Buckwheat Pancakes

So, it is pancake day and the day before valentines! Instead of the next couple of days turning into a sugar bonanza I have made these pancakes that are a healthy alternative packed with goodness and super tasty. We have a lot of pancakes in our house and I think they are great for kid’s lunchboxes too.

My son went through a fussy stage when he was 2, which is common if we think of evolutionary times, that is when they would start to forage for their own food and hence they become pickier. I used a lot of pancakes with vegetables added to the base ingredients to make sure he still ate vegetables with each meal. This gets them into the flavours and they can be introduced in different forms at a later date.

I have added some flaxseeds with the flour for added benefit as they are a source of omega 3’s which are anti-inflammatory but great for hormonal health. I see a lot of cases of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Endometriosis and menopause in my clinic so I regularly get clients to add these to their diet.

Anyway, have a try and check out my Strawberry Compote to go with them as the perfect natural sweetener. 

Ingredients

400ml almond milk

4 eggs

½ courgette chopped

100g buckwheat flour

30g ground flax seeds with pumpkin and sesame

1 pinch baking powder (gluten free)

Ghee (for frying)

Method

1.     Add all the ingredients to a blender or vitamix and blitz until forms a smooth consistency

2.     Heat your saucepan on a high heat, adding a small amount of ghee or coconut oil if dairy free

3.     Add the pancake mixture and cook for a couple of minutes each side or until they have a firm, pancake consistency.

4.     Serve hot or cold if on the run. 

5.     Here I served with a strawberry compote or stewed apples. 

Strawberry Compote

This is so easy to make that I almost thought it wasn’t worth posting but I wanted it up here as lots of traditionally recipes including adding huge amounts of sugar or juices for flavour.

Strawberries are a sweet fruit so it is just a case of heating them and mashing down to provide the perfect accompaniment for breakfast.  I never use sugar, instead I find the fructose in fruit as a natural sweetner. 

I am so glad strawberries are back in season now and I always opt for organic as they are part of the ‘Dirty Dozen’ that means they do have a high pesticide content. They are packed full of antioxidants, vitamins and fibre so great for our health. 

As you can see I used this on my pancakes but could be added to porridge if you fancied a change. 

Ingredients

½ punnet strawberries

25ml water

Method

1.     Heat the strawberries with water on a medium heat until the strawberries start to soften, usually 5-10 minutes.

2.     Mash with a fork, they may need further heating but should form a puree type mixture with some whole bits for nice consistency. 

Banana and blueberry muffins - Is poor blood sugar balance adding to your tantrum woes?

These muffins are the perfect family friendly snack and are not only free of sugar but they are nutrient dense. I made these with my favourite little baker and as you can see he was very keen to get stuck in so the photo needed to be quick.

They are gluten and dairy free too so should fit with most eating requirements. I have used a mix of buckwheat flour and gram flour. Gram flour is higher in terms of protein content with 22% over 13% in buckwheat (In comparison to 7% in normal white flour). Protein is essential for a slow release of energy and balancing blood sugar levels.

There is so much in the press about reducing sugar for children and it is really important but also getting them to eat real foods. Sugar not only adds to cavities in the teeth but moods too.

As I talk about in my ebook but stable blood sugar levels are important for adults and children alike. When we have high levels of sugar in our diet, then a young child’s body can’t process this and maintain balance. They have a sharp rise in glucose level, which is followed by a dramatic fall when this wears off. This cycle can mirror the hyperactivity or tantrums that we see as their energy goes up and down.

Eliminating sugar from their diet could reduce the frequency of these tantrums in addition to looking at other factors that are at play including exercise, sleep and television.

Banana and blueberry muffins

150g buckwheat flour

75g gram flour

2 eggs

1 tsp gluten free baking powder

½ tsp gluten free bicarbonate soda

pinch Himalayan salt

1 tsp cinnamon

100 ml hazelnut milk

75ml olive oil

150g blueberries

2 bananas

Method

1.     Preheat over to 180 degrees and grease muffin tin with oil or use reusable silicon muffin holders and no need.

2.     Sift all the powdered ingredients together in a bowl.

3.     In a separate bowl beat the eggs and add in the olive oil and milk. Add in the mashed banana and whisk for 30 seconds.

4.     Then mix into the powdered ingredients to form a paste.

5.     Fold in the blueberries.

6.     Spoon the mixture into muffin cups and bake for 15-2 minutes or until risen and firm to touch.

7.     Place on wire rack to cool. 

Paleo Granola

This is seriously tasty so I thought it would be rude not to share the recipe. It is packed full of protein from the nuts so a great start to the morning or post exercise snack. Brazil nuts are rich in selenium and therefore great for supporting the thyroid. Pecan nuts are high in pantothenic acid (Vitamin B5), which is essential for our adrenal glands and if we are feeling stressed.

If I’m having this for breakfast, I mix with some soaked nuts so it isn’t too sweet. I’ve avoided adding the dried fruit in the recipe as I like to minimise sugar in the morning. Soaking dried fruit over night, reduces the sugar content but also stops them sticking to your teeth. Dentists have reported a rise in cavities with children eating raisons as they are high fructose and they get stuck in between their teeth. 

Anyway enjoy and if you are on Instagram, tag me in your pictures @rp_nutrition

Ingredients

50g Brazil nuts

50g almonds

70g pecans

60g pumpkin seeds

2 tsp honey

1 egg white

Method

1.     Preheat over to gas mark 3/170 °

2.     Chop the nuts into smaller pieces and then add to a large bowl with the pumpkin seeds

3.     Add the egg white and honey and mix together

4.     Place mixture on baking tray and squish together to make little clusters

5.     Cook for 15minutes and then remove and allow to cool.

6.     Store in an airtight container. 

Carrot Waffles

These are so quick to make and a good way to increase your vegetables in your breakfast if you don’t have any. Carrots are one of the sweeter vegetables so it gives it a great flavour. These are packed with protein so can be a good post workout breakfast or lunch.

These are perfect for packed lunches and can be prepped in the morning and carry well. As you can see from below, this is a regular in my son’s lunchbox and a great way to sneak some carrots in as he is insistent that he doesn’t like them!

I’ve talked a lot about the health benefits of eggs before and carrots are a great source of nutrient too. They are fibre rich (12%) and high in vitamin A, that is great for eyesight (the myth that you could see in the dark with these came from some sound background) but also repair in the body.

Carrot Waffles

1 carrot grated

2 eggs

1 scoop chocolate protein powder (I use pea protein from Nuzest)

splash almond milk (rough 20 ml)

Method

1-    Preheat oven to 180

2-    Add all of the ingredients to a nutri bullet or similar blender and blitz

3-    Cook in oven for roughly 10 minutes or until the top has crisped over. Alternatively, you could use waffle maker but I personally like these silicon waffle baking moulds. 

Almond pancakes

So these paleo pancakes are perfect for pancake day but outside that, we have them quite often for breakfast or lunch. Great for children and you can get creative making them into shapes. The flour is buckwheat, which is a pseudo-grain and the seed of broadleaf plants instead of grasses, which cereals come from. The pancakes are gluten and dairy free but packed full of fibre, protein, omega 3’s and those essential B vitamin’s for energy.

pancakes

Almond pancakes

400ml almond milk

large handful greens (watercress or rocket)

60g buckwheat flour

30g ground flax seeds

4 eggs 1 tsp cinnamon

1 pinch baking powder (gluten free)

Ghee (for frying)

Method 1. Whisk the greens and almond milk together in blender and then add to bowl, adding the 4 eggs and mixing 2. Add the powdered ingredients and whisk, until forms a smooth consistency 3. Heat your saucepan on a high heat, adding a small amount of ghee or coconut oil if dairy free. 4. Add the pancake mixture and cook for a couple of minutes each side or until they have a firm, pancake consistency. 5. Serve hot or cold if on the run. Kids seem to love these cut into shapes.

Spirulina Gluten Free Pancake

Happy Pancake Day! So after saying to my husband last night that I wasn’t going to do any pancakes, after having a look on social media this morning I had changed my mind. Plus, I wanted to come up with a good gluten and dairy free option that provides a good breakfast option to get you moving.

So here it is… This took a few attempts as I don’t have the best pancake flipping skills but even if they didn’t turn out perfectly shaped they tasted damn good.

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 large eggs, at room temperature

400ml coconut milk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon honey

60 rice flour

1 tablespoon matcha powder

1 tablespoon spirulina

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon finely ground sea salt

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Method

1. Preheat your pan over a medium-low heat.

2. Beat the eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer, if using a whisk do it on low speed, until frothy.

3. Mix in the coconut milk, vanilla and honey.

4. In a small bowl, mix together the coconut flour, baking soda, salt, matcha powder, spirulina and cinnamon.

5. Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds.

6. Then add the remaining dry mixture and beat at medium another minute or two, or until the coconut flour is completely mixed into the batter.

7. Grease the heated pan with coconut oil.

8. Spoon the batter onto the pan to create pancakes. I like them relatively thin but this does make them hard to flip so I would suggest around 1 inch to prevent this.

9. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the pancakes are bubbling and well set, then flip and cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Adjust the heat as necessary.

Serve hot or you can freeze the prepared pancakes and reheat them later.

Gluten Free Chia Seed Muffins

So with the Great British Bake Off #GBBO doing free from week I thought I would join in too. So this is such an easy recipe and they are great hot or taste equally delicious the next day. Slightly sweet but can also be a great savory snack and great one for kids instead of opting for the ‘gluten free’ asile options, which can be very high in refined sugars. You can replace the natural yogurt with dairy free alternatives to make it dairy free too.

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Ingredients

140g Whole oats

1 Eggs

75g plain greek yogurt. (I’ve also used regular yogurt)

1 bananas

½ tsp Gluten-Free Baking powder

Pinch Gluten-free baking soda

50g cup chia seeds

3 tbsp honey or maple syrup

Topping

Natural yogurt

Blueberries

Method

1. • This is the easiest recipe, just put it in your food processer and mix it up. You don’t need to do this for long, about 30 seconds.

2. • Pour the mixture into well greased cake tins and this recipe should give you 12 muffins.

3. • Cook in the oven for 20 minutes at 180 degrees.

4. • I used yogurt for the topping and added some blueberries but this can be whatever you fancy. Other alternatives include nut butters and variations of berries.

5. • Eat toasty hot or let them cool, whatever takes your fancy!

Broccoli and Spinach Omlette

So eggs are a great source of protein, in addition to being a low-cost meal option, full of goodness. My son isn’t a fan of eggs but adding in the banana really disguises that but he is still getting all the health benefits. This is quick to make and if we are in a rush is a great one, instead of opting for sandwiches. For those without kids this could be a great morning kick start or a quick lunch/dinner if short on time with a nice rocket salad.

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Broccoli and Spinach Omlette

2 Eggs

1 small Banana

4 thin spliced broccoli florets

Handful spinach finely chopped

1 teaspoon ghee

Ingredients

1. Melt coconut butter or ghee over a low heat in a frying pan

2. Beat the eggs in a bowl and mash the banana with a fork and add to the eggs

3. Mix in the spinach and broccoli, both finely chopped

4. Add the egg mixture to the pan and turn up to a medium heat. Leave to cook for a few minutes until the bottom looks to have firmed

5. Transfer to the grill on a medium heat to finish cooking the top side, this should take roughly a couple of minutes.

Health benefits of Eggs: Eggs are a great source (plus cheap source) of high-quality protein, which is vital for us all. Eggs also contain lutein and zeaxanthin, which help prevent macular degeneration (a leading cause of blindness). In addition, they’re a good source of vitamin A, vitamin D, riboflavin, iron, zinc, folate, phosphorus, and vitamins B6 and B12. So to summarise, nobody can go wrong with eggs.

Eggs did get some bad press in terms of raising cholesterol levels but studies have shown this not to be the case. One recent study found that eating eggs leads to a higher level of HDL (which is the “good” cholesterol) and beneficial changes in LDL (the “bad” cholesterol).