We like St. Patrick's Day too because we're sure Mom will cook up some treats for us."

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I've been dreaming about shamrock shakes ever since March arrived. Then, I saw a vibrant green shake advertised on television. It was kind of a leap and a jump but I ended up making shamrock shake pancakes, ACD-friendly, vegan and without artificial additives and sugar.

Shamrock shake pancakes with minty avocado drizzle

These pancakes are ACD-friendly, vegan and free of artificial additives and sugar. My stomach would never tolerate anything else, thanks to candida and leaky gut syndrome (LGS). (For those of you who are squeamish, skip this part and jump down to the recipe for the shamrock shake pancakes.) LGS is a layman's term for increased intestinal permeability. Chances are, if you have candida, you have it.

LGS can be attributed to years of eating foods that are inflammatory for your body, as well as candida. Your intestines have a mucosal barrier that keeps bacteria, antigens and undigested food from leaking through.

Normally, this barrier is pretty tight but when you are eating reactive foods, ingesting irritating substances or have candida, it can start to loosen its tightness. If this goes unchecked, the permeability increases and microscopic amounts of undigested food can go directly into the bloodstream. Your body now recognizes these foods as invaders and starts to prepare an inflammatory response.

Eventually, even the friendliest foods can trigger gas, bloating and constipation. I can speak from experience on this since my list of friendly foods has dwindled with my latest candida and LGS bout.

L-glutamine can help heal your gut but sometimes, as in my case, you need to bring in something more powerful. I am taking Glutagenics which allows you to take a higher dose of l-glutamine than you can obtain from capsules. After taking it for about 2 1/2 weeks, I am beginning to see some improvement.

Shamrock shake pancakes with added avocado chunks

Okay, enough of the health talk. Let's get down to cooking and eating.

Here's what you need for the pancakes:

2 T. sunflower seeds
1 T. ground flax
1 T. chia seed
2 T. coconut flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
dash of salt
1 medium zucchini, steamed until tender
1/4 avocado
1 T. unsweetened sunbutter
1/4 cup light coconut milk (or other non-dairy beverage)


Here's what you do for the pancakes:

Get your coffee grinder out. Put in the sunflower, chia and flax seeds. Grind these ingredients until they form a flour. In a food processor, puree the steamed zucchini and avocado. Pulse in the sunbutter and coconut milk. Add in the "flour" from your coffee grinder, coconut flour, spices, salt and baking soda. Continue to mix. Your batter will be thick. Resist the temptation to thin it out with more coconut milk.

Heat up your skillet on low medium to medium setting. Spray with pan spray and add a bit of olive oil. Divide the batter into four medium pancakes. Flatten slightly with a spoon or spatula. Cook 5-6 minutes per side. Resist the temptation to flip too soon. Test by lifting each pancake to see if it holds together before turning.

Shamrock shake pancakes with yummy minty topping

Here's what you need for the shamrock shake topping:

1 ripe avocado
1 cup full-fat coconut milk
1/4-1/2 teaspoon mint extract (alcohol free)
Stevia, to taste

Here's what you do:

Pulse everything until smooth and creamy in your food processor. (Note: You will have lots of extra but that's a good thing. Turn the extra into popsicles or ice cream, made in your ice cream-maker.)
Serve the pancakes with the minty shamrock topping and extra avocado chunks, if desired.

"Wow, we love anything that's green and minty!"

Recipe contributed to: http://www.dietdessertndogs.com/2013/03/14/wellness-weekend-march-14-18-2013/