Pumpkin Pie for Breakfast (Vanilla Pumpkin Pie Pancakes)

Pumpkin pie and I go waaaay back.

...Back to the cafeteria in lower school with lots of whipped cream in hopes of hiding the actual pie.

...Back to every double Thanksgiving (divorced parents) where family members would hand me a piece, lovingly urging me to show my thanks by devouring it.

...Even back to every special winter dinner at our club where its beautiful looks were deceiving.

If you can't tell by now, pumpkin pie and I don't have such a great history. Try as I may to hide it, taste it again without reserve, and even just eat it for the "sake of the holidays", I just did not like pumpkin pie. Every time I ate it, I seemed to be left with a sugar coma. Not to mention I had a tummy and head ache to accompany it. And to be honest, it didn't really taste all that great to me anyway.

I suppose you can see now why I thought for the longest time that I was allergic to pumpkin. (Let's just take a moment to think about how random an allergy that is anyway.... and for any of you that have a pumpkin allergy, I'm sorry; I feel for you.) Well lucky for me, I tried pumpkin again last year (thank you blogsphere for encouraging me!) and nothing terrible happened. In fact, I discovered that I actually ADORE winter squash. It is now definitely my favorite food (kabocha specifically, of course :D).

After that, I finally reconciled my relationship with pumpkin pie this year. Since I'm not a big fan of sweets anymore, and the sheer thought of pumpkin pie still turns my tummy a little, I decided to have my pumpkin pie in pancake form.

Looking back, it was probably the combination of too much sugar, cream, eggs, etc. that really set me off. No worries now because these pumpkin pie pancakes are completely vegan, and even flour-free (with gluten-free option) and refined sugar-free. Not only is the idea of pumpkin pie for breakfast much more fun, but these pancakes also have the added bonus of keeping you satisfied and full of energy with the help of some power-packed ingredients.

Now who wants some pumpkin pie for breakfast?

Vanilla Pumpkin Pie Pancakes
serves 1 (makes 8-10 mini pancakes)

Ingredients:

• 1TBS ground flax seed + 3 TBS hot water
• 1/2 cup rolled oats 
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin (I <3 Libby's!) 
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger 
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg (fresh is best!)
• dash of vanilla powder (can substitute ~1 tsp vanilla extract)
• 4+ drops NuNaturals Vanilla Stevia Concentrated Extract or sweetener to taste
• ~1/4-1/2 cup water or non-dairy milk 

Directions:
     Heat a non-stick pan (sprayed with cooking spray or oiled, if desired) over medium high heat. Pour hot water on flax seed and whisk with a fork. Set aside to gel.
     Once the "flax egg" resembles the consistency of an egg, combine it in a food processor (minis are great for this) with oats, pumpkin, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla powder, and vanilla stevia drops. Process until well-mixed. Next add the water or non-dairy milk, starting with 1/4 cup and adding a little more until it reaches a thick pancake batter. (*Note: the batter will continue to thicken as it sits, so make sure to add accordingly.)
     Use a mini ice cream scoop to place batter on hot pan and cook until the batter bubbles and becomes firm. Flip and cook until golden brown. Enjoy with toppings galore!

P.S. It should be noted that I was not the only one who had pumpkin pie for breakfast. My family was so stuffed after Thanksgiving that they actually feel asleep before having any pie. However, this pie void did not last for long. They devoured half of my homemade vegan pumpkin pecan pie for breakfast the next day. While I may not be a big fan of pie myself, it seems like my vegan pecan pumpkin pie was pretty well received. Recipe to come! (*The pie and vegan "whipped cream" pictures from the beginning of the post are from the dessert I made for my family this year.)