Gluten Free Recipe - Banana Oat Pancakes

Recipe - Gluten Free Banana Oat Pancakes

Surprisingly with all the clean eating and cooking I do, I have neglected to attempt making over my favorite breakfast item, Pancakes! A couple months ago I decided to remedy that by attempting a Homemade Gluten Free Clean Eating Banana Oat Pancake Recipe. Whew, thats a mouth full! 

(no pun intended)  ;-)

What I created was nothing short of delicious, and then of course, it took me a couple months to attempt them again. Thankfully, I went to bed craving these last night so when I woke up this morning I was on a mission to recreate my previous recipe.

Sometimes this can be a challenge. I am, for lack of a better term, a mad scientist when it comes to recipe creation. I tend to get inspiration from cooking shows and recipes I see, then I make them my own. Which is fun, but also can end up with a lot of fails and wasted food, whoops! The second problem with being a mad scientist is 90% of the time I do create something edible, I  do not write the recipe down, double whoops!

When I sat down to eat these, I was pleasantly surprise that my second attempt turned out just as tasty as my first, so this time I wrote it down and am now sharing the recipe with all of you!

Homemade pancakes seem like a lot of work when most pantry's have a box of remade mix readily available to pour and mix in an ingredient or two. But I promise homemade pancakes really are not that much more work and are well worth the little bit of added effort, especially when you know what you are feeding yourself and your family is clean and healthy! So here it is....

1 Ripe Banana

1 Cup Gluten Free Oats

1/2 Gluten Free Flour (I used Coconut Flour)

1 Cup Almond Milk (or your favorite type of milk) 

1 Egg

2 Tsp Cinnamon

1 Tsp Baking Powder

1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

2 Tsp Honey or Pure Maple Syrup (This is optional, I did not add it to my batter since I top mine with honey)

In a medium bowl mash up the banana. 

Add oats, flour and milk. Stir until well mixed.

Add additional ingredients and continue to stir until well mixed. 

The batter will be thicker and more dense then what you are used to with store bought pancake mixes. The desired consistency of the batter should be between cookie dough and cake batter. If batter is too thick (meaning more of a paste or cookie dough consistency) you can add more milk, I suggest doing this 1 Tbsp at a time until desired consistency is reached. 

Spoon batter on a greased griddle over medium heat. Cook on each side for approximately 4 minutes.

Serve with your favorite topping and Enjoy!

Clean Eating Dessert - Grilled Peaches

Grilled Peaches - Clean Eating Dessert

The summer months are now upon us, and with that comes the desire to slim and trim to get back our  bathing suit bodies. Another highlight this time of year is summer BBQ's and gatherings. Often these gathering become diet pit traps surrounded by yummy munchies, grilled food, and of course dessert. It tends to be hard to work towards or even maintain our bathing suit bodies in these situations. This is when I like to share my favorite clean eating dessert option with my guests. Grilled peaches (or nectarines). They are a quick, simple and clean choice. (And this time I'm talking clean as in you have no kitchen mess to clean up with these :>) What makes these so yummy? Well, once the peaches start to warm on the grill the natural juices start to leak out and the continued heat on them causes the juices to caramelize leaving a natural delicious sweetness! They are guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser at your next gathering. People will revel at the creativity, taste and the health factor of dessert.

Here's How:

Slice peaches (or nectarines) in half and take out the pits.

Place on grill at low heat for approximately 5 minutes on each side. You want to see the juices coming out and the peaches to maintain their shape.

 (If you leave them on too long they will become mush and be challenging to remove from the grill)

Top with Greek Yogurt.

Drizzle with Honey.

Sprinkle them with Cinnamon.

Serve while still warm and Enjoy!

Clean Eating Dessert - Grilled Peaches

Raw Recipe - Chocolate Energy Bar

Raw Chocolate Recipe

Im sure by now it has become apparent to those who have visited my site before that I have a major sweet tooth. Im constantly trying to find new ways to get cure my sweet tooth and ensure that my body is still fed with the proper nutrients it needs to look and feel its best. I love baked goods. Brownies, cakes, muffins, mmmmm. But the longer I go sticking to a mostly clean diet the harder it is for me to eat the versions of those things I can find in a store. So instead I make my own. These bites (which can also be made into a bar) are close to being a 100% raw food, gluten free and are infused with several superfoods! They taste as though I rolled brownie batter into a ball, The perfect healthy sweet tooth cure that can be eaten as a snack or dessert. Best part is they only take 10 minutes to make and are ready to eat immediately!

Ingredients

12 pitted raw Dates

3 Tbsp Cashews

3 Tbsp raw un-sweetend Coconut Flakes (2 for batter, 1 reserved for topping)

1 Tbsp Coconut Oil

4 Tsp raw Cacao Powder

4 Tsp raw Maca Powder

2 Tsp raw organic Honey

Place all ingredients into a food processor.

Once all ingredients are well blended together (dough will be coarse and have small chunks) take a full tablespoon full of dough and squeeze and roll into a ball using your hands.

Once all dough is rolled sprinkle the remaining coconut flakes on a cutting board and roll the balls in it until well coated (optional step)

Yields about 12 balls.

Store in refrigerator for up to a week.

Clean Recipe - Gluten Free Banana Bread

Gluten Free Banana Pecan Muffins

Have you ever taken a bite out of cardboard? Ok, technically, I have not either. Let me set the scene though. You are at the grocery store strolling through the aisles curiously picking up packages of food   checking the label looking at the bold lettering claiming all these healthy things. "No High-Fructose Corn Syrup!",  "No Sugar Added!", "Low-Fat!" Then you come across a box of "Gluten-Free" chocolate chips cookies. You have heard about this Gluten-free thing on the news, on the internet, that health guru you follow on instagram, and of coarse, from that overly spunky health nut mom down the way. Every one seems to be going gluten-free. So you grab the box put it in you cart and feel proud thinking "I too will be gluten-free and proud, take that yoga pant wearing spunky mom" (no offense to yoga pant wearing spunky moms, I have to admit my friends see me as that woman! haha) You get home and crack open the box, after all who can resist a chocolate chip cookie. You take a bite and start to chew your chewing slows as you pick up to box to make sure you read the label correctly. Yep, the box still says chocolate chips cookies, however what is in your mouth is far from the known and loved taste of chocolate chips cookies, this taste is more like cardboard! So let me ask you again, have you ever taken a bite out of cardboard. Chances are more people are going to say yes this time!!

Here is the good new! Gluten-free skeptics and gluten-free lovers can both rejoice over this recipe. No cardboard here. These muffins are incredibly moist and flavorful. My children loved them and my  gluten-free skeptic friends did not know they were gluten-free until I told them. Try them for yourself and Enjoy!!

Recipe:

3 overly-ripe bananas

1/2 brown rice syrup

1 large egg

1/3 Cup applesauce (I used some that had no added sugar)

1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Teaspoon gluten-free baking soda

1 Teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 Teaspoon nutmeg

dash of cloves 

pinch of salt

1 1/2 Cups gluten-free flour

1/2 Cup chopped toasted pecans**

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl mash the bananas until almost no clumps are visible. Stir in brown rice syrup and egg then add applesauce and blend well. Add vanilla extract, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Stir all together. Stirring slowly add in flour. Once all combined add pecans and blend in.

Either spray muffin tin with a non-stick spray or insert cupcake liners. 

Pour mix in each hole and bake for 25 min or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean!

Yields 12 Muffins

**To toast pecans lay them flat on a cookie sheet and place in oven (heated to 350 degrees) until aromatic, approximately 5 min.

Over Night Oats Recipe

Over Night Oats

The quickest, easiest and healthiest breakfast I have found. Over night oats, which are essentially, just that! You put the oats in a container with the two other ingredients, let everything soak together over night in the refigerator and Voila! You wake up to a nutritious and delicious breakfast. Best part is, there is no cooking involved.

Recipe:

1 Cup Organic Rolled Oats

1 Cup Low-Fat Greek Yogurt (any flavor of your choice!)

1 Cup unsweetened Almond Milk

*makes 3-4 servings

Store in a container over night in the refigerator and wake up to a rich and creamy breakfast. Top with your favorite additions. (Mine is topped with sliced bananas, blueberries and a drizzle of honey)