Thursday, January 15, 2015

Homemade Pancakes and Hello Whole 28

 Ugh hate to admit but moving to California has accentuated my curves and my appetite for yummy but not so great for you foods. I blame eating out more often, my compulsive baking and Coffee Bean. Oh and instead of hitting the gym 6 days a week; I'm down to 4-- if I'm lucky. But about that Coffee Bean... Don't get angry but Starbucks confectionery drinks are kind of gross- coming from a dessert junky-- they are just too sweet! Shocking, I know. However, Starbucks serves me on the regular with the strongest kick in yo' butt iced coffee occasionally with the extra shot- <wide awake>
But Coffee Bean makes my knees weak and my taste-buds sing. All sweet in all the right ways and no strange after taste- pure perfection when you want a sweet sipper. Interestingly enough my timing is not because of the New Year "resolution" fad, but a realization that the healthy eating habits need to be reinforced. So my girl J and I agreed that once we returned from CES paleo would start THAT Monday. Since this pact to do paleo was more for healthier eating habits and feeling an overall sense of well-being versus weight loss- we decided to do the Whole 28 instead of 30 ( plus it was in honor of February- being a short month and all <wink>!)
Sunday morning I had one last small indulgence, homemade blueberry pancakes topped with fresh fruit and maple syrup from my family's farm in Vermont. See below for the recipe- and if you want to order some syrup shoot me a line!

Want to know more about paleo? I did it before and it was one of the best things I could have done- and to be completely transparent I modified it for me- at the end of the day you know yourself the best so don't follow these guideline to the T- however you definitely should not be consuming sugar, processed foods, or dairy products (just saying). I previously did a post at my last company on the book It Starts With Food <click here for my synopsis>- and that's what inspired me to accept the challenge. Maybe you will too?

So see you later sugar- I'll catch you on the flip side.

{Ready to reset and keep being awesome}


Homemade Blueberry Pancakes

Ingredients:
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour ( make it even better with 1 cup all purp. and .5 whole wheat flour)
  • 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • pinch of cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups milk (I use skim)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla (or substitute and use lemon juice and some zest)
  • 3 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1 cup of fresh and washed blueberries
Directions:

Sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour wet ingredients (milk, egg, vanilla, and melted butter) into the dry ingredients and mix until well combined and smooth.
*If the batter is thick and you don't like your pancakes "cake-y" add more milk (or water) two tablespoons at a time until you reach desired consistency.

Over Medium-High heat- heat your pan or griddle- add spray or a small bit of butter to "grease" the pan. Pour batter to desired amount (do you want large pancakes or small medallions?- the choice is yours!) Drop in as little or as many blueberries into the poured pancake- my magic number is usually

Cook until you see bubbles, then flip- make sure both sides are golden brown and that centers are cooked through!

Enjoy!