I have been mucking about in the kitchen. I can hear the collective gasps from here. I am not good on the range. I make very simple, basic meals and probably use the microwave far too much. In an effort to change my ways, and because I’ve had a shift in dietary lifestyle, I have been very interested in getting creative in the kitchen. I have long loved looking at recipes in the fitness magazines, now I am actually trying them.

My stomach is pretty messed up so I am eating mostly veggies, proteins, and nuts. No dairy…and very limited to NO SUGAR and no grain. Yes, no sugar. It is possible. I do have some grains, but very few. My stomach is happier with less of all of those . I’ll have 1 piece of Ezekiel bread per day and that is about it. I miss the carbs, and yes there are days I slip up here and there. I am far from perfect.

The most painful hit I thought I would be forced to endure was a goodbye to my beloved pancakes. Ugh, how can I possibly live without these flapjacks of goodness? I went to the magazines, scoured the internet for Paleo versions. All of the recipes seemed to include bananas. No NO NO! I’m not a big baking-with-bananas fan, and even if I was, in MY pancakes? Hell no! Stop the madness! Also – sugar. If you do not know, bananas are just 6-10 inch scythes of sugar. They are super high on the glycemic index. An 120 gram banana is a 62 on the scale which goes to 100. Glucose equals 100. For scale, low-fat yogurt with fruit is 33, strawberries are a 1 for a 120 gram serving. There is more great information about glycemic index at this website.  This is not good for my stomach due to a candida sensitivity and adrenal fatigue. The potassium and fiber are good, but at a high price, since I would never be able to digest them. (More on candida and adrenal fatigue in a later post. For now, head over to this website.  I experience most of it, just not the weight gain. Well, I do have fluctuations, but no one but me seems to care because it is so minimal.)

All right, so back to pancake recipe. I thought, “what if I just leave the banana out?” What if I use coconut flakes and almond flour and maybe a dash of ground flax seed. Worth a shot, right? Everything comes out terribly in my kitchen, so my expectations were pretty low.

The basic recipe is (WARNING: You will have to make larger proportions if you are feeding more people, like 2 or 4. I live alone. None of recipe proportions work for me. I am forced to do this with every other recipe, so now it is your turn America.):

1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill Shredded Coconut Flakes

1/4 cup of Bob’s Red Mill Almond Finely Ground Flour/Meal 

1 Tablespoon of Finely Ground Flaxseed (I like the Spectrum brand, but Bob has a good one, as does every health food store)

1 teaspoon of Baking Powder (I use Argo because it is aluminum and Gluten free)

1 Serving of Egg Whites

1/2 Tablespoon of Earth Balance Original Buttery Spread (or oil of your choice)

1/3 cup of water

Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Then add wet ingredients and mix.

Heat, and grease (with canola or coconut oil) Griddle to 300-400 degrees, or place greased frypan on stovetop. Turn up the heat to about level 5.

Add enough water to create good batter consistency. Some people like their pancakes more crepe-y like me, and others like them thick. It is up to you on how dense you want your batter.

The first time I made them I did not leave them on the griddle long enough. I got one pancake out of it. I ate it and was shocked at how delicious it tasted. “By George, I’m the Gluten Free/Sugar Free Gordon Ramsey,” I thought, knowing full well someone had probably already thought of this combination of ingredients for a pancake recipe.  But hey, you have got to stay motivated in the heat of battle.

The second time I made them I left them on the griddle longer. Still had some trouble flipping them over. They stayed together much better, looked and tasted better than the pancakes I was making.

I really impressed myself.

Now, if only I could get my hummus and guacamole game up to this standard I will be unstoppable. Oh yeah, and maybe stop burning chicken once a month. What can I say, I get distracted. It’s all fun and games till the smoke alarms go off.

Have a great breakfast everyone!