Kale Chips!

Those who know me know that I have a new favorite in kale!  I eat kale probably 3-4 times per week in salads for lunch, dinner, juiced... you name it.  I love kale, it's simple and great for you.  This versatile green is so chock full of goodness, you must try it.  Today I dressed it with a homemade dressing recipe combined from several others I found on the internet.

First start with good quality organic kale.  I had 3 bunches fresh from Whole Foods yesterday ready to go.  Clean, dry, and de-stem the kale and set aside (stems can be tough).  You can use any kind of kale, I used the dino kale.  It's darker green and resembles reptile skin!

For the dressing, in a small mixing bowl combine the following.  I broke down a larger recipe so forgive my 1/6 cup measures:

• 1 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/6 cup water
• 1/6 cup liquid aminos or soy sauce
• 1/6 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/8 cup of olive oil
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• Juice of one lemon

To make it easier: 1/6 cup = 8 tsp or 2 tbs + 2 tsp

I am dehydrating them to preserve more of their goodness.  You could also bake them in the oven to dry them out, but be careful - they burn easily!

The dressing is delicious!  I left a small bowl of the raw kale with the dressing to the side for lunch, yummy!

They are now in the dehydrator for a few hours and we'll see how they turn out!

More Pancakes!

So today Maisie asked for her favorite again - you guessed it... pancakes!  Being that we haven't shopped for groceries in a bit, I have no eggs.  So my search for an eggless pancake recipe began.  I found a good base recipe on a couple of websites and added my own substitutions to customize them a bit. 

Eggless Protein Pancakes

• 1 cup flour (I used Trader Joe’s white whole wheat)
• 2 heaping teaspoons unpacked brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup lowfat milk
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used an olive/grapeseed/canola mix)
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 scoop protein powder (I used Trader Joe’s chocolate Designer Whey)
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil

• Combine dry ingredients and mix slightly.
• Add milk, vegetable oil, water, and vanilla.
• Whisk together until just combined.
• Be careful not to over mix - it should still be slightly lumpy.
• Set aside to rest for a few minutes.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot.
• While pan is heating, add coconut oil to melt if solid.
• As soon as the coconut oil is melted, stir into pancake batter and return pan to stove.
• When the pan is hot, pour batter into the skillet for each pancake.
• Cook pancakes until bubbles form on the surface.
• Carefully flip pancakes and cook until golden brown.

I made 6 medium sized pancakes and have totaled the calorie count to be approximately 180 calories per pancake.

I have to say they were quite fluffy and delicious! I added the protein powder for more a more balanced meal. I'm also a big fan of the benefits of coconut oil (yes it's high in fat - but it's the good kind). Please see this reference: http://www.livestrong.com/article/399804-is-coconut-oil-high-in-saturated-fat/.

Enjoy!

Pancakes!

I regularly look for recipes online to modify or  make healthier to enjoy our favorites.  Maisie loves pancakes and I tried to convince her into some coconut flour pancakes today, but no success.  She does not like even a hint of coconut, while I on the other hand love it!  So I opted for my Trader Joe's White Whole Wheat Flour.  I found this recipe online and decided to divide it in half to make just a few pancakes.

I pinned the original recipe on my Pinterest board for Healthy Recipes...

I cut everything in half and made minor adjustments, as I like a bit more cinnamon and brown sugar:

• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp organic brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup 1 tbs almond milk

This made about 5 good size pancakes.  I opted to use the almond milk as I already had the other ingredients in the bowl and realized we were out of milk!  They turned out pretty good.  I may opt to substitute the egg in the future to make them vegan.

I figured I'd start to keep my recipes here for my own future reference!

Happy Sunday...