Oh-My-Goodness-Swallow-Your-Tongue Pancakes

You guys.

I'm kind of a breakfast addict. And, by that, I mean breakfast foods. I can't think of a time when breakfast food is a bad idea. I love it all: eggs, omelettes, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, breakfast bakes, muffins...whatever you want to throw at me, I love it.

That being said, most of the breakfast foods that I like aren't super great for you. Lots of sugar, lots of grease. And, since we're dairy free--I'm now running into the dairy issue. Even still, I occasionally get the urge to play around with a new breakfast recipe, instead of sticking to my new-found tried and trues.

Today was one of those mornings. Over the past six months, I've tried several different pancake recipes. I never can get quite happy with them. Something is always missing. I should mention that the one breakfast thing I don't like is syrup. Yuck. Yuck, yuck, yuck. Consequently, my pancakes need to be AH-mazing. And, so far, every recipe I've made has fallen flat. When I announced to my kids I was making pancakes this morning, Madelyn looked at me for a moment, then said, "No. No pancake. Eggs. No pancake." That's how flat they've fallen. Even Lilah looked disinterested.

"It's ok," I assured them. "This time, they're going to be amazing. Girls, you're gonna love 'em! Just wait. Give Momma half a chance, huh?" Another long heartbeat of silence. Then, Madelyn gave her customary little shrug, "Okkkkkkkaaaaaaaayyyyy," she said, dragging it out like she does when she doesn't believe you.

Undaunted, I whipped out the ingredients for yet another dairy free pancake recipe and tugged my beloved Kitchen-Aid front and center.

And, ya'll. This. This is the one. This is the dairy-free pancake to beat all pancakes. I will never go back.

They were fluffy. They were delightfully cinnamon-y. They practically begged for a little drizzle of honey and a topping of tart strawberries. They were (relatively) healthy comfort food at it's very best. And, better yet--it called for one third the amount of sugar most recipes I've seen use. ONE THIRD. (I am really preferring to sweeten things more naturally--honey is my fave way. See above: honey drizzle as opposed to syrup. A grand idea.) These pancakes didn't call for you to cook them in leftover bacon grease. (I've seen that on a ton, and why? Why would you do that?? No judgement here if you like that, but I just can't imagine it.)

And, look at them. Just look.

 (One of these days, I may quit taking pictures on paper plates...) But, they're still amazing, even on a rather plain canvas. Here's the link back to the original recipe: http://delightfuldelicacies.blogspot.com/2010/01/easy-peasy.html


As always, a couple quick notes:
    First, I used my organic coconut sugar for the tablespoon of sugar. I find it lends more of a--caramel?--taste, which I prefer.
    Secondly, when it calls for a smidge of cinnamon, I went a little happy and put in a tablespoon and a half.
  Third, to butter the griddle, I used dairy free butter.
  And lastly, I mixed my dry ingredients in the Kitchen Aid, used a bowl to mix all the wet ingredients together, and then created a well in the middle of my dry. I then added the wet to the dry and mixed it together until I got the right consistency. That was instead of adding the dry to the wet and whisking it all by hand.

All in all, I've got to give this recipe five stars and then some. It was absolutely delicious. The kids ate theirs with no topping as fast as I could them off the skillet. I waited and topped with a small drizzle of honey and strawberries. Yum.


 These pancakes were so easy! From start to finish, the whole thing was completely done in less than thirty minutes. Give them a shot and tell me what you think!!!

Vanilla Chai Breakfast Quinoa Bowl--Baby Steps to a Healthier Us

I can't say I've ever been a particularly healthy eater. Throughout my life, if I had a desire to diet or change eating habits, it was more about loss than anything else. You know the feeling: instead of looking up good ways to improve your eating, you look at what all needs to be cut out of your daily life.

Cookies.

Coke.

Cake.

Sugar-laden delicacies that made up my entire list of favorite foods.

Creamy mac and cheese, with more cheese in one bite than you normally have all day.

Chicken and dumplings.

Chicken pot-pie with a warm buttery biscuit perched on top.

(Are you noticing that all the tastiest treats start with a 'c'? Weird.)

Anyway, over the past several months, a few things happened that have slowly started to overhaul, not just my diet, but the whole way I look at food.

First. In the last two years, I've had two babies and I'm still a big ol' girl. I'm actually as big now as when I delivered my first daughter. That's embarrassing to think, much less to admit out loud or in text. I wouldn't say I've ever had just stellar self-esteem, but my weight issues are putting it squarely in the toilet. I need a change. For me. To feel good, both physically and emotionally.

Second. My youngest daughter is one and is already weighing in far more than they would like. With the family histories all the way around, the doctor wants us to keep a close eye on what she eats. Now, I've always been fairly careful with what I feed the girls. Less so with what I feed Matt and I. And, now, the girls are old enough to see the difference. We can't continue eating junk and then trying to convince them that veggies are the new Twix bars. We, as a family, needed a change.

At first, I tried an overhaul the way I had in the past--no carbs! No sugar! No ANYTHING THAT MAKES LIFE TASTE GOOD. Nothing! Forget it!!

And, ya know what? That sucked. Thoroughly. So, like the addict that I am, I hit up Pinterest. All of a sudden, I had a wealth of recipes at my fingertips that...well, they actually looked pretty good! Fruits, veggies, healthy cooking...that could be...good? I could eat something and not feel deprived if I didn't follow it up with a cold soda and warm, gooey cookie? (Cutting out soda has still been my least favorite part of this whole thing, not gonna lie.)

No way.

And, yet...it's true! I've found my journey to discovering how to eat and cook healthier liberating! To not automatically discount a recipe because I didn't think I liked the ingredients frees up A LOT of recipes for me. And, my husband is a saint who doesn't care at all what weird things I want to try. His general response is, "Yeah, I'll give it a shot." I don't think he's said no to a single thing so far. (Even though I may have tested him this morning by sending him a Pin to a hot pink beet soup.)

And, if I intentionally "forget" that I don't like something--take peppers, for example--then when I cook it, it's like trying it for the first time. Some recipes still don't work for us. I can think of a couple that have fallen totally flat. (I find that many of those have been because they've been touted to be similar to some sweet treat that I love. I like spinach a lot. But, you can't have it be the base of a smoothie and call it a thin mint and swear it tastes just like a girl scout cookie. That's blasphemy.)
But, some recipes have been an absolute delight! The whole family has enjoyed them, and we'll definitely be adding them to our monthly cooking rotation.

I've actively enjoyed sitting down and reading up on various ingredients, and what they can do for your body. How nutrition affects our bodies and even our mental state is absolutely fascinating! Lilah is far more receptive to trying to new things than Mads is. I read an article on the words "You don't have to eat it" that changed my life, though. (The gist is that you can say, "You don't have to eat it", and without the pressure, they usually are more willing to give it a shot. Thus far, it's proven true. Of course, that's followed up by the I'm-not-making-you-a-separate-dinner statement.) And, with the understanding that it's what everyone is having and there isn't another choice, she usually comes around fairly quickly.

Plus, knowing more about what we're putting in makes me more excited to try new things--especially when I've had some successes throughout the week. This morning's WONDERFUL success was a Vanilla Chai Quinoa Bowl.  (See how it sort of starts with a 'C', too?? You know it's bound to be good!)

For those interested, the original recipe was obtained from Flavor the Moments, found here:
 http://flavorthemoments.com/vanilla-chai-breakfast-quinoa-bowls/

Oh. My. Gravy.

The thing was delicious.

Admittedly, I made a few small changes. For one thing, I didn't choose apples for my topper. We had some blueberries and strawberries that were going to need to be frozen or eaten in the very near future, so I went that route.

I also didn't have any yogurt that wasn't already promised to other recipes, so I didn't use it. It was still filling to the extreme--I doubt very much if I could have eaten yogurt if I wanted to! I didn't even finish my whole bowl, and, here I sit, hours later, still full as a tick. Nor did I have maple syrup, as I really don't care for maple as a taste in general--so I used raw organic honey. It was wonderful!


Doesn't it look AMAZING? (Even prettier picture is the one Marcie at Flavor the Moments posted on the recipe. I never thought of food as gorgeous before.)

Seriously. Go to her page. Look at it. You'll be running to the kitchen to try it out.

Couple of notes about this: 1.) It takes nearly a half hour to make. Be prepared for that. I didn't read far enough ahead and ended up being VERY ready to eat by the time I got it finished.)  2.) My blueberries were frozen, but after about fifteen seconds in the hot quinoa, they were the perfect addition to each bite!

All in all, I loved this recipe--I can't wait to try it out on the husband!

That being said, I wanted to start posting more on my blog again anyway--and since the food aspect is such a part of our life as a family right now, I figured I'd include it! (Especially since I can't actually keep blowing up Facebook with recipes you all NEED to try.) This way, if you want the recipe, I'll link to it in the blog--give credit where it's due and all that--and note any modifications we made.

Try this, though--enjoy it--and, if you liked it, let me know in the comments below!! (Especially if you modified in any way, I'd love to give your way a shot!)

Thanks for walking through this whole "baby steps to a healthier us" post, lol!