Egg-Free Blueberry Pancakes

I like eggs, my family likes eggs, I have a friend from whom I buy wonderful, organic eggs.  All is good.  After recording my meals for a month, I determined I may eat too many eggs.  I have also spoke with several people in the last week who are searching for egg-free paleo options.  Here is the pancake recipe I tried today:  Blueberry Pancakes.  I fried mine in coconut oil and used 6 drops of liquid stevia instead of powdered per the recipe.  I used the coconut flour option.

These were fairly good depending on what your expectations are.  Without any grains of eggs, the only thing to bind them is the flax.  They were very hard to flip & I soon abandoned the idea of putting blueberries in them.  Only 50% of us were home for breakfast today and we all agreed they were about a "B."  I liked the flavor the almond extract added to the batter and may try that in our other recipes.  If you do not tolerate eggs, give this one a try.  If anyone has an egg-free pancake recipe they like, please send it to me.

I plopped the batter in with my small cookie scoop.
    
Then I smashed and let them sit a couple minutes.  Then flipped and smashed with the spatula again. 
  
Here's the finished product topped with warm blueberries and a drizzle of maple syrup.
 

Taking Food

Tonight we have a violin recital.  Every family is to bring a couple snacks for afterward.  I like to bring things my GF kiddo and I can enjoy when possible, but I also like to bring things anyone there may enjoy.  Tonight I decided on a fruit & cheese (no cheese is not paleo) platter and a couple of different nuts.













 These are vanilla roasted walnuts.



 
These are spiced pecans.



 

Zoodles & Meat Sauce

I have been looking forward to this all day.  In case you missed yesterday's post, I bought a spiralizer!  I had purchased 2 organic zucchinis this week, so making zucchini noodles seemed like the logical thing to do.  They were well received by the clan, the only one who didn't love them gave it a rating of "B-" and ate them anyway.  So, that's a win in my book!  I loved the texture and variety.  If I had peeled the squash before spiralizing it, the appearance would have been even more noodle like.
 

To make the zoodles:
spiralize or julienne zucchini (2 small zucchini's made about 2 adult portions)
saute squash in olive oil about 5 minutes until tender-crisp
top with sauce & basil

To make canned sauce better:
brown hamburger with chopped onions and minced garlic  
simmer sauce with meat mixture
add 1 tsp garlic salt and fresh or dried basil

Spiralizer

So, I bought a spiralizer.....

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Tonight I made these apple cinnamon muffins.  I thought they were pretty good.  The kiddos were somewhat divided on them.  Some really liked them, some not so much.  I just packed 2 in my hubby's lunch for tomorrow, so you will have to wait to hear his opinion.  I made a double batch and yielded 20 muffins.  These only took a few minutes to mix up, but need to bake for 30 minutes.  I would say you need 45 minutes all together.

I may have shared my favorite pot roast recipe before, but here it is again.  I have made this in the oven and crock pot.

1 chuck roast
sprinkle with garlic powder & salt
top with green pepper

Hamburger & Eggs

I'm not sure if you can really call this a "recipe," but here is another breakfast idea.

Brown 1/2 pound of ground beef & season it (I use Mediterranean Spiced Sea Salt).  Scramble 8 eggs with a Tbsp of water.  Add salt & pepper to the eggs.  Dump on top of the ground beef and cook until eggs are done.  I eat mine with sliced avocado & sprinkled with red pepper and garlic salt.

BBQ Turkey Sandwiches

I roasted a turkey yesterday.  I roasted a HUGE turkey yesterday!  It was very yummy.  I now have the start to many meals in the freezer.  Tonight we have BBQ Turkey Sandwiches.

Here's the breakdown-

BBQ Sauce
1 cup homemade ketchup
1 Tbsp coconut aminos
2 Tbsp Apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp Yacon syrup (could substitute with blackstrap molasses)
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
few shakes of hot sauce (I use Frank's Redhot)

Mix all together and add to cooked, shredded turkey.  Place in crock pot on low 2-3 hours.  

Hamburger buns from the Against All Grain cookbook.  (Email me at renaeats@gmail.com if you'd like the recipe.)  They are quick & easy.  I really like them!

Sauteed Red Cabbage
Shred 1 small red cabbage
thinly slice 1/2 onion
mince 2 cloves of garlic

Saute in a couple Tbsps of oil (I used avocado).  Season with salt, pepper, and a Tbsp of coconut aminos.  Cook until tender crisp.

 
These were yummy!  A couple of the kids said they didn't even know they liked cabbage.  :)

How Cooking Can Change Your Life (Monday Morning Encouragement)

If you are checking my blog, chances are you are cooking most of your meals.  This can become a mundane task if we don't have the right attitude about it.  I was sent this video clip and it was well worth 20 minutes to watch.

It reminds me why my family does not feel well when we go out for pizza, but love it when I make homemade pizza.  I'm not even talking about paleo pizza!  I use white & wheat flour in my crust, homemade pizza sauce I can in the summer when I'm up to my elbows in tomatoes, ground beef I purchase directly from trusted producers, freshly chopped vegetables and topped with REAL cheese (sometimes I even shred it myself.)  Where are the artificial ingredients?  Preservatives?  Convenience?  Just some "food for thought" on this Monday morning.

Home cooks rock!!!  You are doing a great thing for yourself and your family.

Pancakes from Elana

This recipe is one of the first pancake recipes I made when I began a paleo lifestyle.  I have since found others I prefer, but this is still a good one.  It has very few ingredients and comes together quickly.  I linked to this particular post since she gives lots of helpful tips.  I swap honey for the agave and only use half as much. I ate mine with blueberries on top.  Enjoy!