“That’s when I heard part of the secret. What we eat is a matter of life and death. Food is who we are.”    – words of wisdom by Scott Jurek

Along with doing Jamie Eason’s, Livefit trainer, I am currently reading Eat and Run, by Scott Jurek. I have to get my run fix in somehow, and because Phase 1 of livefit bands running, I decide to read about ultrarunning.

Eat and Run, is about Scott Jurek’s life as a ultramarathon runner and his transition of becoming a vegan. This book is perfect for me because I too am a runner, who eats mostly a plant based diet. I am always challenging myself to cook as many vegan dishes as possible, and this book is full of amazing recipes.

I plan on trying every recipe in this book, and  so far I have tried the Vegan Chili, and the Apple Cinnamon Granola. What I love most about his recipes is how full and satisfied you feel after eating them. When people think of vegan meals, most of the time they think it will be a light meal, lacking protein – but that doesn’t have to be the case. Scott Jurek doesn’t just proof that, but he out does himself with each new recipe I try.

Today, I attended my friend’s baby shower, which in our world, is translated into a vegan brunch. So I woke up early to prepare the food I was bringing. Normally I don’t plan ahead, but because others would be eating my food, I decided to test it first. So earlier this past week I whipped up a batch of Scott Jurek’s Vegan Strawberry Pancakes.

“Then one Sunday morning, after a 20 mile run… I served them my first batch of banana-strawberry vegan pancakes. They were golden brown and sweet dense, and hearty. The fruit flavors met on my tongue, then tangled together in a way fruit flavors had never done before. That is when I decided I could live without butter and eggs. ”                    – Scott Jurek

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup spelt flour
• 1/4 cup buckwheat flour (I didn’t have this one, so I just omitted it and added extra oat flour.)
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup oat flour. (I used a 1/2 a cup of oat flour to make up for the buckwheat flour I didn’t have.)
• 1/4 cup millet flour
• 1/4 cup rye flour
• 1/4 cup barley flour
• 1/4 cup corn meal (You can use either yellow corn or blue.)
• 1/4 ground flax seed or chai seed (I used flax seeds and ground them up in food processor.)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
• 2 cups of rice milk
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons agave nectar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• strawberries and bananas (I used fresh strawberries not bananas, but you can do any fruit you would like or add nuts.)
• wheat germ (I added this, for additional nutrition.)
• maple syrup for topping

DIRECTIONS

• Combine flours, baking powder, salt, wheat germ, and ground seeds in a large mixing bowl. 
• Add rice milk, olive oil, agave nectar, and vanilla. Mix well.
• Grease a skillet with coconut oil and heat for 3-5 minutes.
• Pour 1/2 -3/4 cup of bater onto the skillet for each pancake.
• Cook until golden brown and then flip.
• Top with strawberry or maple syrup or both. I made strawberry topping by throwing a bunch of strawberries in a food processor. 

I was beyond impressed with this batter, however for the baby shower, aka, the vegan brunch, I used the same batter recipe, but made waffles instead. The reason I went for the waffle over the pancake is simply because it looks prettier. I guess it is my artist side coming out, but no matter what I make or create it has to be visually beautiful. And although, Scott Jurek made pancakes, my pancakes always look sloppy, while my waffles always look perfect. 

At the brunch everyone loved the waffles.

As for a brunch beverage, I juiced a bunch of minneolas. Minneolas is a fruit that is part of the citrus family. It is a mix between a grapefruit and tangerine. They are very juicy, so they make for a good fruit to juice. I bought them fresh and organic from MOM’s organic market. One of the employes there let me sample one, to make sure it was sweet and not sour. They ended up being very sweet and made a wonderful juice.

Both the batter and the juice are two recipes that you have to try.

Questions for You?

1. What is your favorite fruit juice?
2. Do you like pancakes or waffles better?

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