Apple Pancakes

With the abundance of apples on my tree this year I'm putting apples in everything! I've made apple sauce, dried apples, apple cake, baked whole cored apples, taken apples to Scout functions, taken apples to Lego League functions, put them in my kids lunch boxes and traded them for zucchini! This morning while making the usual Sunday morning pancakes I decided to put them in those as well. I altered the recipe a bit to make up for apple vs. banana, but they turned out really great...and I got to use up a few more apples.

Apple Pancakes
6 Eggs
1 t baking soda
2 t cinnamon
1 T vanilla
3 t cocoa powder
2.5 C Almond Flour
1/2 C milk (almond, coconut, cow's)
2 C apples

Combine all ingredients in a blender, mixing until well blended. Add milk by the Tablespoon if needed to blend completely. Heat a griddle to 300F. Pour batter from blender onto griddle forming 4 inch pancakes (pancakes much bigger than that will be hard to flip). Add any mix-ins such as shredded coconut, dark chocolate chips, chopped nuts at this time. Once bubbles form in the batter then break and the edges look dry, flip pancakes. Serve warm with pure maple syrup and fruit or the toppings of your choice!

Paleo/Primal Chocolate Pancakes

I woke up this morning planning to make chocolate muffins for breakfast, but changed my mind on the way down the stairs. I decided to make Chocolate pancakes instead. Everyone in my house loves pancakes, whereas muffins are hit or miss. So I went with the consistent winner and cooked up a batch of chocolate pancakes. I used my usual Coconut flour pancake recipe but made a couple of minor changes to pack them full of chocolatey goodness. I think the added cocoa powder gave them a richer flavor that didn't really need syrup (but I added some anyway :) ). I still like the regular recipe, but this chocolate one will give me a second option if the morning calls for just a little more chocolate. :)

Chocolate Coconut Flour Pancakes
4 Eggs
1 14oz can coconut milk
2 t cinnamon
3 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 T vanilla
2 ripe banana
1/2 C Coconut flour
Combine all ingredients in a blender starting from the top of the list down, mixing until well blended. Add water by the Tablespoon if needed to blend completely. Heat a griddle to 300F. Pour batter from blender onto griddle forming 4 inch pancakes (pancakes much bigger than that will be hard to flip). Add any mix-ins such as shredded coconut, dark chocolate chips, chopped nuts at this time. Once bubbles form in the batter then break and the edges look dry, flip pancakes. Serve warm with pure maple syrup and fruit or the toppings of your choice!



Clean plate!

And another clean plate!

The Ultimate Paleo/Primal Waffle Recipe

My friend Rachel threw down the gauntlet. She challenged me to make a crispy, fluffy, tasty waffle to replace her famous buttermilk version. My mission this morning was to find the perfect paleo waffle recipe. With the help of the girl and the boy (and the hubby of course), we went to work. The boy helped me crack eggs and mix ingredients while the girl acted as scribe. She had her favorite feathery pen and fancy notebook at the ready to take notes about what ingredients we added and what each family member thought about the resulting waffle. We tried 4 different recipes, tweaking each one just a little based on what we thought about the previous attempt. Sometimes we'd add more oil or water; other times we'd change the ratio of flours. Along the way these were some of the comments "These are too eggy", "too floppy", "not fluffy enough", "too dense" and "too salty". But by the last batch the comments were "These are crispy", "These taste just right", and "I'm too full, I can't eat another bite." :) So, I think we may have found the best waffle recipe (so far). Give them a try and see what you think!

Note: I use tapioca flour in these pancakes. Although tapioca flour is a "safe starch", gluten-free and paleo-friendly it is still a starch and not low-carb.

Paleo/Primal Waffles
4 Eggs - room temperature
1 Banana
1 C Coconut milk - room temperature
1/4 C + 2 T coconut oil - melted
1/2 C Water - room temperature
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 T vanilla
1/2 C coconut flour
1/4 C almond flour
3/4 C tapioca flour

Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature before you begin. Pre-Heat waffle iron. Mix all ingredients in a blender or in a large mixing bowl (if using a bowl, mash banana thoroughly!). Pour about 1 Cup of batter in the middle of your heated waffle iron then close lid. Cook waffle until your little "done" indicator light goes off then continue to cook as long as a significant amount of steam is still coming out of the waffle iron. If you pull the waffle out before it finishes releasing it's steam the waffle will be floppy rather than crispy. Check for crispy-ness when you think the waffle is done by tapping the top of the waffle with your fingernail (at least this is how I do it).

A note about tapioca flour according to Mark's Daily Apple:

Tapioca flour is one of the “safe starches.” That is, it’s a toxin-free, antinutrient-less, dense source of carbohydrate. Tapioca flour can be treated more like potato or rice starch. It’s a classic carby flour, albeit one without gluten and other noted toxins.

For someone with good glucose control, tapioca is a decent source of carbs. If you’re looking to add carbohydrates, or your activity level warrants it, go ahead and try it out. Since tapioca comes from cassava, which is perhaps the most popular source of starch across the entire world, it’s not like it’s a dietary unknown. To venture into tapioca territory is to travel a well-beaten path. Just realize that anytime you turn something into flour, you massively increase the speed at which it breaks down into usable energy. High energy burners in need of a quick hit may find that to be a plus, while more sedentary individuals might react poorly to a quick infusion of glucose (especially if it’s not going to be utilized right away or sequestered into already swollen muscle glycogen stores). Your call based on your context.

Coconut Flour Pancakes

I love my Almond Flour Pancake recipe. But when Sunday morning arrived,  I went to the pantry to gather my ingredients to make pancakes only to find I was out of Almond Flour! What do you make pancakes from when you're out of almond flour, you ask? Why, Coconut flour of course!

Now, coconut flour is an entirely different beast from Almond Flour or regular wheat flour, for that matter. Coconut flour is very thirsty and requires a large amount of liquid to have the right consistency and not be too dry. But once you understand the liquid to dry ratio you need, coconut flour can be a very tasty and cost effective flour for Paleo/Primal baking.

What are the benefits of coconut flour? Well, I'm glad you asked!

A week of Paleo/Primal Breakfasts, Lunches, Dinners and Snacks

OK, I really don't like making meal plans. I can't imagine what I might want to make throughout the week while sitting on my couch on Sunday afternoon. I have a freezer stocked with meat and get a veggie box delivered on Thursday. Sometimes they substitute different items in my box; so I don't know what will be in it for certain until it arrives. That makes the meal planning a little hard. But really those are all just excuses because ultimately I don't make meal plans because that's just not the way I work. It's counter to my personality, I think. BUT, I can make a retroactive meal plan; I can tell you what I ate LAST week rather than what I plan to eat NEXT week. That way you can get an idea of what a week of Paleo/Primal eating might look like if you're having a problem coming up with ideas.  Keep in mind that I eat Primal, so there are some dairy items thrown in here. If you don't eat dairy, just omit those. Here ya go!

Week of Breakfasts
Saturday: Paleo/Primal Pancakes (make extra for eating throughout the week, Freezes well)
Sunday: Paleo/Primal Porridge (make extra for eating throughout the week)
Monday: Banana, 3 Eggs with cottage cheese
Tuesday: Orange, Paleo Porridge
Wednesday: Grapefruit, Breakfast sausage
Thursday: Pear, 2 primal pancakes without toppings
Friday: Smoothie, 3 eggs

Week of Lunches
Monday: leftover Beef Tarragon Soup from dinner
Tuesday: Natural sausage, bottled sauerkraut
Wednesday: leftover Spaghetti squash Bolognese from dinner
Thursday: 3 egg omelet with sauteed greens and sun dried tomatoes
Friday: Lunch meat, cheese, mustard wrapped rolled up in lettuce or chard
Saturday: Eat out (most salads without dressing or lettuce wrapped burgers are good choices)
Sunday: Leftovers from eating out Saturday and from the week's dinners.

Week of Dinners
Saturday: Pork Shoulder with Spinach and Onions with Cauliflower Rice
Sunday: Beef Tarragon Soup
Monday: Salmon Fillet, Sweet Potato Fries, Steamed Broccoli
Tuesday: Spaghetti Squash Bolognese, Salad with homemade vinaigrette
Wednesday: Balsamic Chicken and Onions, Salad
Thursday: Braised Beef, Sweet Potatoes with Chive Butter, Salad
Friday: Seafood Skillet, Salad

Other Lunch or Dinner choices:
Natural Sausage with browned peppers and onions, salad
Chicken soup
Baked Talapia, sesame oil broccoli and mushrooms, sesame cucumbers
Baked Chicken Legs, sauteed greens and onions, Steamed Sweet Potatoes or fries
Jambalaya, Salad
Butternut Squash Soup

Snacks:
Pear/other fruit slices wrapped with prosciutto
Nut and raisin mix
Beef Jerkey Pear /apple slices dipped in almond butter
Veggies with guacamole - baby carrots, cuke slices, broccoli

Primal/Paleo Pancakes - Gluten & Dairy Free

Every Sunday morning my family and I have pancakes for breakfast while reading the Sunday Paper. It's a tradition that we all look forward to each week. Since starting to eat foods that follow the Primal/Paleo lifestyle I've had to make a separate meal for myself which usually consists of eggs, bacon, sausage or similar. Now don't get me wrong, I love eggs, bacon, and sausage, but I wanted to share the traditional pancake breakfast with my family. So, I set off on a quest to find a pancake recipe that would fit my grain and dairy free eating plan but would also satisfy my family's taste buds. I started at Elana's Pantry and found this pancake recipe. It looked good, but I had to make some changes, because that's just the way I am. The following recipe is the one I made this morning for my family. My daughter had thirds so I think it was a hit!

Primal/Paleo Gluten and Dairy Free Pancakes
Ingredients:
4 eggs
2 Tbs maple syrup
2 Tbs vanilla extract
1 banana
1/2 C Coconut or Almond milk
3 cups blanched almond flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
(I added chopped walnuts to my pancakes and the kids added chocolate chips to theirs.)

Directions:
1. In a blender, mix Eggs, Syrup, Vanilla, Banana and Milk until smooth.
2. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the blender a bit at a time. Add more milk if the batter becomes too thick to blend. Batter should pour easily but not be runny.
3. Preheat griddle or skillet on Medium heat (300 degrees for griddles).
4. Pour pancake batter onto griddle or skillet making about 3 inch pancakes. Add any nuts or chocolate chips to the uncooked tops of the pancakes.
5. Pancakes will form little bubbles, when bubbles open, flip pancakes over and cook other side.
6. Cool on a wire rack or plate and eat immediately.
7. Makes about 15 pancakes.