The Nourishing Gourmet

Nourishing. Satisfying. Gourmet.

Breakfast and Brunch

Coconut Flour Pancakes

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These grain-free coconut flour pancakes are moist, have a great crumb, and are delicious and family-friendly. I love them topped with berries. Delicious! They work well for those on grain or gluten-free diets, or for those eating keto or THM (they are an “S” meal). 

Coconut flour recipes can end up dry, with a poor crumb. How do you fix that? You should pair coconut flour with high-fat ingredients. In this case, butter and coconut milk (or you could use cream, sour cream,or whole milk Greek yogurt). This keeps your pancakes moist and tender instead of dry. 

Tips:

  • You can cook this in whatever pan you have, but I especially like to use my large cast iron pans when making pancakes.
  • This would be lovely served on a Pancake Charcuterie Board.  
  • Serving suggestions: Any typical pancake toppings work here. If you are keto or THM (S), Lakanto Powdered Sugar or is one option, a fresh berry sauce made with xylitol/stevia, and served with stevia-sweetened coconut whipped cream is another. I also enjoy it topped with unsweetened Greek yogurt and fresh berries. 
  • For extra protein: serve with unsweetened nut or seed butters. 
  • OR, make them into savory pancakes and top with a fried egg and bacon. 

Coconut Flour Pancakes

  • 3 eggs
  • ¼ cup coconut milk (or cream, yogurt, sour cream)
  • ¼ cup melted butter or coconut oil
  • ¼ cup coconut flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • Butter and coconut oil for pan

Directions: 

1. In a medium-sized bowl, add the eggs and coconut milk, and whisk. If using butter, go ahead and whisk in as well. If using the coconut oil, wait until after you’ve added the dry ingredients, and then whisk in the melted coconut oil.

2. Add in the coconut flour and baking powder, whisk. Let sit for a few minutes. If the mixture is too thick, you can thin it with a little more liquid, but you want the mixture to be pretty thick, just not dry. Heat a pan over medium heat until warm. Add butter or coconut oil to the pan.

3.This recipe works best for small pancakes. I usually use about ¼ cup or less of batter per pancake. Add batter to the pan, and let cook until one side is browned and edges are starting to firm up. If the bottom is cooking too quickly, turn down the heat. Flip, and cook the second side (the second side will cook more quickly). Remove and repeat the process, adding more fat to the pan as needed.

Serve with desired toppings and enjoy!

Making a Beautiful Pancake Charcuterie Board

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The quarantine life inspires creativity in the kitchen and the trend for pancake charcuterie boards is one of the finest examples I’ve seen. Also — one of the more delicious ideas out there. It’s a simple concept: load a board up with pancakes, and then put toppings and sides around it and allow everyone to serve themselves. 

This would make a delicious Easter brunch idea, weekend meal, or a fun dinner for cooped up children.

I tried this out on my family, and it was a huge hit! 

What do I like about it? For those of us struggling to get our pantries and fridges full of the basics because of the extreme shopping and unstocked grocery store shelves, this allows you to use whatever you have on hand. Toppings can include peanut or nut butter, jam, or honey, maple syrup, homemade syrup, berry syrup made from frozen berries, whipped cream with caramel sauce or chocolate syrup, fresh berries, and more! 

A Beautiful Pancake Charcuterie Board!

Use what you have on hand, and enjoy. Like the perfect black dress, you can make this super fancy, or super simple. You can serve on whatever platter you have on hand, though I love using the traditional wooden serving board.

We made a version of this for our dinner the other night and this is what we did: 

  • Caramelized applesauce (I had some apples that were going bad, so I needed to use them right away. We diced them, added lemon zest and lemon juice, sweetener, cinnamon, dried ginger, and a dash or two of salt. Poured a little water in and roasted it in an oven for an hour and a half at 350F in a Dutch oven, covered. AMAZING). 
  • Fresh Blueberries 
  • Pure Maple syrup 
  • Sausage 
  • Gluten-free Pancakes and Coconut Flour Pancakes 
  • A simple strawberry syrup made from frozen sliced strawberries, and a little evaporated cane sugar and water (cook until syrupy in a pan). 
  • We kept the pancakes warm in the oven, so we could serve them all at once.

Recipes to inspire your pancake charcuterie board:


Paleo Tigernut Waffles

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Paleo Tigernut Waffles - A wonderful baked good for a grain-free diet, and also a source of prebiotic fiber!

These gently sweet waffles are not only grain and dairy free, but they are delicious! Tigernuts have been eaten for thousands of years and are not a nut, but actually a small tuber. They are a good source of prebiotic fiber and are also a grain-free carbohydrate. I created this recipe for a couple of reasons.

  1. I temporarily am doing a grain-free diet again. I find that it helps reset my digestive system and gives me more energy (usually I eat gluten-free). Grain-free waffles are some of the fastest grain-free baked goods I can make myself and hence valuable to my time-strapped schedule.
  2. I am also experimenting with adding prebiotic fiber into my diet as a way of increasing my microbiome health. Tiger nut flour happens to be a great source of it. You can read about the possible benefits of prebiotic fiber in the following three studies: Health Effects and Sources of Prebiotic Dietary Fiber, Fiber and Prebiotics: Mechanisms and Health Benefits, Dietary fiber and prebiotics and the gastrointestinal microbiota. Note: I’m not making any health claims about the following recipe, and I have just begun my own self-experimentation in adding prebiotic fiber.
  3. When I’m eating a grain-free diet, I do have to be careful to add at least some carbs into my diet. If I go too low carb, I don’t feel well. However, I quickly get tired of sweet potatoes, so tigernut flour and cassava flour allows me to expand what I can eat.

Non-Toxic Waffle Iron?

Before I share the recipe, I also wanted to mention that I recently bought a new waffle iron, as we no longer owned one, and it has worked well for us! It has a nonstick ceramic surface and doesn’t contain PTFE or PFOA and so is considered a more non-toxic choice. I found that my gluten and grain-free waffles won’t brown well in it unless I turn the knob all the way to high, or nearly so. Waffles stick the least in this waffle iron of any I have tried. This picture was taken after making a batch of them! This is the (affiliate links following) waffle maker I bought. You could also check out the cast iron versions, like this one.

Notes on Ingredients and Recipe:

  • You can see the brands of tigernut and cassava flour I used by following the links.
  • If you used all tigernut flour in this recipe it would be very dense and fibrous, which is why I added another grain-free flour. Even with that, keep in mind that the high-fiber tigernut flour will make these waffles have a slightly more fibrous texture.

Paleo Tigernut Waffles

  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup water or milk of choice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¾ tigernut flour
  • ½ cup cassava flour
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil (plus more, as needed, for waffle pan)
  1. Plug waffle iron in and start preheating.
  2. Put the eggs, water or milk, and vanilla extract into a medium-sized bowl. Whisk.
  3. Add the flours, salt, and baking powder.
  4. If your coconut oil isn’t liquified, gently melt on the stovetop or in a cup in the microwave and add to bowl and whisk right away until smooth.
  5. Brush pan with oil/melted fat of choice, as needed, and put about ½ cup (or amount appropriate for your waffle pan). Cook until done, and lightly browned.
  6. Remove with fork, and repeat the process until done with batter.
  7. Makes between 2-4 waffles, depending on how full you fill your pan, and how large your waffle pan is. I recommend a half waffle as a serving size since this is a very fiber-rich recipe (that said, I’ve definitely eaten a whole one for dinner!) You can also reheat in the toaster oven or toaster.

Print Friendly Recipe:

Paleo Tigernut Waffles
 
 
Ingredients
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup water or milk of choice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¾ tigernut flour
  • ½ cup cassava flour
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil (plus more, as needed, for waffle pan)
Instructions
  1. Plug waffle iron in and start preheating.
  2. Put the eggs, water or milk, and vanilla extract into a medium-sized bowl. Whisk.
  3. Add the flours, salt, and baking powder.
  4. If your coconut oil isn’t liquified, gently melt on the stovetop or in a cup in the microwave and add to bowl and whisk right away until smooth.
  5. Brush pan with oil/melted fat of choice, as needed, and put about ½ cup (or amount appropriate for your waffle pan). Cook until done, and lightly browned.
  6. Remove with fork, and repeat the process until done with batter.
  7. Makes between 2-4 waffles, depending on how full you fill your pan, and how large your waffle pan is. I recommend a half waffle as a serving size since this is a very fiber-rich recipe (that said, I’ve definitely eaten a whole one for dinner!) You can also reheat in the toaster oven or toaster.

 

Why I Started Adding Okra into My Smoothie ( And Fruit Okra Recipe)

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Fruit Okra Smoothie - this green smoothie is full of important nutrients! Okra has well documented heath promoting attributes, and adds a lot of body to smoothies!

This beautiful fruit smoothie has a green secret that adds important minerals and vitamins to it, as well as making a frothy texture – okra!

Okra is an unlikely contender for smoothies, yet here I am throwing it into my smoothies. It’s known for being a popular vegetable in many southern dishes, but certainly isn’t known as a typical smoothie addition. So why am I adding it to mine? Besides the fact that it’s an excellent source of whole food fiber, vitamin C and K, and folate, there are some interesting studies looking into possible benefits.

What is Okra?

First, what is okra? It’s a flowering plant from the mallow family. The mallow family boasts of the following well-known family members: cacao, cotton, hibiscus, okra, and durian. Okra is the edible fruit of a variety of hibiscus (so it’s not technically even a vegetable!). Did you notice that “mallow” sounds like “marshmallow”? That’s because the original marshmallow was developed from the gelatinous properties of marshmallow roots, from the mallow family. Okra also can produce a gelatinous texture.

Health Benefits and Studies on Okra

  • Okra helps diabetic symptoms and lowers blood sugar (Source)
  • A lectin from okra may help fight or prevent some cancers. (Source) (Also good information here on contradictions – make sure you check them out!)
  • Could help protect the liver (Source)
  • Okra could also help prevent stomach ulcers (Source)
  • Plus,it could also be helpful for your gut health – both in promoting good gut bacteria and soothing inflammation. (Source)

Speaking from a culinary perspective, it adds a lot of creamy texture to the smoothie because of its gelatinous (otherwise known as mucilage) texture. I love the texture, and it only adds a mild taste to the smoothie. However, I will warn you that my children have all informed me that they are not a fan of the “weird green vegetable” I put into the smoothies. Although, I’ve heard reports of many children not even noticing it in their smoothies, mine have been too perceptive for me to add it without them noticing. I may try to sneak in very small amounts next time to see if they notice, but for now, I’ve been making my own personal smoothies stuffed full with it! UPDATE: Adding only a small amount was the key! My kids have now drunk several smoothies with small amounts of okra in it without knowing it was there. 

A Notes on Ingredients and Blenders:

I use pre-steamed and pre-frozen sliced okra. It works well and is easy to use. Although technically you could use raw, this recipe suggests pre-steaming it to reduce a slimy texture.

Secondly, you should have a powerful blender to properly blend frozen vegetables. I use a Blendtec, but any brand that can pulverize ice well should work great.

Lastly, for extra nutrition, I’ve been adding two things lately. First gelatin. I like many brands, but lately I’ve been using Super Collagen . Supposedly it’s in in a smaller peptide form so that it is easier to digest. What I like about it is that it is so fine that there is no added grittiness from it. Sadly, it’s not from pastured animals. The other addition I’ve been adding is colostrum from this company – which is a wonderful immune booster. Although some in the family are sensitive to dairy, it appears that we all do fine with it!

Finally, take note that okra is high in oxalates. If you are sensitive to okra, be careful. I don’t seem to be sensitive, but with all things being done in moderation, I don’t eat okra, or other high oxalate foods every day.

Fruit Okra Smoothie - this green smoothie is full of important nutrients! Okra has well documented heath promoting attributes, and adds a lot of body to smoothies!

Okra Fruit Smoothie

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Makes 1 large or two small smoothies. This recipe can have so many variations! Have fun with it.

  • ½ cup of frozen fruit (such as blueberries, raspberries, mango, or peach slices)
  • ¼-½ cup of frozen and sliced okra
  • ½ cup each of kombucha and coconut cream/milk (or 1 cup of desired liquid – kefir, milk, juice, coconut water, etc.), plus extra, as needed
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 small ripe banana (adds a lot of sweetness, but sometimes I leave out because they are a bit high in sugar for me)

Add all of the ingredients into a blender and blend on high until very smooth. Stop to scrape sides, if needed, and add more liquid as needed (I often use more).

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