Blender Pancakes

Taste is Trump.: GAPS Blender Pancakes.

I made these this morning, like many weekend mornings in the last few months. They are awesome. They’re my favorite grain free pancake recipe because it all goes in the blender, then I pour the batter from the blender. Couldn’t be easier. Seems like I’m all about sharing the “easy” recipes with you guys:) I guess that’s because it’s GOT to be easy for me to like it! And because one of my goals here at OE is to encourage everyone that cooking healthy food is not difficult!

I use her exact recipe, so go to the link and print it. Notice her disclaimer that a regular blender MAY not work on almonds. I used my Blendtec. Here are my other tips:

1. you don’t HAVE to soak your almonds. I have used soaked raw almonds and I have used raw almonds out of the bag. Didn’t seem to make a difference. Her blog should have more info as to why you do want to soak them for better nutrition,  if you plan ahead well enough. That’s not usually me.

2. keep the heat on medium,  the butter can scorch easily. Use grass-fed butter if you can, or organic. At the least, use real butter rather than a processed oil fake butter tub of gross. (hey Dana, why don’t you tell us what you really think of imitation butter!!??!) IF you need convincing on using grass-fed butter see this page. If you are vegan, well, I just remembered this recipe has yogurt in it, so I suppose you won’t be making this one anyway…. Oh! Wait! There is almond milk yogurt now. And you can use the coconut oil to fry them instead of butter. Oh, you’re all set!   Update: I forgot about the eggs since the recipe wasn’t right in front of me:).  Vegetarians would eat these, but vegans won’t. Sorry, I tried.

3. the batter will thicken as it sits. The first batch may be a bit thin but they will still taste great, don’t worry. After the batter gets thicker you may need to do this: after you pour a “blob” of batter onto the pan, take a spoon and spread it out a little. If you leave them too thick, they won’t cook properly.

4. I like to add some almond extract if I have it.

5. To make these an extra special treat, you can add chocolate chips, but don’t blend them. Add at the end. Same for blueberries or other fruit that is in season. We used blueberries today and they were heavenly.

6. Use REAL maple syrup, (grade B is more nutritious) not the fake stuff. I’m sure Aunt Jemima was a wonderful person, but she makes some crappy syrup (Hey Dana, why don’t you tell us what you really think about fake syrup?!!?). It makes no sense to go to the trouble of making these awesome pancakes and then top them with high fructose corn syrup. You simply defile these healthy pancakes by doing so. Do not defile the pancakes.

7. I also added  a few pecan pieces on top of my blueberry pancakes today. Brilliant.

8. this recipe makes enough for my hungry family of 4, with plenty of left overs, which we love.

9. In her recipe she also tells us that if you leave out the sweetener and vanilla, these can be used like pieces of “bread” to make pizzas or sandwiches. I can’t wait to try that!

REMINDER: chocolate chips and maple syrup are not on the Maximized Living “Advanced Plan”. They are a rare treat after weight goals have been attained, or if you’re a healthy kid who gets pancakes on Sundays like mine do! We eat healthy breakfasts all the other days, but Sundays are always a treat breakfast because it’s our favorite day of the week!

Enjoy! We surely did! In fact, hubs had all the leftovers for dinner tonight!:)

Encouraging Health,

Organic Eater

LINK: Overnight, No-Cook Refrigerator Oatmeal — A healthy breakfast made in mason jars in six different flavors!

Overnight, No-Cook Refrigerator Oatmeal — A healthy breakfast made in mason jars in six different flavors!.

Normally, I would not send you a grain recipe link, but oats ARE gluten free, and some of you can tolerate them better than me. This will have to be a rare treat for me. This recipe is so quick and easy, made the night before, so it makes for a quick healthy breakfast, and I’m all about making things as quick and easy as possible, especially in the morning!! If you’re sensitive to grains, maybe you could try decreasing the amount in these? Let me know your results if you try that. Use PLAIN organic whole fat yogurt and organic fruit, especially if using berries. Adding protein and healthy fat helps make this a healthier choice than just a plain bowl of oats with sugar on top, so keep “baby steps” in mind, and do what you can.

PS: start saving your nut butter jars if you don’t already! They’re perfect for this!

Encouraging Health,

Organic Eater

Trifecta

Don’t you love it when things happen in three’s, and you think it may be “a sign” of some kind? Well, I guess if it’s a good thing, you love it. If it’s a bad thing, probably not. Anyway, three Hemp things happened to me this week, and I’m taking it as a sign I need to incorporate the hemp plant into my healthy lifestyle. See that link for benefits of hemp protein. (as an aside, buying anything hemp always makes me smile sheepishly because of what hemp can be used for. But keep in mind, it is only a PLANT, which can be used by man for many different purposes, good and bad, like anything else on this earth Gen 1:29-30). This post is ONLY about hemp as a plant and a protein source.

First, I went to the health food store and the only protein mix I could find (that was acceptable on every point; I had a long list that day) was the Nutiva Hemp Protein Mix. I bought it for the first time, after some unusual circumstances I won’t bore you with here.

The more Nutiva products I try, the more I love them.

Second, my Maximized Living webinar that same week included a Shopping List, that raved about the advantages of Hemp Protein. That was something I had never read from ML before. I started “thinking twice” about it…….

Thirdly, I found this Hemp video whose creativity is off the charts, and is so cute I want to squeeze it. I saw it originally at the brand new kirstieinthekitch.com blog, which I hope to see more often, because she already has a Mexican recipe which makes me love her even more. 🙂

So, maybe this series of events could be called the Trifecta Effect. These three signs were leading me towards hemp protein. Maybe my body needs this protein source. The Lord works in mysterious ways, so it’s always a possibility I guess. Or maybe not.

I had it in my smoothie for the first time today. (no picture because it’s not pretty when the green hemp and brown cocoa make a “sludge” color) I put cocoa in it, so the chocolate covered the hemp taste, so I can’t say if it had much flavor. Not that I wanted it to. I want to taste all the other stuff, not the protein. It did make me feel very happy shortly afterwards though. Just kidding! I may be using it to make some hemp protein bars this weekend. Let me know if any of you try it, and what you think about it.

Encouraging Health,

Organic Eater

Smoothie pics & basics


Smoothie Ingredients

Some of the awesome stuff I put in my organic smoothies!

I also have a link for you at one of my favorite blogs, Crunchy Betty. She is so funny and entertaining (when not covering a serious topic), and she has a great post about green smoothies there. Her post includes how green smoothies benefit your skin! I would definitely agree with that! I’m sure I will link to her site often, since she has tons of great recipes for homemade beauty and cleaning products.

Green Smoothie

Even “green smoothies” aren’t always green, but this one sure is! What you throw in the blender can make a big difference in what color results. For example, blueberries always change the color.

greens (swiss chard)

This is the main ingredient of a green smoothie, greens! Either “real” or powder form. This is the main source of the healthy goodness in a green smoothie. This particular green is Swiss Chard and it has a very mild flavor (easily hidden). Spinach seems to be the #1 easiest one to hide. If you’re a newbie, start with spinach.

I will post smoothie “recipes” (it seems strange to even call them that because it’s just a bunch of stuff in a blender:) under my Recipes Page. For now, the basics for what you need are listed in the “comments” (see comment balloon at top of post, from ME to ANGELA). Let me know if you have questions on this before I can get those recipes posted where they belong.

Encouraging health,
Organic Eater