One of the issues I have with hitting the gym (or a CrossFit class) in the early mornings is that it kind of screws up normal mealtimes. I also cannot eat a big meal before exercising or I will get crampy so most days I grab a Lara bar and call it my morning meal. Then when I get home I debate whether or not to fix a meal for myself (everyone is still sleeping) or snack until we can eat a meal together. Either way I usually have a cravings for breakfast style foods whether it is actually breakfast time or lunch. Pancakes is one thing I LOVE to eat post workout.

Today was one of those days when I just grabbed a banana and waited until lunch time before I made my first big meal of the day. I wanted a change of pace from our usual coconut pancakes but my order from Tropical Traditions arrived just as a I got home with Organic Maple Syrup. Yum! This is my fave maple syrup ever! So, to mix it up I made cheesy french toast pancakes. Okay the name is lame but they taste like french toast without the toast and in a pancake form with just a hint of fried cheesecake in the middle. Seriously good and they are grain free and lacto-paleo.

Creamy French Toast Pancakes Recipe

4 pastured eggs
8 ounces (one package) organic full fat cream cheese
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cap full pure vanilla
Coconut oil for cooking (we use Tropical Traditions coconut oil)
Pure maple syrup

Mix up in a good blender (I am partial to the Vita-Mix) and pour on to your cast iron skillet or griddle, aiming for pancakes about six inches in diameter. Use cooking oil to grease your pan/griddle if need be. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side. They will be a glorious golden brown. Top with pure maple syrup and enjoy!

This recipe makes about 15 thin pancakes and three of us gobbled them all up today so if you have a big family you may want to double this recipe.

Added to Traditional Tuesdays

Yesterday I decided to try a recipe I found on Primal Palate. It was soooooo darn yummy that I made it again today. It is actually really easy too, it just takes 45 minutes to cook and it is best if you let it cool and stew in the sauce/juices for awhile but the actual cooking part is a piece of cake. I edited the original recipe to make a few slight changes and I doubled the recipe to make more chicken. OMGoodness!

First you melt two tablespoons pastured butter in an oven safe skillet along with two teaspoons of powdered ginger, a teaspoon of garlic salt, and one cube of frozen garlic (I got mine from Trader Joe’s). Add two teaspoons fish sauce and 1/2 cup of Coconut Aminos and bring to a bubble.

I just started using Raw Organic Coconut Aminos instead of soy sauce (which often has wheat) and I LOVE the stuff! Where have you been all my life?!?!

After salting and peppering all the chicken legs (skin on, pastured) I throw them in the skillet with the sauce, making sure to coat them well. They get baked for 45 minutes at 425 degrees. About halfway through I take a spoon and scoop up the bubbly sauce and drench the legs with it again. Let them sit for about 20-30 minutes and serve. Yum, yum!

I used my Xtrema ceramic skillet for this recipe. Perfect!

I simply love this recipe for Hot and Sour Soup. It takes the classic soup that we love from our favorite Asian restaurants and mixes it up a bit. This recipe can also me made a variety of different ways because I used to gobble it down when I was a vegetarian as well (minus the fish and Worcestershire). You can use chicken, shrimp, tofu, or just use extra mushrooms and make it meatless. No matter which way I make it, I LOVE it.

The Marinade:

1/2 cup sake or rice wine vinegar (I typically use sake)
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon salt

Soup Ingredients:

6 cups chicken or vegetable broth/stock
1 1/2 pounds firm fleshed fish (haddock, red snapper, trout)
1 1/2 cups green onions, chopped
1/2 cup dried wood ears (soaked for 20 minutes, and cut into strips)
1/4 cup dried Shitake mushrooms or large handful fresh oyster mushrooms
3/4 pound snow peas (snap the ends and remove strings)
5 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar or Worcestershire sauce
4 tablespoons soy sauce (I use gluten free)
3 tablespoons fresh minced ginger
2 tablespoons dried seaweed flakes
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Cut the fish into bite size chunks and add to the Marinade for 1 to 2 hours. Pour the broth into a dutch oven or stock pot and add the fish, onions, and soaked wood ears and mushrooms. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium to simmer for 5 minutes. Skim any impurities that foam at the top and add snow peas.

Add the black vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, salt and pepper, and sesame oil. Stir well and remove from heat. Take your beaten eggs and slowly add them to the soup, stirring in a thin stream around the edge of the pot. Serve and enjoy!

This soup is excellent for winter wellness and nourishing the body during cold and flu season. The ginger heats up your body to fight any germs that may be taking hold of you and the wood ears are also very good for you. Wood ears are a black herbal fungus that have been used in tonics by the Chinese for thousands of years. They are great for digestive troubles and energy levels. You can order them online if you don’t have a good Asian market in your area. If you don’t have any you can use oyster mushrooms instead.

This recipe is adapted from one found in one of my fave all time cookbooks: A Spoonful of Ginger: Irresistible, Health-Giving Recipes from Asian Kitchens.

I grew up eating pineapple oatmeal breakfast cookies and for many months now I have had a hankering for some. This past weekend I asked my mom for a refresher course on how to make them and after adapting the recipe a wee bit I have made these cookies for breakfast all week long. They are so simple and easy to make (12 minutes total for prep and cooking) and they taste delicious. They are one of the few ways I will eat oatmeal actually and they are surprisingly filling without being heavy. They keep me satiated for hours and I can eat them prior to hitting the gym without cramping up. This recipe serves one (4 cookies), since I eat my breakfast alone most mornings, but it can be doubled as needed for more servings.

My whole family enjoys these…

Pineapple Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies Recipe

1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup crushed pineapple (fresh or canned)
1 pastured egg
1 T quinoa flour
1/2 T flaxseed meal
1 T whole wheat flour
1 t baking soda
4-5 drops liquid Stevia, or 1-2 teaspoons of another natural sweetener
Pinch of cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together. You should have a wet dough but not so wet that it won’t clump together. If it is too wet add more flour. Scoop onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees or 10 minutes. Eat them warm and enjoy!

Important Notes: You can eliminate the tablespoon of whole wheat flour if you take a tablespoon or more of the oats and grind them into flour. If you use canned pineapple, drain the juice first. Ideally you will also want to use soaked oats to make sure the phytic acid is deactivated and that the cookies are as nourishing as possible. One good way to do this is to soak your oats overnight in water with a couple tablespoons of dairy kefir. Then drain off the water and spread them thinly on a dehydrator sheet and dehydrate them. You can also use a cookie sheet and a low temperature in the stove. Once dry you can use the oats for this recipe and you can make big batches of them so that you have some at the ready.

With the arrival of Fall I have been craving pumpkins. Mostly I want some of my mom’s homemade pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting but me left alone during the day with that cake is a recipe for disaster. So I got creative and adapted my post workout shake to make it pumpkin flavored instead. Delish!

Pumpkin Pie Protein Shake

1 Cup almond milk
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (no soy!)
1/2 cup pumpkin
1 half banana
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice or a sprinkling of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice
A handful of ice cubes

Blend together and enjoy!

I used banana because I almost always choose fruit to sweeten stuff before using a processed sweetener but I could have used coconut sugar in this. I couldn’t even taste the banana though, so it worked for me. I also  highlighted that I chose a no soy protein powder. It has nothing to with taste… I just detest unfermented soy products. Most protein powders have soy, so be on the lookout if you also avoid soy. Enjoy!