AS support groups and Peanut Flour Pancakes!

As I've been on this AS journey of learning about and coping with a crazy sounding disease, I've tried to find ways to connect with other AS sufferers. I found a support group website called www.KickAS.org, which seems to be the #1 support group for those who have AS (over 7,000 members!). It's an international website with tons of discussion forums and good information which was helpful for me when I was first diagnosed. I joined up but was still looking for more ways to connect, so I researched AS on facebook, figuring there was bound to be some sort of something on there. (I mean, isn't that kind of what facebook's all about?) That's how I found the Ankylosing Spondylitis - Find a Cure! page.

Since part of the purpose of writing this blog is to reach others who also have this disease, I've been posting a few links to my blog on there. Through posting these links I've gotten great questions and ideas for new recipes. One person asked about starch free flour, because they love pancakes. I had kind of gotten used to a pancake-free existence, but then I thought, why not?

I had recently found some peanut flour at my local Trader Joe's ($3.99 for one pound) and decided to get cooking. I adapted the following recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook's buttermilk pancake recipe. I was going to use buttermilk but realized mine was expired, so I just used 1%. They turned out delicious!

Peanut Flour Pancakes and maple syrup:
1/2 cup peanut flour
1 TB stevia in the raw + 2 Truvia packets
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup milk
1 TB melted butter
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine peanut flour, stevia in the raw, Truvia, and baking powder. Set aside.

Combine egg, milk, and butter. Stir in xathan gum and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to egg mixture. (It will look quite a bit like peanut butter.)

Heat your skillet on medium, add a drizzle of canola oil or a pat of butter, and cook. Cook pancakes until sides begin to firm and small bubbles start to form. Flip.

Syrup:
Whisk 1 c stevia in the raw into 1/2 cup boiling water until melted. Bubbles will form and then stevia will dissolve. Add 1/4 tsp maple extract. Serve warm.

Surprisingly, the pancakes didn't taste overwhelmingly like peanuts. Also, the syrup will be much more watery than regular syrup and slightly more bitter. I put peanut butter on top of my pancakes to cut the bitterness and enhance the peanut flavor and it tasted great. I'm sure this recipe would work equally well with any nut flour.

Enjoy!