Paleo Diet | Grain-Free Banana Pancakes

My family has been following the Paleo Diet for a couple of weeks and eating eggs for breakfast almost every morning is really boring. It is a bit of a challenge to prepare food in a hotel but we manage.

So yesterday morning I decided to try Grain-Free Banana Pancakes from AgainstAllGrain.com. I think for my first attempt at Paleo pancakes...they came out pretty good.

I used a little Nature's Agave RAW Agave Nectar for some syrup. It was definitely a nice change to having eggs for breakfast.

Ingredients (makes 8-10 small pancakes)

• 3 medium eggs, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup non dairy milk (I used Trader Joe's Coconut Milk)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1/3 cup blanched almond flour (Honeyville or Digestive Wellness works best) (I used Bob's Red Mill)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 overly ripe banana (brown spots are the best!)
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips (homemade or Enjoy Life – omit for SCD)
• Butter or coconut oil for the pan

Directions
Mix together the wet ingredients, beating well until the eggs are beaten and slightly foamy.

Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then incorporate them into the wet. Whisk well until combined, then let sit for 3-5 minutes to let the coconut flour soak up some of the moisture.

Heat a cast iron (or non-stick) pan over medium-high heat. You can also use a griddle to make more pancakes at once. Mix the batter again, then begin making your pancakes.

Oil the pan with coconut oil or butter, then pour about a 1/4 cup of batter per pancake. The pancakes are easier to flip if you keep them small, about 4 inches in diameter.

Once the pancake begins to bubble, place a couple of slices of banana and a pinch of chocolate chips on top.

Carefully flip the pancake over, and cook for another minute until the pancake has fluffed up an feels slightly firm.

Keep hot in a warm oven until you are done making the remainder of the pancakes.

These are best eaten immediately, but if you have leftovers you can warm them in a toaster the next day.

Recipe from AgainstAllGrain.com

Big Sur California

On Saturday we drove to Big Sur located in the Central Coast of California. It took about 1 hour and 45 minutes from South San Jose. Big Sur is always worth the drive. It is breathtaking beautiful!

We stopped at the Big Sur River Inn and Restaurant. We enjoyed hanging out together as a family and had a relaxing afternoon. The weather was a little on the chilly side but we didn't mind.

My son loves this location and says he can remember visiting here when he was only 3 1/2 years old.

Testing the water with one finger only...the water was pretty cold :)

My happy family!

Paleo Diet | Grain-Free Almond Butter Cookies

On Tuesday, August 14th we started the Paleo Diet. We have not eaten any grains, dairy, soy/legumes and sugar for 11 days. We make all of our meals in the hotel room, however, we haven't tried baking desserts until now.

Last night I made Grain-Free Almond Butter Cookies for dessert with all organic ingredients. I found the recipe on FastPaleo.com and I decided to cut the ingredients in half since we were running low on almond butter, honey and coconut oil. I was a little short on honey but the cookies still tasted good.

After the cookies were baked, my son sprinkled cinnamon on top of his cookie and it was great. I would definitely add cinnamon to the dough next time.

Ingredients

1 cup almond butter

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup raw honey

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups almond meal

2 tablespoons chia seeds (optional)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Cooking Steps
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir together almond butter, coconut oil, and honey. Beat in egg and vanilla.

In a small bowl, combine almond meal, chia seeds, and baking soda. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix well.

Scoop the dough 1 tablespoon at a time and roll into balls. Set the balls on the baking sheet and flatten them with a fork.

Bake for 10 minutes, until the edges just start browning. Do not over-bake or they will be dry!

This recipe originally came from The Foodie and The Family.

Residence Inn Marriott | South San Jose

It's been a while since my last post, we have been travelling with my husband to San Jose for business and I just haven't felt like blogging.

We will be in San Jose for another few weeks before we drive home again; hopefully we will be home for more then a week this time. We have been up here for almost 4 months with only a few trips back home (a week here & there). I miss Orange County and can't wait until we are home permanently.

We have been staying at the Residence Inn in South San Jose for the past 2 1/2 months. This hotel was not my first choice but we needed a place with a full kitchen and relatively close to my husband's work. The staff here is very friendly but the hotel needs a makeover.

I had hoped that we would be back home before I started to homeschool my son for 6th grade but unfortunately we will not be back until a week after school starts. I brought his U.S. History and Math books with us but I had to order new books for Spelling, English/Grammar, Vocabulary, Science, Geography, Writing, and Reading Comprehension. I ordered 11 books and had them delivered to the hotel so he can start on Wednesday, September 5th.

I can't believe it's time for school and summer is over.