I have never been a big supporter of ‘giving something up for lent’. I understand the religious significance behind it but it seems so ingrained in British culture that almost everyone around me has a go- regardless of their faith! It’s become a second chance at those failed January resolutions… with added chocolate denial!

As you know, I’m not one for denying oneself pleasure. Life is hard enough without putting your favourite food on the ‘naughty list’! And boy, I could go on and on about attaching guilt to food!

I don’t believe (unless you’ve taken a page from Mithridates VI’s book and decided to poison yourself every day) that any food is inherently bad. Yes, it is important to eat things full of the goodness and fuel your body needs. Agreed, you probably shouldn’t be eating to excess, especially where fast food is concerned… but that’s because it’s not providing you the vitamins and so on that your body needs, not because it’s innately evil.

I call my recipes ‘healthy’ because they’re versions of fun foods that also bring you yummy vitamins and good balances of what your body needs. But don’t get too hung up on it! Eat these, and some fruit, and maybe move around a bit. Done.

Back to pancakes: I ruddy love them!

Pancakes are excellent and easy whatever time of day you’re eating them. But goodness are they a breakfast delight! Whether they be the thick, fluffy kind or the thin, light kind, as long as they’re sugar and grain free there isn’t a pancake I don’t like.

For this year’s pancake day I’ve challenged myself to create three new types of pancake and you can see the results below!

Well, we certainly thought a lot of those!

Remember, as always, just because the recipes are gluten free, sugar free and lactose free doesn’t meant they HAVE to be that way. If you want to sub in regular cows milk, cane sugar, coconut sugar, powdered fructose or even white flour then go right ahead.

All of the recipes can also be made without eggs using either flax eggs or a powdered substitute but they will (especially number 1!) be quite a bit flatter.

Let me know how you get on with making these pancakes!

 

Paleo Fluffy Pancakes

 

3 tbsp coconut flour

2 tbsp sweetener

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp sea salt

3 large egg whites

1 tbsp apple sauce or yogurt

1/3 cup dairy free milk

½ tsp vanilla extract

Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl

Add wet ingredients except for egg whites. Mix well

Whisk egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff

All egg whites to first bowl, fold ingredients together

Put pan on low/med heat

Cook for 2/3 mins either side

Put a lid on top of your pan as they cook to help puff up the pancakes.

Notes

These thick, fluffy pancakes are low carb, paleo and full of protein! Whilst they’re based on egg whites and coconut flour you can substitute them as noted above.

Remember to always add wet ingredients to dry; create a well in the dry ingredients, pull dry over wet.

These pancakes are delicious when served with berries, especially raspberries!

 

No Carb Pancakes

 

2 eggs

55g lactofree cream cheese

½ cup sweetener

½ tsp vanilla

Blend all ingredients together in blender

Allow to stand until bubbles have dissipated

Heat coconut oil in pan

Cook until golden brown either side

Notes

I use lactofree cream cheese but any cream cheese will work.

I would advise using a blender or NutriBullet but you can mix by hand provided you ensure everything is completely blended.

Serve with a squeeze of lemon for yummy, crepe-like goodness!

 

Clean Eating Pancakes

 

1 ripe banana

2 eggs

1tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

Mash

Mix

Cook

Eat

Done!

Notes

These are definitely the easiest pancakes to make of the bunch! Although they’re paleo, grain free and sugar free they aren’t low carb.

If you find the mixture is too thin then add a tablespoon of the flour of your choice or even protein powder.

 

My best friend, Clara, and I are huge fans of the TV series Parks and Recreation. We’re all for the star of the show: female empowering, gal pal supporting Leslie Knope. In the 22nd episode of the show Leslie created Galentine’s Day; traditionally celebrated the day before Valentines Day it’s the perfect chance to get your best women together and celebrate! After all, romantic relationships can be fleeting and messy, with Valentine’s Day being pretty cruel to some single ladies out there… but friendships and Galentine’s Day have your back! Clara and I decided this year that we’ll be celebrating Galentines by making Leslie Knope’s favourite food stuff: WAFFLES!

… Except I can’t eat sugar or gluten so we had to get a little creative and came up with a ‘will it waffle’ challenge featuring three of my favourite batters:

Originally I used my favourite pumpkin cupcake recipe for the second waffle but it split as I opened the waffle iron and stuck to either side! Regardless, it was bloody delicious. But not quite up to presentation standards… Still, I bashed on- determined to create a pumpkin flavoured waffle. Where I had previously used 350g of almond butter I instead substituted 350g of almond flour and a dash of almond milk.

Yes, ‘a dash’… I’m terribly sorry.

I too hate seeing the term ‘a dash’ in a recipe. It’s horrendously subjective! But it needs to be used since different brands of pumpkin puree (and the homemade version) all have very different consistencies and will thus require differing amounts of added liquid. I will leave this in your capable hands and trust you know the consistency of a batter.

You can do this. I believe in you.

Using almond flour worked brilliantly and I finally managed to make the gluten free, sweet waffle of my dreams! The first and third recipes are exactly the ones we used in the video. All three are very easy to put together because Galentine’s Day should never be stressful. Let’s begin with my most controversial waffle recipe… It might seem strange but it’s actually delicious and an excellent way to encourage veg-haters to try something new:

Celeriac Waffles Recipe:

Yes, that says ‘Celeriac’. No, it’s not disgusting. Yes, it does look like an Ood. (sorry if that just put you off eating)

 

450g grated celeriac

2 eggs

½ tsp garlic granules

½ tsp onion granules

½ tsp salt

½ tsp ground black pepper

•      Heat the waffle iron and grease if necessary.
•      Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
•      Dollop batter into the waffle iron (about ¼ cup or 60g per waffle)
•      Cook for 5 minutes

Notes

I genuinely deeply enjoyed these waffles. I kept a batch in the fridge for the next day and crisped them up in the oven to use like toast for cream cheese and smoked salmon. It tasted so good I almost cried.

If you’re a weirdo like me who enjoys mixing sweet and savoury things then I would say ‘go for it’ and liberally sprinkle the sweetener of your choice over the top of these babies. They’re so crêpe-y and delicious!

 

 

Pumpkin Waffles Recipe:

 

350g almond flour

175g pumpkin puree

15g powdered Splenda

2 medium eggs

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla essence

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ginger

¼ tsp sea salt

•      Heat the waffle iron and grease if necessary.
•      Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
•      Dollop batter into the waffle iron (about ¼ cup or 60g per waffle)
•      Cook for 7 minutes

Notes

Remember that almond flour is not the same thing as ground almonds; it is a lot finer! You can find almond flour in some supermarkets, health food shops and I’ve even found it in Middle Eastern corner shops before… But if you can’t lay your hands on almond flour (then substitute for other, similar flours. You could use coconut flour but make sure to use less of it because it soaks up every darn bit of moisture around!

If you’re using regular sugar rather than Splenda then just times the amount by 10. This recipe is equally delicious with the sweetener taken out entirely.

Serve with whipped cream and maple syrup!

Sweet Potato Waffles Recipe:

 

600g mashed sweet potato (skins removed)

2 large eggs

300g grated cheddar cheese

½ tsp salt

½ tsp ground black pepper

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp garlic powder

•      Heat the waffle iron and grease if necessary.
•      Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
•      Dollop batter into the waffle iron (about ¼ cup or 60g per waffle)
•      Cook for 5 minutes

Notes

I vastly overfilled the waffle iron on this one but it still held together remarkably well despite being not-entirely-cooked in the centre. Don’t be me though, do actually follow the advice on the side of the waffle box.

This recipe would be AMAZING with bacon on top… I can’t actually process bacon so I haven’t eaten it in 10 years but the smell alone tells me that everything is better with bacon.

It would also be lovely with 3 tablespoons of chopped chives in the mix and some grated Parmesan on top!