Grapefruit Cardamom Pancakes-Grain Free

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The past few months will go down as a memorable time of life for me.  I made the switch to working full-time after being a stay-at-home mom for the past five years.  It’s been a huge transition with a lot of ups and downs.  I’ve dealt with a lot of anxiety I never realized I had when it comes to parenting.  I think I’ve always been an anxious parent but never really had to face it because I had so much control over my kids’ lives.  This transition to them being in the care of someone else during the day really revealed some things about me and my unhealthy desire for control.  I am grateful for this season for many reasons, but, most of all, because I have, at least started, to address this anxiety and need for control.  I’m glad it didn’t take until my kids were teenagers for me to realize what was going on in my mind.  My faith has grown in incredible ways as I’ve learned to give up control, or what I thought were things I controlled.

That’s a really brief summary of a few months filled with a lot of ups and downs.  We’re getting into a good, new rhythm now but I’m definitely behind on posting recipes!  I have my scraps of paper all around the house, as usual, but I keep falling asleep before sitting down to actually write anything! :)

I’ve been playing around with grapefruit a lot lately.  It’s in season, so why not?  I’ve enjoyed adding it to different baked goods with some fun spices.  Cardamom is a great companion to citrus!  If you use kefir in the recipe, some of the probiotics will die in the heating, but the kefir still has a lot of good nutrients.  I’ve been using it rather than yogurt, but a yogurt that isn’t too thick is fine if that’s what you have on hand.  Make the pancakes on the small side, since grain free pancakes tend to be delicate when flipping.  Once they are flipped, though, they hold together perfectly.  Enjoy!

Grapefruit Cardamom Pancakes

Serves 4, 20 min

Ingredients:

juice of 1 grapefruit

1 c plain yogurt or kefir

1/4 c melted coconut oil

2 eggs

1 T honey

1 T chia seeds

1/4 t cardamom

1/8 t nutmeg

1/4 t cinnamon

pinch salt, optional

1/4 c coconut flour

1 3/4 c almond flour

Desired oil for greasing pan

 

Directions:

  1. Squeeze grapefruit juice into medium bowl.  Pull out any seeds that fall in.
  2. Add the yogurt (not greek) or kefir and coconut oil and whisk together.
  3. Add the eggs and whisk together.
  4. Add the honey, chia seeds, and spices and stir well to combine.
  5. Add coconut flour and almond flour and stir until fully combined.
  6. Heat desired oil in nonstick skillet.  Scoop small pancakes into skillet and cook for several minutes on one side before flipping.  Make the pancakes small so they are easier to flip.
  7. Serve with real maple syrup.

Bacon & Veg Egg Cups

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I think I woke up about every 15 minutes after 4am checking to see if school was canceled today.  Snow days are such a great feeling.  B and I snuck downstairs to try not wake up the kids.  We get so excited on snow days, it’s hard to sleep in.  We did get to enjoy a quiet cup of coffee for awhile and the kids slept in a little bit.  It’s been a fun morning of playing Story Cube (awesome game), building car ramps, making chore charts, and more.  I love looking out the window and watching what the weather is doing today.  Someone, who will remain nameless, accidentally knocked the last roll of toilet paper into the toilet, so we will have to head out into the snow eventually.

I’m thinking about doing another Whole30 in February.  I’m not entirely sure if that will be a good time yet.  In the meantime, I’ve been trying to create more Whole30 recipes.  Whether or not I am officially “doing Whole30” I find I really enjoy eating that way as much as I can.

These egg cups are delicious.  I love getting my veggies in for breakfast and brussel sprouts are one of my favorites.  I think I will try making these in bulk on the weekends to have on hand for a quick breakfast during the week!

 

Bacon & Veg Egg Cups

25 min, makes 7

Ingredients:

7 pieces of bacon

3/4 c diced brussel sprouts

1 small garlic clove, minced

1/8 t salt

7 eggs

Directions:

  1. Microwave the bacon for 5 minutes.  Lightly blot off some of the grease.
  2. Wrap the bacon in a circle in the cup of a muffin tin.  It doesn’t need to be covering the bottom, just the sides.
  3. In a small bowl, mix the diced brussel sprouts, minced garlic, and salt.
  4. Spoon about 1 1/2 T of the brussel sprout mixture into each muffin cup, filling it about halfway.
  5. Carefully, crack an egg into each cup, so that it is held by the bacon.
  6. Bake for 18-19 minutes, less if you want very runny eggs.

 

Grilled Plantains with Drizzled Almond Butter

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I’m feeling very positive about this winter.  The cold snap we just had is making these 20 degree days feel amazing.  I can do this for a few more months.  As often happens this time of year, my diligence for choosing healthy food is waning.  It’s much more of a struggle to resist eating half a loaf of fresh bread or a hefty pile of chocolate chip cookies.  I think part of it is my body searching for energy on the cold, dark days.  A quick sugar fix sounds like a good way to give myself a boost when it’s 3:00 and I just want to take a nap.  Which, by the way, I think naps should be part of the Midwest lifestyle during winter.  It would help us all.

So, anyway, I’m trying to be prepared with a lot of prepped food so that when I’m hungry and drained, I can quickly reach for some healthy fuel.  I made a big batch of Vanilla Chia Balls yesterday, which have been great to have around.  I’m also trying to keep jars of soup on hand in the fridge.

Plantains are one of my favorite healthy ways to mix it up.  Especially during these winter months, I find the starch and fiber to be really helpful to my body.  With this recipe, you need to use overly ripe plantains.  Mine were almost black.  Don’t throw yours away if they get to this point!  Plantains are hardier than bananas.  They are still great to use at this point.  This recipe is quick and easy.  It goes well with any meal: eggs, meat, solo, etc.  You do need to watch them carefully as they fry. Plantains burn very easily but you also want them to reach a nice browned state.  The almond drizzle is optional, but if you are having just these for breakfast, it is a very nice addition to make them a little more filling.  Enjoy!

 

Grilled Plantains with Almond Butter Drizzle

25 min, makes 6-8 fritters

Ingredients:

2 overly ripe plantains

1 egg

1/8 t salt

1/4 c coconut oil, softened

pinch cayenne

pinch cinnamon

1/2 c almond flour

3 T coconut oil for frying

Almond butter for drizzle, optional

Directions:

  1. Mash plantains thoroughly in a medium sized bowl
  2. Add the egg and whisk it into the plantains
  3. Add the salt, cinnamon, and cayenne and stir into the mixture.
  4. Add the softened coconut oil and stir to incorporate.
  5. Add the almond flour and fold into the mixture.
  6. Heat 3 T coconut oil in a nonstick skillet.
  7. Scoop dollops of the plantain mixture into the skillet and let simmer in the oil for about 4 minutes before flipping to the other side.  Watch them carefully, as plantains go from golden brown to burnt very quickly!
  8. Remove the plantains from the pan and put on a plate.  Serve warm with drizzled almond butter on top, if desired.