Grain Free Lemony Almond Pancakes

All the pictures I took of this lovely breakfast are horrible blurry because I was too busy making yummy noises and doing the happy I love my life dance to take a good picture. These pancakes were out of this world. The impromptu blueberry and agave nectar sauce only made things better. I dont think I stopped fawning over them the entire time I was gobbling them down. The fella is the best one ever for making these lovelies.

The rich crunchy almonds and flax seed contrast nicely with the citrus and they create a great texture. You would never know that they are grain free. Add in a blueberry syrup and this is the breakfast of champions. Even the dog loved her couple bites of them. You can see how stunned she is over getting to eat some of the best pancakes ever.



My only pointers to you are that if you decide to use dairy instead of soy milk that you add it towards the end as you probably wont need to use the full amount called for in the recipe as regular milk is much runnier than soy. We ended up with pancakes that had some structural integrity problems because of this. We also didnt have any bean flour and ended up grinding some oats as a substitute which probably didnt help the batter stay together. They were still outstanding and you can bet we will be making these again, next time Ill invest in some bean flour to see what a difference it makes.

Grain-Free Lemony Almond Pancakes

1/2 cup natural almonds (raw or lightly toasted)
1/4 cup finely ground flax meal

2/3 cup plain or vanilla soymilk (if using regular milk you wont need as much liquid)
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1-1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup chickpea flour (I used finely ground oats as it was the only comparable thing in my kitchen)
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt

In the bowl of a food processor, whir the almonds and flax until you have a very fine meal the texture of coarse cornmeal. There should be no large pieces of almond visible.

Add the milk, agave, oil, lemon zest and lemon juice and whir again. Allow to sit while you prepare the dry ingredients, or at least 2 minutes.

Heat a nonstick frypan over medium heat (I use cast iron). Add the remaining ingredients to the processor and whir just until blended.

Pour a small ice cream scoop or 2-3 tablespoons worth of batter onto hot pan and cook for about 3-4 minutes, until bubbles appear and then pop on the surface of the pancakes and the edges look dry. Gently flip and then cook another 2-3 minutes on other side. Keep cooked pancakes warm while you continue with the rest of the batter. Makes 8-10 small pancakes.

Original recipe from Diet Desserts and Dogs Blog.

Read More..

Ten Minute Tasty Asparagus and Brown Rice

Sure Rachel Ray can make a slew of 30 Minute meals when all of her ingredients are pre-chopped and pre-measured.  Thats not that big a deal really, we could all do that if we had a posse of people behind the scenes to prep our food for us too.  Worst of all her recipes are seldom very healthful.  Sometimes tasty and interesting but with enough fat and spice most things are.  

Heidi Swanson over at the beloved blog 101 Cookbooks does what Rachel Ray only wishes she could.  Some of my favorite recipes from her are ones that are done in a matter of moments by using up the left over bits from the fridge and best of all shes a master at making delicious but healthy food.  The trick to these recipes like the one for Asparagus and Brown Rice below is to have everything prepped and ready to go before hand.  It might seem like a long list of ingrediants but all the work they require is chopping and cooking briefly.

Aside from being a snap to make if you skip the almonds this dish is also excellent for those low fat/high carb nights on this diet that can get so tedious to try to cook for.  It has all sorts of benificial fiber from the brown rice and garbanzos, crisp green asparagus and the tahini dressing adds worlds of flavor wihtout tons of fat. This is one of my favorite go to meals for when I have left over brown rice and garbanzos, those are the important bit you could sub in any veggie you had on hand for the asparagus with similar results.

Ten Minute Tasty Asparagus and Brown Rice

Tahini Dressing:

1 garlic clove, chopped

1/4 cup tahini

zest of one lemon

scant 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons hot water

scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 or 2 14-ounce cans of chickpeas, drained

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1-inch segments

3 cups cooked brown rice

1 cup almond slivers, toasted

fine grain sea salt

Make the dressing by whisking together the garlic, tahini, lemon zest and juice, and olive oil. Add the hot water to thin a bit and then the salt. Set aside.

Add roughly 3 tablespoons of olive oil to a big skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl the oil around to coat the pan, then add the chickpeas and sprinkling of salt. Let the beans saute there for a couple minutes.

Add the garlic and onions. Stir for a minute. Stir in the asparagus with another pinch or two of salt, cover with a lid for a minute or two to steam - just until the asparagus brightens and softens up just a bit. Uncover and stir in the rice and almond slivers, reserving a few almonds for garnish. Taste and add more salt if needed . Serve in a big bowl drizzled with a few tablespoons of the tahini dressing, let each person add more dressing to their tastes.

Original recipe from 101 Cookbooks blog.

Read More..