Our journey down the paleo street has led us to some amazing resources, blogs and new cookbooks. I have already posted about the awesome-ness of Diane Sanfilippo, author of Practical Paleo and the 21-Day Sugar Detox. Both of those books have become a resource for me weekly and are constantly sitting on my kitchen counter.
Another real gem is Against All Grain by Danielle Walker. Not only is the story that led her to Paleo inspiring, but her recipes are amazing. A few I have tried and loved so far are some breakfast recipes.
Pancakes: Since going gluten-free in 2009, I’ve always searched for a pancake recipe that yielded a pancake that tasted delicious and had the consistency similar to the pancakes of our childhood. The one we used for a while was a mix from Bob’s Red Mill, and it was just okay… until I found this one. They are pictured in the cookbook as a mouse shape ;), thus the name Banana Mouse Pancakes. We tried making them in a mouse shape, but they didn’t come out very pretty, so we’re calling them Banana Pancakes. 🙂
Banana Pancakes
(adapted from Against All Grain by Danielle Walker)
yields 15-20 small pancakes
Ingredients:
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup almond flour
- 3/4 cup sliced bananas
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 tsp. honey (optional)
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- pinch of salt
- coconut oil for pan
1. Place all the ingredients, except the oil, in a blender. Blend until smooth. (I use my Vitamix here and it works perfectly.) Let the batter sit for 5 minutes to thicken.
2. Place the oil in a skillet or griddle over medium heat.
3. Spoon the batter onto the pan – make any size you prefer.
4. After about a minute or so and once bubbles rise to the surface, flip the pancakes.
6. Cook on the second side for 15 to 30 seconds, then keep warm in the oven set to 200ºF while you cook the remaining batter.
Tip: If the batter begins to thicken while you are cooking the pancakes, add a little water to thin it out.
Granola: Another recipe I was excited to try was granola. In my pre-gluten-free life, I have to admit, I loved cereal! I can definitely say that I don’t miss how it made me feel and the repercussions it had on my digestive system, but there still is something that makes me happy about eating a bowl (or mug in my case) of cereal. I have tried making granola before, and the results have been so-so. This recipes calls for the use of dehydrator, which I do not own, but there are instructions for how to dehydrate the granola using your oven. I have adapted the recipe slightly. The original recipe calls for raisins, which I do not add, and I have tweaked the nuts depending on what I have in the pantry.
Vanilla-Almond Granola
(adapted from Against All Grain by Danielle Walker)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 1 cup raw walnuts
- 1/2 cup raw pecans
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
- 1 3/4 tsp. sea salt, divided
- 3/4 melted honey or maple syrup
- 2 TB. coconut oil, melted
- 1 1/2 TB. vanilla extract
- 1 TB. cinnamon
- 1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
- Add the nuts and seeds to a bowl. Add water about 2 inches above nuts. Cover and soak 12-18 hours in refrigerator.
- When done soaking, rinse nuts and seeds several times with cold water.
- Place the nuts and seeds in food processor and process until pieces are small, like oatmeal.
- Add the salt, honey, coconut oil, vanilla extract and cinnamon and process until combined.
- Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper, and spread granola into a thin layer.
- Dehydrate. If you have a dehydrator, dehydrate for 24 hours. If you do not have a dehydrator, set the oven to lowest setting (mine is 170º) and prop the door with a wooden spoon to allow moisture in. After 2 hours, move around granola with a spoon and dehydrate for another hour. After hour 3, turn the oven off and let sit in the oven for another hour.
- When complete and cool, store in an airtight container.
- Enjoy with any kind of milk or use as a topping with berries.
Have you tried any recipes from these cookbooks? If so, which ones?
Until next time…
<3 Jenny
