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Sweet Potato Pancakes

June 8, 2014 By: skallabrinacomment

I love pancakes. Who doesn’t? I try to make them for myself at least once a week as I believe wholeheartedly that they make me a better person. Though pancakes don’t generally come to mind when thinking of “clean eating,” they can definitely be tweeked to accommodate those who want to enjoy them while staying on the healthy train. Obviously, no healthy version of pancakes will compare to delicious, carby, gluten-packed buttermilk stacks of yumminess but they can be pretty delicious and deliver nutrition in versions that are more friendly for day-to-day meals rather than occasional treats.

I’ve been thinking about making sweet potato pancakes for a while now, as I’m constantly trying to find new ways to incorporate paleo-friendly carbs into my post-workout meals. Today, I woke up feeling brunchy and I could think of no better way to indulge in that feeling than by making pancakes. The major concern with healthy pancakes is that they can either be really dry or really egg-y since egg often makes up the majority of the composition. After browsing a few recipes, I settled upon this one of my own. Was pretty happy with the way that they turned out so I thought I’d share.

The great thing about these pancakes is that they’re nutritionally sound. Aside from protein pancakes that call for protein powder, pancakes usually lack substantive nutrition as they’re made up of empty carbs and sugar. Not these puppies. The sweet potato delivers healthy carbs along with fiber, vitamins A, B-6, and C, and magnesium. The eggs add protein, healthy fats, and more vitamins and minerals, while the banana adds potassium and natural sugars. While I could definitely see myself throwing a little breakfast sausage or bacon on the side of these, they’re perfecting nourishing and satiating all on their own.

Gather This: (1 serving)

1/2 small ripe banana
1 medium sweet potato (about 1/2 c mashed), cooked
2 eggs
2 tablespoons full-fat coconut milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tablespoon coconut flour (could probably sub for other kinds of flour but I’ve only tried with coconut)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
dash of salt

Do This:

1. If your sweet potato isn’t cooked, poke some holes in it with a fork and stick it in the microwave. I usually bake them in the oven ahead of time but this might take more time than you’d like. If so, use this handy dandy tutorial from Nom Nom Paleo to cook them quickly. If your potatoes are freshly cooked, let them cool a bit (maybe about 10 minutes) before adding them to the pancake mix as to not cook the eggs.

2. Add wet ingredients (banana, sweet potato, eggs, coconut milk, vinegar, vanilla extract) to a bowl and mix well. I usually add the banana, sweet potato, and eggs first and mash them together well with a fork to get them smooth before mixing with the other ingredients.

3. Whisk together all the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt) in a small bowl.

4. Add the wet ingredient to the dry and mix well.

5. Heat cooking fat of choice in a skillet over medium-low heat (on my stove this is setting 3). (If you’re making multiple pancakes (which I highly suggest!) as opposed to one large one, this is a good time to preheat the oven to 350 degrees. This way you can toss the already-made pancakes in to stay warm while you’re cooking the others.)

6. Once oil is heated, spoon batter into pan until your pancakes are the size and shape you desire. I suggest keeping them small and making them one at a time as it makes the flipping process go over much easier. These solidify nicely but they will still be a little thinner than traditional pancakes so you don’t want to risk making a big mess of the whole thing.

7. Cook until pancakes start to bubble (about 3-4 minutes) and then flip and let cook for an additional 2 minutes or so. Throw the first round of cakes onto a tray and into the heated oven while you make the others (I ended up with four total).

8. And now the fun part. Once all of your cakes are made, jazz them up how you see fit. I went with the organic no-sugar added Very Berry Jam that I got from the farmer’s market, chunky almond butter, and some drizzled coconut milk. This is a great moment to add some more sugar if you’ve got a sweet tooth or add some more nutrition value with nut butters, fresh fruit, etc.

Yum yum yum.

Yay Carbs!

April 23, 2014 By: skallabrinacomment

Hi peeps!

Glad to be blogging! It’s been so challenging to get recipe posts up since I got back from Spring Break. Things have picked up since the semester is ending soon and I’m trying hard to manage my time well though, I don’t know how successful I’ve been. 😛 I’ve still been cooking a lot but mostly things that are pretty basic and fit the paleo criteria. One of the things that I’m learning about eating paleo is the difficulty of putting together fully conceptualized meals in a short amount of time. There are a lot of great blogs and cookbooks with fancy paleo dishes but a lot of them require time, planning, and fancy ingredients. That being said, I typically opt for simpler, more eclectic plates rather than trying to pull of full on composed dishes. As you might have noticed in some of my previous paleo posts, a lot of times my meals is a complication of a bunch of random (yet delicious) things that allow me to get all of my nutrients rather than fully conceptualized dishes. One of my favorites has been an egg white veggie scramble with a side of avocado (topped with Himalayan sea salt) and a side of some sort of grilled meat (such as herb and garlic chicken sausage from Trader Joes). Yum yum.

Also, as I’ve talked about in like every post, you guys know that post-workout carbs have been a concern. I’ve made a point of trying to put some energy into my carbs so that I don’t get bored with them and I thought I’d share some of them with you guys. All of these recipes are super simple. A lot of the measurements are rough suggestions but everything should be adjusted for your palate. Hope this is helpful for people who might be looking for some simple yet flavorful ideas for sides to throw together. Also, I tried to be artsy with my photos. 😛 Hope you guys appreciate it.

Japanese Sweet Potato Chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Scrub the skin of the Japanese sweet potatoes (they’re awesome. dark purple skin with white flesh. can be found in ethnic grocery stores. they’re my new favorite thing ever.) and dry them with a kitchen cloth. Cut potatoes into super thin slices (there is some fancy kitchen device that does this with ease but I just used a knife and some intense focus). Cover slices in melted coconut oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread on parchment covered baking tray and spread into one layer. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from over, flip potatoes to other side and bake for an addition 5-10 minutes on other side, keeping watch to make sure they don’t burn.

Mashed Japanese Sweet Potatoes with Miso Scallion Butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Use a fork to poke holes all over Japanese sweet potatoes. Place on a baking sheet and let bake for 45 minutes – hour depending on size of potato. You should be able to easily insert and remove a fork by the time you take it out. Allow potatoes to cool before cutting open and removing skin. Place potatoes in bowl with grass-fed butter (I used about a tablespoon per potato), white miso paste (again, I did about 1 T per potato), chopped scallions, and salt and mash with a potato masher or a form until everything is combined. Taste ’em. Are they delicious? Do they need more salt? More scallions? Go for it. I personally opted for more scallions cause you know, I’m into that sort of thing.

Maple Pecan Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Use a fork to poke holes all over sweet potatoes. Place on a baking sheet and let bake for 45 minutes – hour depending on size of potato. You should be able to easily insert and remove a fork by the time you take it out. Allow potatoes to cool before cutting open and removing skin. While potatoes are cooling, heat grass-fed butter over medium heat and add pecan halves. I happen to really like pecans so I used 1/4 C. Use however many you feel (or however many you have). Saute pecans for about 5 minutes until they are a bit toasted. Once potatoes have cooled, place them in a bowl with full-fat coconut milk (I started with a 1/4 C for two medium sweet potatoes and then added bit by bit to get the texture that I wanted), pure maple syrup (I started with a T and added accordingly), and salt to taste. Mash with a potato masher or fork until personal perfection.

“Nooch” Asparagus

Preheat the over to 400 degrees F. Place clean asparagus spears on a baking tray. Drizzle with melted coconut oil. Sprinkle with a generous amount of nutritional yeast, fresh minced garlic,salt, and pepper. In case you’re not familiar with nutritional yeast, it has a cheesy sort of flavor and is commonly used to add flavor to non-dairy “cheese.” I like to toss it on things from time to time when I’m feeling cheesy. 😉 (which is clearly all the time) Anyway, bake for about 10-15 minutes.

Harissa Mushrooms

Preheat over to 400 degrees F. Clean mushrooms (use whatever kinds you like!), chop ’em up, and put them on a baking sheet lined with tin foil. Drizzle melted coconut oil, and sprinkle with lots o’ harissa, salt, and pepper and bake for 10-15 minutes. Enjoy the spice.

So as you can see, these are super simple. Nothing too fancy but they get the job done with you’re trying to get your carbs and/or veggies in. I’ve pretty much just been experimenting with different seasoning profiles and trying to get some new and interesting flavors going. Gotta break up the monotony!

I’ve been going CRAZY on the paleo blogs / cookbooks lately. I just posted a photo of some amazing paleo banana bread on my instagram. Definitely going to try to get that recipe up for you guys soon. It’s kind of amazing. I figure, if I don’t have time to come up with things on my own, I can at least draw your attention to delicious things that others have posted (only after taste-testing them of course!). I have some other things lined up to try soon. I’m excited for what the future holds!

Also. I run my half marathon on Sunday! (*nervous fake smile)

GWHG

Breakfast: Coconut Almond Quinoa topped with Blueberries

February 15, 2014 By: skallabrinacomment

I was sitting around the other day thinking of ideas for recipe posts when it occurred to me that I had yet to post any breakfast recipes. I was shocked and appalled to say that least. Breakfast is HANDS DOWN my favorite meal of the day (my room mates from Manila, Jenna and Ili, can attest to that). I realized that when it comes to breakfast, however, I’m a bit of a one trick pony. I’m all about a delicious bowl of warm oatmeal decked out with nut butters, dried fruit, and yogurt (back in my dairy eating days). Every now and then, I throw some pancakes in for good measure but aside from that, nothing too crazy. Recently, however, I’ve opened myself up to trying some new things and I’ve been pleased with the change of pace. I recently taught myself to like egg whites (yes, I made a decision to like egg whites after hating eggs all my life- I’m all about protein) and so I’ve been dabbling in egg white omelets. I also rediscovered the wonderful world of turkey bacon which, when paired with a slice of Ezekiel bread and a small bowl of cereal, does me right.

This recipe doesn’t stray too far but from the oatmeal tree but it’s a nice small change up, nonetheless. I’ve loved quinoa for lunch and dinner for quite some time but I wasn’t until recently that I hopped on the quinoa for breakfast train. The nice thing about quinoa as opposed to oatmeal is its lighter texture. You still get all the proteiny grainy goodness without the mini-food coma that oatmeal can bring on….or maybe that only happens to me. Obvs, you can use oatmeal (or any other grain) instead of quinoa for a different texture with all the same deliciousness.

This recipe is simple and light with fresh subtle flavors. Enjoy.

Serves 1

Ingredients

1/4 C dry white quinoa
1/4 C light coconut milk
1/4 C water
1 T almond butter(my favorite is the crunchy unsalted version from TJs)
Shredded coconut to taste (I used a couple of tablespoons)
2 T of sliced almonds
Handful of blueberries
(optional) Few tablespoons of warm almond milk to pour over top

Directions:

1. Add quinoa, coconut milk, and water to a pot. Stir and bring to a boil.

2. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, place top on pot and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes.

3. When quinoa is almost done, add almond butter to a bowl.

4. Add cooked quinoa on top of almond butter and mix.

5. Top with sliced shredded coconut, sliced almonds, blueberries, and a little warm almond milk.

6. Yummers.

What are you guys’ favorite meals? Would you guys like to see more breakfast recipes?

Brown Rice Porridge with Shrimp and Kale (Inspired by Lunar New Year cuisine)

February 1, 2014 By: skallabrinacomment

In the wee hours of the night, I often find myself in bed scrolling through countless photos on instagram that have been hashtagged #foodie #delicious #food #foodporn, etc. I get swept away in all of these photos, double-clicking until my fingers start to cramp, only to realize that it’s some absurd time in the morning.

Thursday night, I was going through this usual routine but because it was the Lunar New Year, there was a heavy Asian sway to many of the dishes that were being posted. I was mostly unfamiliar with these dishes but I was all about the some of the pictures. There was one dish that I was seeking a lot called jook, a chicken rice porridge dish that I believe is traditional for lunar new year. I’m a sucker for warm, savory, grain dishes so of course my wheels started spining and my fingers started googling and before you know it I had come up with this grand scheme.

The awesome thing about this recipe is that it doesn’t require very many ingredients and a lot of them you might already have on hand. It’s also easily vegan/vegetarian-izable (yes, I did that). I’m a protein lovin’ gal so I had to throw some shrimp in there but there is just as much deliciousness to be had if you go without it. The downside to this dish is that it takes a while to cook the rice down to a porridge-y texture and you have to keep watch on it. Just be sure to get it on the stove earlier so that your tummy doesn’t start rumbling too crazy before it’s ready. Also, don’t hesitate to double this recipe to give yourself some hearty leftovers. You won’t be upset that you did.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/2 C brown rice (any kind you’d like, I used Thai Jasmine)
1 can low-sodium chicken broth (or veggie broth is you’re vegan/vegetarian)
6-8 C of water
1 inch piece of ginger root, cut into 4-5 pieces
2 handfuls of kale (or more if you’re really into kale)
About 1/2 Tbl of cooking oil of your choice (I used coconut)
About 16 shrimp
1 Tbl of soy sauce
2-3 scallions, chopped
Optional: roasted peanuts
Optional: Fish sauce
Optional: Fresh cilantro for garnish

Directions:

1. Put brown rice, 1 cup of chicken broth, 4 cups of water, and ginger root into a pot and bring to a boil (uncovered).

2. Once boiling, lower heat to medium low and cook for about 1.5-2 hours until individual grains are not longer defined and rice has achieved a porridge-like consistency. Check in about every 15 minutes to stir and make sure liquid has not boiled out. Add chicken broth and water as needed. This will vary depending on the kind of brown rice you use (I ended up using entire can of broth and about 7 cups of water). Make sure to keep watch on it as not to burn it. Cook until rice breaks down into a porridge-like (kinda mushy) texture and most of the water is boiled out.

3. While rice is cooking, thaw shrimp (if using frozen) and let it marinate in soy sauce.

4. Once rice has achieved porridge texture, lower heat all the way down, add kale to pot, and stir in with rice porridge.

5. Place a lid on the pot and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes before turning heat completely off (keeping lid on so that kale can continue to wilt).

6. While kale is wilting, add a small bit of cooking oil of your choice to a pan. Heat oil on medium heat and then add marinated shrimp (along with access soy sauce), scallions, and peanuts (if using) to oil and saute for about 4 minutes.

7. Spoon porridge into a bowl and top with sauteed shrimp.

8. Yum.

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