Going Completely Paleo

So, I am taking back everything I said a few weeks ago about changing flour and baking mixes, and trying new things. 

After some extensive research, I think I have found the perfect combination of flours and starches to work with to make the perfect pancake mix, that also satisfies the paleo diet requirements. 

In the past I used sorghum flour, which I recently found out, is high on the glycemic index, can have severe negative affects on blood sugar, and is NOT good for those who are trying to lose weight. Knowing me, this is something I definitely DO NOT want in my mix. 

I want to satisfy the needs of everyone. Which is why most of my pancakes are dairy, wheat, and sometimes egg free. I like to make them as allergy friendly as possible, as well as diet friendly, and something that isn't going to hurt the waistband to indulge in a couple! 

With that being said, here is what will be in my new mix: potato starch, arrowroot or tapioca starch, coconut flour, and blanched almond flour. 

I was trying to avoid using almond flour, simply because of cost. And I was trying to avoid using coconut flour, because I absolutely loathe how it sucks out all of the moisture. 

BUT, these will be used in small enough quantities that I think it will be okay for my budget and the "moistness" of the cakes!

I'm so excited to try this out, and hope it produces deliciously fluffy pancakes. 

Check back Saturday to see this weekend's piggy pancake! 

Oink, oink. Haylea. 

Give Me Some More S'Mores

While I was trying to think up a new recipe to try this weekend, I started pondering all of my favorite foods, and different ways I could turn these ideas into pancakes. That's when I stumbled across one of my favorite campfire snacks while growing up. 

Every year, right during the middle of autumn, when the nights start to cool, and the sun begins to set earlier, my Grandparents would host a wienie roast! It was always so much fun. I loved how all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins would get together for this one night. We would sit around a campfire, my grandpa would build, roasting hotdogs, and then sitting way to close on picnik benches devouring every last one. 

BUT, we always knew to save just a little bit of room for the best and most glorious, ooey-gooey treat of all. S'MORES! 

I always liked to toast my marshmallow nice and slow. So that it would slowly brown, just perfectly, and be so puffed up. As soon as I would bite into it, the outside would crunch perfectly and give way to the gooey center.

This event totally inspired this weekend's pancake! I mean just look at it. Even before it was fully baked, it looked so delcious! 

I was trying to find a way to take these pancakes over the top, and make them really taste like a s'more. Obviously, the chocolate cips and marshmallow would do the trick, but I wanted something more. 

So- what makes the s'more crunch, and give it that perfect taste? The graham crackers, of course! 

For an added touch, I tossed some gluten free grahams into my food proccesor, and pulsed them until they were super fine, like a flour almost. Then I combined that with my gluten free baking mixture. 

These tasted delcious. I mean, just like a s'more. Definitely a winner in my book. Now, I just need to figure out how to make the perfect marshmallow sauce to put on top of these. 

Do you have any favorite childhood snacks? I need some more inspiration for next weekend's pancakes! 

Oink, oink. Haylea. 

Happy National Pancake Day!

You guys! It's National Pancake Day! That obviously means one thing. I made pancakes...AND I'm giving you the recipe!

As you may remember from my last blog, I went home over the weekend, and planned on spoiling my parents with the most amazing raspberry vanilla bean pancakes, but that did not go as well as I had expected. 

I used the gluten free baking mix my parents had on hand and the pancakes turned out terribly flat, almost like crepes, and the consistency was WAY off. But from this I learned a very valuable lesson: when you find a flour mixture that works....DON'T EVER SWITCH! 

So now that I am back home, and since it was Pancake Day, I decided to try out a new recipe I have been so excited about! 

When it's cold outside, my mind always wanders to the warm days of summer, so what better way to warm up than with some pineapple pancakes?

These beauts were as heavenly as they look. The batter was light and fluffy, with the most delicious pineapple baked inside. So naturally sweet, they didn't even need any added sugar! BONUS. 

I topped these babies off with some toasted coconut. Because what fulfills that beachy feel better than coconut? 

Then to take them over the top, I glazed these cakes with the. most. delicious. caramel sauce...EVER. Seriously. Heaven in my mouth. 

Pineapple. Coconut. Caramel. Perfection. 

Now for the recipe: 

Pancake- 

1C of baking flour (I use my own gluten free blend)

1/2 C almond milk (or any milk you prefer)

1 large can of crushed pineapple

1 egg

1 T coconut oil or butter

1T baking soda 

Caramel Sauce-

1 C of brown sugar (I used coconut palm sugar)

1/2 C coconut oil (or 6 T butter)

2/3 C heavy whipping cream (although I used almond milk to make a thinner glaze)

1t vanilla

Bring to a boil, stirring occasionaly for 2-3 minutes. Let simmer. Then take off heat, and cool (in fridge for 5-10 mintues). I didn't want mine totally set, or thick, so I let it cool for about five minutes, then ladled it over my pancakes while it was still warm. This really makes these pancakes. 

I hope you guys enjoy these as much as I did! 

Oink, oink. Haylea. 

I'll Be Home...For Valentine's Day!

Well, this year I am headed back home for Valentine's Day! 

That means I will get to spoil my Mom & Dad with an extra special Valentine's Day breakfast, which of course will be pancakes! 

Obviously, it would be logical to make my Red Velvet Pancakes, found HERE. But both of my parents are trying to eat healthier, so I have been thinking up some better pancake options! Although the actual red velvet pancake is healthy, the cream cheese frosting is not! 

*sad face*

I'm thinking about whipping up a triple berry pancake! Still festive, right? I'm sure there are several other ways to make these more "Valentine's Day-ish". I might make them into hearts, or pipe a cute little valentine's day message with the batter. 

Another way to make any regular pancake batter festive is SPRINKLES! Who doesn't love sprinkles? 

You'll have to check back on Saturday to see what I finally decide to do!

What are some of your favorite Valentine's Day breakfast traditions?

Oink, oink! Haylea.

Cinnamon Swirl

Every weekend I have been trying out a new pancake. I will most likely feature a new pancake every week, until I have a ton of recipes I know work perfect, and taste as yummy as they look! 

This weekend I made a cinnamon swirl pancake. 

I started with a gluten free cinnamon cake batter, using only coconut sugar and cinnamon. Then, to create the swirl, I used grass fed butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. If you are trying to stay strict paleo, I think substituting the brown sugar for coconut sugar would work as well, but I haven't played with that yet. 

The swirls were messy, and hard to create in the batter, especially when you are using a makeshift piping bag. The butter makes the cinnamon sugar very oily, and it comes out fast, so piping this perfectly in the center was a challenge. 

As you can see, some weren't perfect swirls. 

The problem with this pancake is that they aren't as pretty as I'd like. When you create the swirl, and then flip the pancake, the swirl browns and creates this cinnamon-y deliciousness of a crust, but is very unflattering. 

I'm gonna have to play with this a bit. I'm thinking maybe adding a little more batter on top could prevent this, but then you wouldn't see the swirl. Dilemmas. 

Nonetheless, these were definitely a 10 on the yummy scale. I made 9 pancakes, and between Marc and I, they were gone in about 15 minutes.

For the icing, I made a coconut sugar icing. To powder the sugar, you fluff it in a food processor or blender. I then added water, vanilla, and cinnamon, to make a cinnamon sugar icing. 

I think these would also be delicious with the cream cheese frosting I used on the Red Velvet pancakes. 

For the Farmer's Market, I am thinking about serving these as cinna-minis! 

And possibly, little cinna-mini-sammies. Two cinnamon sugar cakes, with the cream cheese frosting in the middle. Sugar coma?

What do you guys think? 

Oink, oink! Haylea. 

What's for Dinner?

What's for dinner, you ask? 

If you're thinking pancakes, you are right! Sweet pancakes are one of my favorite things in the entire world, but when it comes to dinner, sweet doesn't always sound the most appetizing, or hit the spot. So sometimes, I have to switch it up. 

SAVORY. PANCAKES. 

That's where it's at. Especially when it comes to dinner. 

Breakfast for dinner is definitely the bomb, but sometimes I like to give it a little twist. 

Last night I made the most satisfying savory pancakes. I had some leftover steak, so of course I was thinking steak & eggs. Duh. 

So what goes perfectly with steak & eggs? 

Garlic.

Chives. 

Cheese. 

Savory Steak & Egg Pancake Sammies

Boom. Perfection. 

Savory pancakes are super simple. You just cut out anything sweet you would usually put in your batter. Such as vanilla, sugar, honey, etc. 

Start with a super basic batter and then add in your savory additions. 

This was my recipe: 

1C gluten free baking flour (I make my own so it's paleo friendly, too)

1C almond milk (preferably not flavored or sweetened) 

1 egg 

1t baking soda

1T (butter/coconut oil/avocado oil-your pick!)

1T garlic salt

1T chives

1/2 C cheese (I used mozzarella because that's what I had on hand)*

*If you want to make this paleo, go with the Veggie Go cheese 

To assemble the sammies, use about 1/8 cup when you put the batter on the griddle, or an ice cream scoop would work. This makes perfect little circles. 

Pancake on bottom. Stack steak, eggs, and salsa. Top it with another pancake. And tada! Savory pancake steak & egg sammie! 

For lunch today, I used my leftover pancakes to make mini ham & cheese sandwiches. I am sure they will be just as delicious. 

What ingredients would you add to a savory pancake? 

Enjoy!

Oink, oink! Haylea 

Red Velvet Deliciousness & Weekend Ramblings

Happy day after the Super Bowl! I can't say I was actually excited for the big game this year because both of my teams were out (Bears & Colts), but it's still always a fun time to get together with friends and family and eat lots of amazing (not at all healthy) food! 

I was originally planning to go to a friend's place for a party, but it was cancelled because of the HUGE snow storm we were supposed to get. Yeah, that turned into about an inch. But nonetheless, I ended up spending the game with family & of course, ate delicious food, and somewhat enjoyed the game. 

Let's transition to Red Velvet goodness and all things red and heart-shaped for the month of February. 

This weekend I made these:

*Insert mouth drooling*

These are my Red Velvet Gluten Free pancakes with cream cheese icing! 

Seriously, these were divine. Especially the icing, which wasn't as healthy as the pancakes, but still gluten free and delicious! I can't wait to share them with everyone at this year's farmer's market :) 

Now onto another fun recipe I made today. I always come home from work starving and craving a snack, usually something sweet. Anyone with children, I'm sure have experience with the after-school snack rush. Well I have the perfectly delicious solution. I modified a recipe a tad I found online to make this: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Dip! 

It is great with any fruit and as you can see celery! I also think it would be great paired with Annie's gluten free cinnamon bears, or any other sweet cracker! Otherwise, if you love peanut butter as much as me, you can just eat it with a spoon. 

So here's the recipe: 

1/2 32 oz. container or 2 cups of vanilla Greek Yogurt (I prefer Greek yogurt because it makes the dip thicker)

1/4C of PB2 

1 T of Almond Butter or Peanut Butter 

1T (ish) of organic honey 

1/2 C of Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips (or any chips will do!) 

Also just a reminder to follow me on Instagram @piggypancakesindy to see all the delicious photos I post :) 

Oink, oink! Haylea