Basic Paleo Pancakes

It feels like it has been eons since I posted a recipe, and while I have been enjoying sharing more life updates and fun posts it is time to get back to where this blog is really at. Allergy-friendly food!

Yesterday I whipped up a batch of pancakes which I adapted from PaleOMG. Her recipe called for milk which I decided to increase and then replace with a mixture of yogurt to up the protein content. I also added a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to replicate the taste of buttermilk and to sour the yogurt for a more traditional pancake flavor. Along with the eggs and coconut flour, the added yogurt amps the protein content of these pancakes up to 32 grams total or 16 grams per serving for two servings. For a recipe that tastes as delicious as this, that number is pretty impressive.

I further adapted the recipe by omitting the added honey and raspberry lemon topping so that these would be plain. That way this recipe can serve a base pancake and you can add whatever your heart desires! The yogurt and coconut flour add even sweetness naturally but if you prefer a dessert-like pancake you could add in a tablespoon or two of sweetener (honey, maple syrup, stevia or coconut sugar to keep them paleo).

Grain/Gluten/Wheat-Free, Nut-Free, Dairy-Free Option, Paleo-Friendly, No Sugar Added

Makes 2-3 servings; 10 pancakes total

Adapted from recipe by PaleOMG

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup yogurt (use coconut or almond yogurt to make dairy-free)*
• 1/2 cup water*
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup coconut flour (link)
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour (link)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder (link)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat griddle to 350 degrees or a skillet to medium-high. Coat with oil to prevent sticking.
2. Mix together the yogurt, water and vinegar. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl combine the dry ingredients. In a separate larger bowl then combine all of the wet ingredients.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until thoroughly incorporated. Let rest for a few minutes so that the coconut flour can thicken up the batter. After about 5 minutes check the batter. It should be the consistency of regular pancake batter- thick but easily pourable. Add additional water to thin out or additional coconut flour to thicken if necessary.
5. Using a 1/4 cup measuring scoop pour the pancake batter onto your griddle/skillet, spreading it out with the back of the scoop. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side. Repeat for additional pancakes.
6. Drizzle with honey or maple syrup, top with your favorite add-ons like diced apples or berries, and enjoy!

*Note: If you don’t have yogurt on hand, you can also replace the yogurt/water mixture with 1 cup of milk. Start off with about 1/2 cup and increase as needed to ensure the batter doesn’t get too thin. I’ve used 1 cup coconut milk before and that worked well.

Even though the pancakes went cold as I was taking pictures and I had to reheat them (whoops!), my family still said that these were the best grain-free pancakes that I had made yet! They are much lighter and fluffier than most grain-free pancakes because of the tapioca flour and baking powder lending themselves to become a staple in anyone’s breakfast rotation.

If you are wanting to make pancakes but don’t have either coconut flour or tapioca flour on hand, check out my pancakes tag for alternative recipes to hold you over in the meantime.

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Questions for you:

• What are you having for breakfast today?
• How do you increase the protein in your breakfast? 
• Have you ever used tapioca flour before?
• What would you mix into these pancakes? 

Marvelous/Not So Marvelous… And an Oatmeal Recipe

Marvelous is… the fact that I found an old bag of black licorice cough drops in our medicine cabinet.

Not so marvelous is… the fact that I even NEED cough drops due to “the plague.” 😉

Marvelous is… watching the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with my mom.

Not so marvelous is… now I’m craving pizza.

Marvelous is… celebrating one of my friend’s birthdays tomorrow.

Not so marvelous is… if I don’t get over this cold/virus/whatever-it-is I won’t be able to go.

Marvelous is… making breakfast on an actual stove every morning for my parents.

Not so marvelous is… Okay, I can’t really find anything wrong with this oatmeal. Ha.

Banana and Maple Pecan Oatmeal

Gluten/Wheat-Free, Vegan, Nut-Free Option (in Notes below)

Makes 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 1 cup liquid (1/2 cup water + 1/2 cup milk)
• 1/2 cup quick oatmeal
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed (ground chia would work too)
• 1 tbsp sweetener
• 1/2 banana
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• dash of salt
• “Maple pecans”: 3 tbsp pecans, 1 tbsp maple syrup, 1/8 tsp cinnamon, dash of salt
• optional toppings (I used melted almond butter)

Directions:

1. Heat liquid on high until boiling. Add oatmeal and flaxseed. Reduce heat to medium and stir occasionally for about 5 minutes or until thickened.
2. Slice the 1/2 banana on top of the oatmeal. Stir and let sit for a minute until the banana gets soft. Using a fork whip the oatmeal incorporating the banana until smooth. Mix in the cinnamon and salt then pour into a bowl.
3. In the now empty pan put the pecans, maple syrup, cinnamon and salt. Heat on medium until the syrup begins to boil and thicken. Pour onto the oatmeal and top with optional toppings.

Notes: To make this vegan/dairy-free use a dairy-free milk like almond milk or coconut milk. You could also just use all water for the liquid to make it nut-free but it won’t be as creamy. For the nuts, feel free to omit or replace with a nut-free version like sunflower seeds, pepitas, a diced banana or apple.

Marvelous is… doubling the recipe to make it for two.

Not so marvelous is… not having the right-sized pan and the liquid spilling over causing your stove to smoke. My bad.

Marvelous is… the truckload of Christmas pictures that I have to share with you.

Not so marvelous is… having to upload and edit them all.

So while I get on that, make this oatmeal, pop in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and get to reading some of the other posts that are linking up to Katie’s Marvelous in my Monday.

Hopefully I will be feeling better and able to comment on some of your posts that I’ve missed in the past week or so. Time to return to the land of the living! 😉

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Questions for you:

Which Ninja Turtle is your favorite? I’m partial to the one in red, Raphael. 

According to Nickelodeon’s survey though, I’m DONATELLO!

Like Donatello, you are a brilliant inventor. You may not make all of the Turtles’ gadgets, weapons, and vehicles, like he does, but you’ve got the brains for it! But sometimes you and Donnie are too smart for your own good, like when you’re too busy admiring an enemy’s futuristic laser cannon to run for your lives. But when it comes down to it, it’s other people’s lives that really keep your head in a mission. You fight with your heart, and that makes you a very powerful warrior.

What’s your favorite cough drop flavor? Black licorice obviously.

Have you gotten all of your Christmas photos/recaps up yet? I’m pretty sure I’m the last one…

Microwave Cinnamon Rolls — 12 Days of Allergy-Free Christmas Recipes Day One

Hello and welcome to Day One of the 12 Days of Allergy-Free Christmas Recipes. I am your host, Madison at Eating 4 Balance, and boy have we got a show for you today!

The theme for Day One is breakfast pastries, a very fitting way to begin this round-up as breakfast will be the very first thing you eat come Christmas day.

As part of this post I have collected dozens of breakfast pastry recipes which I will share shortly. Before we do that though, I have created a “new” special recipe to share as well which I am confident you are going to love.

Whether you have food allergies, a special diet, or are just trying to eat healthier, it can be frustrating to come across an amazing looking recipe and then see the serving size. Especially if you are the only one in your family eating a certain way, a recipe with multiple servings is just too much. First, do we really want to still be eating the leftovers come the next week? Of course not! And if it’s a dessert recipe, having multiple servings can be very tempting and if you’re anything like me you can’t just stop at one or two.

So this recipe, no matter which category you fall into, is perfect. It only makes two, and is so quick to whip up that if you need a tasty allergy-free treat on Christmas morning but don’t want the prep time or hassle, you can make these microwave cinnamon rolls.

Microwave Cinnamon Rolls

Grain/Gluten/Wheat-Free, Vegan, Nut-Free, Paleo/GAPS-Friendly

Makes two large servings

Dough Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed + 1/4 cup water
• 1 small ripe banana
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• dash of salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Filling Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1-2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Combine the flaxseed and water in a bowl until thickened. Mash in the ripe banana and then add in the remaining ingredients. Mix well until you have a thick dough.
2. Using your hands, press out the dough onto a piece of parchment paper by hand to the size of a long, but thin rectangle.
3. Mix together the coconut oil and honey for the filling and spread evenly over the dough. Sprinkle on the cinnamon.
4. Next roll up the dough so that you are left with a log about 4 or 5 inches wide. Slice into two halves.
5. Place one of the halves on a plate lined with parchment paper and pop it into the microwave. Cook for about 3 minutes on high (you will have to experiment with this as all microwaves cook differently). When done it should spring back to the touch but still be somewhat soft.
6. Repeat with the other half. Enjoy your quick and allergy-free cinnamon rolls!

Notes: If you prefer to not cook things in the microwave, you can also bake these for about 15-20 at 350 degrees. I adapted this recipe from my oven one which you can look at here.

Usually I stay away from anything that isn’t meat or a vegetable because my stomach starts acting up, but I made an exception for these cinnamon rolls and hate half. Delicious.

If those don’t appeal to you though, don’t worry because I have many other recipes that you will be interested. Actually, it’s almost impossible that you won’t find a recipe that you can make among the ones I am about to share.

We have basically ever breakfast pastry under the Sun here. Scones, donuts, bagels, biscotti, cinnamon rolls, and much more. I have separated all of the recipes into categories with the links underneath the respective pictures. To make it easier for you, I have also included the food allergy profile next to each link so you can see if it will fit with your diet.

Those recipes that have an asterisk (*) by tree nut or soy free is to denote that the recipe calls for an ingredient that can easily be switched for those who cannot have it. For example, if a recipe calls for almond milk and that is the only tree nut in the recipe, I will put an asterisk by tree nut because you can easily use a different milk substitute with similar results.

While I tried very hard to make sure that I included the correct allergens and that the links are all functioning, please let me know if I have missed something. Enjoy!

Scones

Cranberry Orange and Chocolate Scones (wheat, dairy, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut*, and sesame free)

Cherry Oat Scones (gluten, wheat, dairy, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut, and sesame free)

Pear and Almond Scones (wheat, dairy, egg, soy, peanut, and sesame free)

Paleo Pumpkin Maple Scones (grain, gluten, wheat, dairy, soy, peanut, and sesame free)

Cranberry Apple Scones – (grain, gluten, wheat, dairy, soy, peanut, and sesame free)

Dark Chocolate Cherry Scones – (grain, gluten, wheat, dairy*, soy, peanut, and sesame free)

Donuts

Apple Donuts (dairy, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut, and sesame free)

Apple Cider Donuts (gluten, wheat, dairy, soy, peanut, tree nut, and sesame free)

Cinnamon Roll Donuts (grain, gluten, wheat, dairy, soy, peanut, and sesame free)

Chocolate Peppermint Cake Donuts (grain, gluten, wheat, dairy, soy, peanut, and sesame free)

Gingerbread Donuts with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting (gluten, wheat, dairy, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut, and sesame free)

Healthier Chocolate Glazed Donuts (soy, peanut, tree nut*, and sesame free)

Molasses Donuts (gluten, wheat, dairy, soy, peanut, tree nut*, and sesame free)

Maple Glazed Donuts (dairy, egg, peanut, tree nut, and sesame free)

Caramel-Glazed Donuts (grain, gluten, wheat, dairy, soy, peanut, tree nut, and sesame free)

Carrot Cake Donuts (grain, gluten, wheat, dairy, soy, peanut, tree nut, and sesame free)

Banana Coconut Pecan Protein Baked Donuts (gluten, wheat, dairy, soy, peanut, and sesame free)

Almond Joy Mini Donuts (gluten, wheat, dairy, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut, and sesame free)

Bagels

Grain-Free Bagels (grain, gluten, wheat, dairy, soy, peanut,  and sesame free)

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Bagels (dairy, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut, and sesame free)

Onion Poppy Seed and Cinnamon Raisin Bagels (grain, gluten, wheat, dairy, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut, and sesame free)

Breakfast “Rolls”

Bananas Baked in Phyllo with Date-Sweetened Chocolate Sauce (dairy, egg, soy, peanut, and sesame free)

Skinny Mini Jelly Roll Cake for One (gluten, wheat, dairy, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut, and sesame free)

Paleo Crepes with Nutella (grain, gluten, wheat, dairy, soy, peanut, and sesame free)

Biscotti

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti (grain, gluten, wheat, egg, soy, peanut,  and sesame free)

Vegan Eggnog Crunch Biscotti (dairy, egg, soy, peanut, and sesame free)

Cherry Chocolate Biscotti (gluten, wheat, dairy, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut, and sesame free)

Baked Fruit

Baked Apples Stuffed with Cinnamon Date Pecan Oatmeal (gluten, wheat, dairy, egg, soy, peanut, and sesame free)

Fresh Gingered Anjou Pear Cobbler (gluten, wheat, dairy, egg, soy, peanut, and sesame free)

Apple Fritters (grain, gluten, wheat, dairy, soy, peanut, and sesame free)

Honey Cinnamon Stewed Apples (grain, gluten, wheat, dairy, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut, and sesame free)

Healthy Apple Pie Breakfast (gluten, wheat, dairy, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut*, and sesame free)

Poached Pears (grain, gluten, wheat, dairy, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut, and sesame free)

Cinnamon Rolls

Raw Cinnamon Rolls with Coconut Icing and Caramel Raisin Filling (gluten, wheat, dairy, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut, and sesame free)

Hot Cocoa Toasty Marshmallow Swirl Cinna-Buns (dairy, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut, and sesame free)

Walnut Raisin Cinnamon Rolls (grain, gluten, wheat, dairy, soy, peanut, and sesame free)

Coconut Flour Cinnamon Rolls (grain, gluten, wheat, dairy, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut, and sesame free)

Nut Butter and Carob Chunk Cinnamon Rolls (grain, gluten, wheat, dairy, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut, and sesame free)

Apple Chunk Cinnamon Rolls (grain, gluten, wheat, dairy, egg, soy, peanut*, tree nut*, and sesame free)

Miscellaneous Pastries

Cream Puff Pastry (grain, gluten, wheat, dairy, soy, peanut, tree nut, and sesame free)

Cinna-Sugar Flutes (dairy, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut, and sesame free)

Gingerbread Breakfast Pizzert (dairy, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut*, and sesame free)

Almond Croissants (dairy, egg, soy, peanut, and sesame free)

Chocolate Eclairs (grain, gluten, wheat, dairy, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut, and sesame free)

Paleo Churros (grain, gluten, wheat, dairy, soy, peanut, tree nut, and sesame free)

Thanks for looking through all of these breakfast pastry recipes! If you have a favorite not listed here, feel free to share it in the links so everyone can enjoy it as well.

To see the rest of the 12 Days of Christmas Allergy-Free recipes, check back on this page (which you can also access on my menu above) where I will be including the hyperlinks as the other bloggers post. Also, if you are interested in participating in this round-up, there are a few days left and we would love to have you.

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Questions for you:

What are you going to eat Christmas morning?

What is your favorite breakfast pastry?

Do you prefer smaller serving sizes for recipes?

Spilling It in the Longest Post Ever (WIAW + Recipe)

Is that title daunting? Well, it’s daunting for me too. I basically fell out of the technology world for the past few days during my Thanksgiving break weekend. It wasn’t entirely on purpose though, thanks to my cellphone which has decided that while it will turn on, it will not STAY ON. So I just have a vibrating phone that won’t charge, and turns on and off every 30 seconds. Tis the season to be thankful, am I right?…

So with that said, you now know why I have not been commenting on blogs recently or been very present on this one. My blog life is basically tied to my phone and that is not being over dramatic in the slightest. All of my pictures are on that puppy, along with my WordPress app where I write a lot of my rough drafts and notes… And that’s where I comment a lot of the time too (so whenever you get some weird comment from me that is completely devoid of all grammatical integrity you’ll know it’s because I’m on my cellphone).

Thankfully my phone worked for a time slot of approximately 30 minutes yesterday where I promptly downloaded all of the photos I needed for today’s post, and quickly texted my mom to let her know I was alive but phone-less. Then it went back into a continuous state of on/off. *Sigh* Life is rough.

Aside from my ever unnecessary introductions that really serve no purpose whatsoever except to let me wax my wordy ways on you and give me an excuse to talk about something other than food…

I’m extremely excited to be able to participate in Arman’s first ever edition of Spill It Sundays! (catchy title, no? 😉 … although this post would be more appropriate if posted on Sunday. Maybe next week.)

Basically this new link-up has a bunch of fun questions in survey format that bloggers can answer so we learn more about each other. Ready for more unnecessary-ness from me? Great.

What is your cultural background?

American.

Haha. Okay, so getting a little more specific than that I think I have some German and Scottish heritage but don’t really know much other than that. I have some family history books at home that I should read someday so I can answer this question more accurately in the future.

When was your most memorable birthday and why?

I would have to say that my 16th birthday was my most memorable. I didn’t have a party or cake but I was on a high school band trip back from Disney when I turned 16. After one rest stop I came back on the bus to a whole bunch of noise makers and shouts of “Happy Birthday!” I thought that was pretty cool of them.

What is your #1 thing you want to accomplish in your lifetime?

To feel like I am doing what I’m supposed to be doing. I feel like there is nothing better than to know that you are on the right track and doing what you were born to do.

What is the stupidest thing you’ve ever done?

How about this past Saturday when I dropped a hot crock pot on my foot? Does that count?

I should note that this is the least offensive picture I have. Maybe on Friday I will be brave enough to show the blistering one… If you think that you can handle the truth 😉

Who was your childhood hero?

As a kid I always looked up to the usual television stars like Hilary Duff on Lizzie McGuire, or Britney Spears who was just a music idol. But really my childhood heroes were probably the authors that I always read. Carolyn Keene specifically, who wrote Nancy Drew. I thought she was just amazing and I wanted to be just like her when I grew up. Then years later I found out that she wasn’t a real person and my dreams were crushed. Like I said… Rough life.

Now for the optional “Selfie.”

Just as a forewarning, know that most of my selfies will take place in the restroom where I find the optimal lighting 😉

Whew. How much more do we have to go? Just kidding. This is a blast to finally be able to blog again! 🙂

I was planning on sharing about my Thanksgiving in today’s post, but I’ll leave that for another day and get on with WIAW and a recipe!

As you could probably tell from my Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffin post, I am a proud new member of The Recipe Redux community. Every month there is a new theme that we can post recipes around. There is also often a product-type sponsor where we are sent a food product to try out for free and to incorporate into a brand new recipe. This month was all about Monk Fruit in the Raw. It is made from the same company that also makes Stevia in the Raw, Sugar in the Raw, etc.

I’ll admit that I was at first hesitant to use the product because artificial sweeteners kind of scare me. Monk fruit, like stevia though, is not artificial in the slightest and actually comes from a plant! Made from delicious vine-ripened monk fruit, also called luo han guo, it’s the zero-calorie* sweetener that tastes like sugar. Originally harvested in the 13th century, it’s been making life more delicious for years now.

Pretty interesting. I’ve already used it twice and have been impressed with the results so far. I’m not sure that I will be using it in future recipes, but it’s good to know the healthier alternatives out there. If I ever need to make something for a sugar sensitive individual though, I will definitely keep Monk Fruit in mind. (Here is a FAQ if you have any questions about it. For quick reference, Monk Fruit in the Raw is gluten-free and vegan. It does contain maltodextrin though which is not safe for those with corn allergies).

The first recipe that I made was a kind of Amish Friendship Quick Bread which I will hopefully be able to share with you soon as it was an enormous success with both a regular and grain-free version.

The second recipe, which I am going to share today for WIAW is so simple that you probably have most of the ingredients in your cupboards already if you are into grain-free baking like me. No coconut flour in this one, but almond flour and Monk fruit in the raw make up the bulk of the dry ingredients, and yogurt provides most of the moisture. Add in some apple chunks and cinnamon and this is one tasty potential fall breakfast!

Easy Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

Grain/Gluten/Wheat-Free, Dairy/Nut-Free Option, No Sugar Added Option, Paleo

Makes 2 servings, 3 pancakes each

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond flour (any nut or seed flour would work)
• 2 tbsp granulated sweetener*
• 2-3 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt (use coconut to make dairy-free)
• 1 tbsp melted coconut oil (ghee/butter would be fine to0)
• 1 cup chopped apples (about 2 small apples)

Directions:

1. Preheat your griddle to 350 degrees or your skillet to medium heat. Coat/spray with oil if necessary to prevent sticking.
2. In a medium bowl combine your dry ingredients. Then add the egg, yogurt and oil mixing until thoroughly combined.
3. Using a 1/4 cup measure out your batter and pour onto the griddle/skillet. (You may need to spread the batter out a little bit to get the right size.)
4. Sprinkle some of the apple chunks over the pancake, pressing down if necessary. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the side facing up is bubbly. Flip and cook for about another 2 minutes. Top with more apples if desired!

*I used Monk Fruit in the Raw for the granulated sweetener to make these pancakes no sugar added, but you can use any granulated sweetener that you have on hand that fits your dietary needs). If wanting to use honey/maple syrup I would recommend using only 1/4 cup yogurt and increasing as needed to get the desired consistency.

I received free samples from Cumberland Packing Corp., maker of Monk Fruit In The Raw. By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by Cumberland Packing Corp. and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time. (<<<My First time ever getting to post a disclaimer like that. I feel so official 😉 ).

Thanks to Jenn for hosting WIAW again this week! Make sure to check out all of the other bloggers who linked up 🙂

Recipe also shared at Real Food Forager.

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Share with me a bad cellphone story so that I feel better about mine! 😀

Did you participate in Spill It Sundays? Answer one of the questions!

Have you ever tried Monk Fruit in the Raw? What is your favorite natural sweetener?

When was the last time you had pancakes?