Banana Pancakes

Lately, I've been trying to reduce my calorie intake while still staying satiated.  A lot of overnight oats, low-carb high-protein muffins, and eggs.  I prefer the eating style of many small meals/snacks throughout the day (What? I like variety!) rather than 3 big meals--it helps me keep things in check and satisfy my desire for many tastes.  But this leads to not being able to partake in some of my favorite breakfast indulgences (I would kill for a full English brekkie one of these days).

Sometimes, though, you just want something.

It's been months since I've had pancakes.  I just..haven't let myself make them, which I guess is a good thing, because for a while there I was just baking up a storm constantly.  Pancakes would have just added to the torrential carb downpour :P.

Those of you in the paleo/gluten free/low carb world know the pain of flat, sad pancakes that barely hold together on the pan, let alone once they're on the plate and covered in your choice of syrup, fruit, nut butter, or what-have-you.  Not only am I tired of eating those kinds of pancakes, but I'm tired of serving them to my disappointed friends and family.  I feel like it's an insult to the glory that is delicious stacks of pan-baked comforting goodness that pancakes should be.

I delved into my new-found baking knowledge and decided to pull out the ingredients I have found most helpful in the last year, and I did it.  I made the fluffy paleo pancake that doesn't involve a million eggs, cheese, or coconut flour.  (Don't get me wrong, I love coconut flour...for some things.  But its texture and flavor often overtakes and puts me off.)

Are they low carb?  ...kind of?

Each serving of 3-ish pancakes has 21g net carbs.  I mean, we all know that's mostly the banana.  But it's worth it to me.  'Cause bananas are delicious.

Also, as with all things MyFitnessPal, I take some of these "facts" with a grain of salt.  It did, in the beginning, tell me that 2 bananas had over 2000 calories.

The recipe is as follows:

Dry:

1/2 cup almond meal

1/4 cup arrowroot starch (or your starch of choice--you could also use tapioca to keep it paleo)

2 T ground flax meal

1 t psyllium husk powder

1 scoop unflavored whey protein (could also use vanilla)

1/2 t baking soda

1 t baking powder

Pinch of salt and cinnamon

Wet:

2 medium overripe bananas

2 egg whites

2 eggs

Optional: sweetener to your taste

Combine all dry ingredients in a food processor and pulse until combined.

Add bananas and pulse until mixed in, then add eggs.  Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes, to allow the psyllium powder and flax to "gel".

Ladle onto a medium-hot griddle and cook until bubbles are popping in the center of the pancakes.  Flip and cook for one minute more.

Makes about 8 "normal" sized pancakes.

Serve immediately with your choice of toppings!  Maybe a little bacon on the side, too...

Mango-Strawberry Crumble

I had a ton of way-over-ripe (about to go bad) mangos in my fridge and was searching for something to make with them.  I sort of made this up as I went along--take measurements with a grain of salt!  It came out really great, and vanilla ice cream is a perfect addition to it.

Ingredients:

Filling
2 very ripe mangos, cubed (should be about 2-3 cups of mango flesh, my mangos were massive)
15-20 strawberries, hulled and sliced (about 1.5 cups)
2 tablespoons of sugar (adjust depending on your tastes, I don't find that mangos and strawberries need a lot of extra sugar)
Juice of 2 limes, or 1 lemon
1 T. cornstarch or other starch
1 t. cinnamon

Topping
1 recipe gluten-free pie crust (I had one premade)
1/2 cup coarsely ground almonds
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar

Instructions:

Butter a square 8x8 baking pan.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Toss together the filling ingredients in a bowl and pour into the pan.

Combine the topping ingredients in another bowl and crumble them together with your fingers until they're in small chunks.  Sprinkle evenly over the filling.

Bake in your preheated oven for 35-45 minutes, until the filling is cooked and the topping is well-browned.




....we ate it before I could take pictures.  It was delicious.

Low-Carb Carrot Cake

Allow me to take this opportunity to state that just because something is low carb does NOT mean it is low calorie.  I run into a lot of people who think that just because my dessert has no flour or sugar in it means they can eat an absurd amount of it without any problem.  Almond flour is still almonds, and nuts are very calorie dense.  Butter is still butter.  Eat in moderation!

I was craving cake--real cake with frosting and layers--and I decided to convert this recipe that I've had saved forever into something more diet friendly, so I don't have to feel so guilty for eating it.

The cake came out a bit too moist (next time I might strain the carrots/pineapple in cheesecloth to get out the extra liquid) and the texture is not quite right, but it still tastes great.  Charles even had two pieces of it!  So I deem it a success.


Carrot Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups almond flour
2 cups Splenda (or equivalent of another sugar substitute)
2 t. baking soda
1 t. xanthan gum
1 t. salt
2 1/4 t. cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
Pinch of nutmeg
1 lb. carrots, peeled (if you prefer) and sliced into 2-inch chunks (this was about 5 1/2 carrots for me)
1 cup chopped fresh pineapple
1/2 cup canola oil
1 t. vanilla extract
3 large eggs

Optional:
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins

Instructions:


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter and flour two 8-inch round cake pans.

Sift together dry ingredients and set aside.

Place carrots and pineapple in a food processor and chop.  How chunky you want it is up to you.  I would also strain it, as I said, to remove excess liquid next time.

Mix wet ingredients together with the carrots and pineapple, and combine with dry ingredients.  Stir in whatever additions you like--we just used walnuts.

Pour into prepared pans and bake for 35-45 minutes (check that the cake isn't squishy in the center by pressing down on it--I find that the toothpick trick isn't useful with almond flour).

Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting


Ingredients:

2 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, room temperature
2/3 cup of butter, room temperature
2 cups Splenda (I used the granulated kind, it came out fine)
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 T. vanilla extract

Instructions:


Beat together butter and cream cheese on a high speed until well-combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes (do not overbeat!).  Add in lemon zest, juice, and vanilla.

Beat in Splenda gradually until well combined.  Stop beating when the texture reaches a spreadable consistency.  Chill until it is time to frost the cake.

This made enough to frost the two layer cake entirely, and I still had a small bit leftover!

Enjoy, everyone!

Kalyn's Ratatouille Wanna-Be and Almond-Pesto-Encrusted Haddock

This is one of my favorite side dishes. Very flavorful, very simple, and filled with super-healthy ingredients!

Ratatouille Ingredients:

2 T. olive oil
1 onion, preferably red, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow/orange bell pepper, diced
2 large zucchini, diced
1 28-ounce can whole or diced tomatoes with juices
1 T. dried oregano
1/2 cup fresh basil, minced
Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and peppers and saute until the onion is cooked through and the garlic is fragrant. Add in the zucchini, and cook for about 5 minutes, until it begins to soften.


Add in the tomatoes and spices and stir together. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook over low heat for about an hour. I prefer if most of the liquid is cooked off. Adjust spices to taste before serving.


I'd never cooked haddock before, and it's one of those flavorful whitefishes like cod, pollack, tilapia, etc. You could substitute any of those fish into this recipe as well, just adjust your cooking time.

Haddock Ingredients:

3 haddock filets (or other white fish), about 6 oz. each
Salt & pepper
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves
4 cloves garlic
3-4 T. mayonnaise

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Sprinkle salt & pepper over the haddock filets and place them on an oiled, foiled-lined baking sheet.

Place almonds in a food processor and process until they become a meal. Add the parmesan, basil leaves, and garlic, and pulse until combined. Add mayo and blend together.

Spread the mixture evenly over the fish and bake for about 20 minutes, until the fish flakes easily. I had to broil the fish for a couple of minutes to brown the crust.


Serve hot out of the oven! Some asparagus would be delightful with this fish as well, but I didn't have any.


Excuse my cell phone pictures, my camera was dead when I was making this and I wanted to document it!

Almond Meal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are a great substitute for normal chocolate chip cookies! They definitely satisfy my craving whenever I want some.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups almond meal
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. baking soda
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar substitute (as always, I use Splenda)
1 egg
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine almond meal, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl. Set aside.

Cream together butter and sugar substitute until combined. Add egg and vanilla and mix well.

Add the dry ingredients, mixing well.

Stir in the chocolate chips.


Drop onto a prepared baking sheet (I think rolling them into balls and squashing them down looks best, but they cook the same either way).


Bake for 10-15 minutes (depends on your oven), or until they are golden brown.



For the lowest carbs possible, use a less sweetened chocolate chip :). These are so tasty! But watch out; once they sit out for a couple of days, they get dry and crumbly, so keep them in a tightly sealed container.

Low(er) Carb Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with Walnuts (and How to Make Your Own Almond Flour)

I love banana bread. It has been a staple in my house since I was a small, small child and I hate going without it. I also have a big sweet tooth when it comes to cookies and cake (banana bread falls under cake in my mind). When we went low-carb, I thought, "How? How will I get my precious banana bread? How will I have my delicious desserts?"

Then I discovered almond flour through this lovely website. But, alas, I wanted to use my banana bread recipe that everyone raved about. So what did I do?

Through trial and error (so many errors), I finally have a low(er) carb banana bread that I can rave about. And I am sharing it with you.

Ingredients:

2 cups almond flour
¼ cup ground flax seed
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
½ t. salt
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 cup Splenda (or substitute sugar of your choice—just make sure it’s equal to 1 cup sugar)
½ cup cooking oil
2 large eggs
¼ cup Greek yogurt
1 t. vanilla extract
3 overripe bananas, mashed
½ cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional, but delicious)
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
A small handful of rolled oats

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (approx. 175 degrees C). Butter and flour a bread loaf pan.

Combine almond flour, flax seed, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.


Using a hand mixer, combine the oil, Splenda, and 2 eggs in a large bowl until the mixture is pale and frothy. Add ½ of the dry ingredient mixture to the bowl, mixing well. Add the Greek yogurt and vanilla extract. Mix well. Add the rest of the dry mixture, and mix again. Your batter will probably be quite thick.

Mix in the mashed bananas.


Stir in ½ cup chopped walnuts and chocolate chips.


Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan. Top with remaining 1/3 cup of chopped walnuts and handful of oats. Lightly press the topping into the batter (this will prevent it from not sticking).

Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hr. to 1 hr. 15 minutes, or whenever a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.



Notes:

You CAN make this gluten free (and lower carb) by using entirely almond flour, but be aware that it will not be as fluffy as using the ¼ cup of flour. It tastes perfectly fine, but it falls a bit flat and has a more moist texture. This is my final recipe after much trial and error, and the yogurt seems to help the bread hold a more cake-y texture (before, I tried using milk, buttermilk, etc).

If you want to go even lower in carbs, I suggest using the darkest chocolate chips you can find (or eliminating them completely) and substituting more walnuts (they help hold the bread’s structure).

Almond Flour

Now, almond flour is often readily available at your local supermarket (I often find it in the gluten free section) or your local health food shop. Unfortunately, it's very expensive for a small amount of flour--where I live, it's about $12 for approx. 3 cups of almond flour. I can easily go out and buy a 2 pound bag of almonds for $20 and have far more almond flour for my disposal.

What you'll need:

A food processor
Almonds (whether raw or blanched is your preference)
Patience

Place the almonds in batches into the food processor. Mine is tiny, so I do my almond flour about 1/2 cup at a time.

I first use the "Chop" setting and pulse it until the almonds are entirely chopped. Then I grind.

Pulse the almonds until you start to see a layer of almond meal building up at the bottom of the processor like this:

That's almost almond butter! This tells you that the flour is getting very finely ground.

Stir it up (I use a whisk or a fork), put into a container and save it for your baking. Ta-daaa, almond flour!

If you want to get REALLY technical about it and get your almond flour down to a flour consistency, you can sift your almond flour and grind down the larger pieces even more. I have even done this in a mortar and pestle. Does it make for a more flour-like consistency? Absolutely. Is it worth the time? Not in my opinion. If you're trying to impress guests or hide the fact that it's not normal flour, maybe. I find for everything else, having some more mealy type pieces doesn't bother me at all.