Recipe: Light Buckwheat Pancakes - Gluten-Free

Mmm, mmm, mmm...one thing that will make you forget all about the lack of gluten is buckwheat pancakes! A favorite of my mother's, you won't miss the wheat at all in these hearty, delicious pancakes - so good with real maple syrup and homemade butter - or blueberry or strawberry jam. Omit the sugar and add sliced bananas for an extra-healthy sweet breakfast treat!

Light Buckwheat Pancakes - Gluten Free

Ingredients:

Buckwheat pancakes (Photo credit: Foodicted)

1 cup buckwheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, whisked
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp butter, melted

Directions:

1. Get out a large cast iron skillet or griddle and grease lightly with cooking or coconut oil.
2. Put all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir together until mixed well.
3. Add egg, whisking mixture as you add.
4. Add milk, whisking mixture as you add.
5. Add butter, whisking mixture as you add.
6. When all ingredients are blended, heat your griddle until a drop of water sizzles and disappears.
7. Pour about 1/4 cup portions of the pancake batter on griddle allowing room to spread, and cook until bubbles form on top. The bottom should be golden brown. 
8. Flip and cook just until the pancakes are golden brown on the bottom. 
9. Remove and continue until all pancakes are ready. 
10. Serve with your choice of toppings.

Recipe: Famous Pumpkin Pancakes

Give your breakfast a nutritious boost with these tasty pancakes, enhanced with pumpkin for extra fiber and a lovely fall color! Cinnamon and allspice add a spice kick to this new twist on a classic breakfast favorite. For an extra decadent touch, top with a dollop of whipped cream!

Famous Pumpkin Pancakes
(Serves 3-4.)

Ingredients:

(Photo credit: Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton)

2 whole eggs, beaten with a fork
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
4 Tbsp butter, melted
3 Tbsp pumpkin puree (not spiced)
1/4 cup white sugar (granulated)
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix with your electric beater the eggs, buttermilk, butter, pumpkin, sugar, and salt until combined well.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and allspice. 
3. With beaters running on low, slowly add the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl with the wet ingredients until you have a smooth batter.
4. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, pour out portions onto a greased preheated skillet or griddle.
5. Cook first side for about 1 to 2 minutes, or until bubbles form on the top and the pancakes start to brown around the edges; then flip and cook the second side until golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes.
6. Serve hot with butter & maple syrup, or top with a dollop of whipped cream.

Fresh Breakfast Ideas From the Farmer's Market

If you are looking for fresh, creative breakfast ideas, you can't do better than the local farmers market.  Who knows better about how best to use what's fresh and available than the people who grow it?  You need a day's worth of energy in your breakfast, just like the farmers do.  So, why not start your day by making a great breakfast with the ingredients you picked up at the local farmers market? Here are a few ideas to get you started making a nutritious and delicious morning meal.

Crepes with strawberry syrup and blackcurrants (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Maxed Out Pancakes

A farmers market breakfast can start with anything.  To make it simple, let's look at a breakfast favorite, the pancake.  But, if you're thinking plain, think again.  How about a plate of pancakes with chives, goat cheese, and fresh peas? If that idea doesn't get your mouth watering, you might want to try other herbs, vegetables, fresh greens, and specialty cheeses. You can even mix some pureed pumpkin or other squash or sweet potatoes into the batter.

If you're looking for sweet instead of savory, or a combination of the two, try a selection of seasonal berries or fruit, then mix in fresh herbs to compliment.  Peaches and rosemary are a good combination that surprises and delights the taste buds.  You can add soft cheeses to fruit filled pancakes just as successfully as you can to savory pancakes.  No matter what's in season at your farmers market, you can find a way to include it in a pancake in the morning.

Market Medley 

Some people call it hash, others call it a skillet meal, but no matter what you call it, you know it's downright delicious. Start by taking fresh potatoes, scrub them or peel them, and cook them in a big pot of salted water just until knife tender.  Drain the pot and let them cool, then dice them, and you have the beginnings of a hash skillet medley.  Grab any fresh produce you brought home from the market;  onions, peppers, zucchini, radishes, bush beans, rutabaga, turnips, carrots, kale, collards... well, you get the idea.

Get your big cast iron skillet out, throw in some oil or butter or bacon and start frying.  Get your potatoes in there, then start adding whatever you want and cook until potatoes are browned and the rest of the veggies are tender. You can top the skillet meal with some cheese, chili beans, shredded cooked meat, or even an egg or two.  Whatever you add to the skillet, you've got a base built on farm freshness that is bound to please.

Clever Crepes

Crepe batter. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Don't panic - crepes are actually incredibly easy. The problem people have with crepes is that the batter is not the right consistency.  Make sure the batter is thin enough to easily swirl around in the pan.  If your batter looks like pancake batter in the bowl, it's too thick.  Find a good recipe for crepe batter - it's really easy to make and healthier than a packaged mix. But, enough of that.  Let's get to the fun stuff.

Crepes can actually be flavored themselves.  If you are making a savory crepe dish, filled with herbs and veggies, throw a few herbs right into the crepes.  If you are making sweet crepes, filled with warm spices and fruit, throw a few of those spices in the crepes.  This isn't necessary, but it is pretty and tasty.  Once you have made your crepes, you're ready for the filling.  Lightly fried or grilled strips of zucchini with a soft herbed cheese makes a nice savory crepe.  Seasonal fruit combined with a simple custard is a beautiful start to the day.  Whether sweet or savory, crepes make breakfast just seem more special.

A trip through the local farmers market should give you plenty of inspiration for these three simple breakfast choices.  Fresh is best, whether it's dinner, lunch, or the nicest meal of the day – breakfast.

Check back later this week for some fun farmers-market inspired recipes!

Christmas Recipe: Eggnog Pancakes

Whether it's a festive "breakfast for dinner" Christmas Eve tradition, or a fun Christmas morning with the kids, these holiday-inspired pancakes are oh-so-special! Use up some of that leftover eggnog to make these delicious breakfast treats. The warm flavors of cinnamon and nutmeg will put you in a holiday mood all day! For added healthiness, use part whole-wheat flour, or even almond meal. 

'Tis The Season Eggnog Pancakes

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1 cup white, one cup whole wheat)
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups good eggnog
2 large eggs, beaten

Directions:

1. Put a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl; put all the dry ingredients in the sieve and shake to sift into the bowl (or use a flour sifter).
2. Add the eggnog and eggs to the dry ingredients and stir together until just combined - don't over mix, you should see some lumps just like any pancake batter.
3. Lightly oil your griddle or skillet over medium-high heat.
4. Drop batter by ladle or measuring cup out onto hot griddle, wait until bubbles form on the surface of the pancake, then flip and brown the other side.
5. Serve warm with maple syrup or fresh fruit topping.

Recipe - Heat & Eat Pancakes

Here is an easy from-scratch pancake recipe which you can use for the "Pigs in a Blanket" breakfast idea in the previous post (or just eat them as is!). The recipe describes how to freeze them for later use - a quick breakfast when you are on the run, but want something home-made and not junky fast-food.

Heat & Eat Pancakes

Image via WikipediaWhat You Need:
2 1/2 C milk (preferably whole, non-homogenized)
2 free-range eggs
1/3 C extra-virgin coconut oil, melted (or other healthy cooking oil - see our previous post on healthy cooking oils here)
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 C honey or maple syrup
1/2 C whole wheat flour
4 tsp baking powder
Couple of dashes of cinnamon (optional)
Enough all-purpose flour to thicken batter to your liking
Wax paper cut in pancake-sized squares
Freezer bags

Cooking Instructions:

• Place the milk, eggs, oil and vanilla into a large mixing bowl. Whisk until just blended together.
• Add the salt and honey or syrup. Beat until smooth.
• Add the wheat flour and baking powder. Beat until smooth.
• Add just enough all-purpose flour to thicken batter to your liking.
• Heat a griddle over medium high heat. Griddle is hot enough when a drop of water dances on the griddle.
• Pour about 1/2 C batter onto hot griddle.
• Cook until pancake begins to bubble and edges begin to dry.
• Flip and cook about 2 minutes or until both sides are lightly brown.
• Continue cooking until all the batter is used.

Freezing Instructions: 

• Cool pancakes completely.
• Place a piece of wax paper on a flat surface.
• Place a pancake onto the wax paper.
• Place another piece of wax paper on top of the pancake.
• Then another pancake and continue until all the pancakes are used alternating with wax paper and pancakes.
• Place into a freezer bag and freeze up to 6 months.
• To reheat, just drop into the toaster. Toast 2 cycles if necessary.

5 Time & Money Saving Breakfast Ideas

It is the first meal we eat when we get up in the morning. After a long night of sleep, we can’t do without it if we want to get our bodies going. No, I’m not talking about coffee. I’m referring to breakfast. Here are some ideas for a quick and healthy breakfast that don’t require a drive-thru window.
Image via Wikipedia

1. Have a piece of casserole. It takes time to cook eggs and bacon for breakfast. No one wants to ruin their clothes with the mess it can create. On Sunday night, get breakfast done early. Put together a casserole using your favorite ingredients. Fewer eggs are needed in a casserole than when frying or scrambling them for breakfast each morning. Depending on the size of your family, the casserole may last two to three mornings.

2. Yogurt. Yogurt is a healthy and economical breakfast choice. When you are eating on the run, grab a container of yogurt and some dried or fresh fruit. Cutting up fruit on top of the yogurt adds carbohydrates to fuel you for the morning in addition to the calcium and protein in the yogurt itself.

3. Breakfast shake. This is even quicker and can be ingested while driving without taking your eyes off the road or both hands off the wheel. Put together some frozen fruit favorites, ice cubes, yogurt, and unsweetened juice in a blender. Pour into travel cups to keep it cold (the kind with lids and straws makes it easy to avoid spills in the car). Everyone can grab a cup on the way out the door. The nutritional effect is about the same as yogurt (or better if you add lots of yogurt), but without the spoon.

Image by Dead Air via Flickr

4. Pigs in a blanket. This is the homemade version - much healthier without all the preservatives and trans fats of the store-bought kind. Whip up a batch of pancakes and freeze them in short stacks of three. A package or two of frozen link sausage is needed to create this quick and economical meal idea (local and hormone-free if at all possible). Thaw out a stack of pancakes. Heat up three sausages in the microwave. Wrap a pancake around each sausage. Voila! You’ve got an instant pig in a blanket. Eat it as you watch the last of your favorite morning show or as you walk to the bus stop. It can be eaten in the car without too much fuss or mess. For a sweeter taste and less mess, add a little maple syrup or honey to the batter when making the pancakes.

5. Breakfast sandwiches. In the evening, while you are getting things ready for the next day, grill up a few breakfast sandwiches. Choose whatever you like: natural turkey slices, sulfate-free ham slices, cheese, tomato, bacon, etc. When the sandwich cools, cut it into bite size pieces and put it in a container. In the morning, just grab a container; pop it into the microwave for fifteen or twenty seconds and breakfast is served.

These breakfast ideas are time saving and money-saving too. They make use of items you might buy normally and also whatever you have around the house to create delicious fare for a morning rush. No more excuses for skipping breakfast or swinging into the fast food restaurant every morning!