Primal Pancakes

It’s Shrove Tuesday today and traditionally the day for eating pancakes!

According to Christian tradition this day is all about being ‘shriven’ (to confess and be absolved of your sins) before a period of penance (oh for heaven’s sake!).

Otherwise known as “Fat Tuesday”, (much more realistic terminology, I think) in Catholic and Protestant countries outside of the UK, Ireland, Australia and Canada - presumably because it’s an excuse for a day of feasting on rich food before a period of fasting.

Since I neither desire to be “shriven” from my sins nor get fat, I can’t see why it can’t be pancake day every day once you’ve got the knack of making them grain and gluten-free! These crêpes are so close to the real thing no one will tell the difference.

According to Historic UK a pancake is a thin, flat cake, made of batter and fried in a frying pan - so are ours! Traditional English pancakes (and French crêpes) are very thin and are served immediately - so are ours! Golden syrup or lemon juice and caster sugar are the usual toppings for pancakes - okay we’ll pass on the golden syrup in favour of real maple syrup, the caster sugar in favour of coconut sugar or, better still, no sugar at all if we choose oranges instead of lemons!

I’ve kept this recipe simple and made them child-friendly as well as healthy - though I suppose we should still limit ourselves to just two pancakes each!  I hope you enjoy.

Basic Pancake Batter Ingredients (V) (Makes 8 pancakes for 4 servings)

Ingredients

225ml (8 fl oz) raw whole milk (or almond milk, if preferred)

3 large eggs

30g (1 oz) organic ground almonds

45g (1½ oz) coconut flour

40g (1½ oz) arrowroot flour

15g (1 tbsp) coconut oil

1 tbsp clear, preferably raw (unheated) organic honey

½ tsp apple cider vinegar

½ tsp baking powder

To Serve

Orange or lemon juice

Orange or lemon wedges

Organic maple syrup or raw coconut palm sugar (the latter crushed fine in a pestle and mortar or alternatively with the end of a rolling pin in a pudding basin)

Instructions

Place all the ingredients for the batter into a blender and blend thoroughly until it is smooth and the consistency of pouring cream - add a little more milk or water if it seems too thick.

Heat a 20cm (8 inch) non-stick pancake pan until it is hot. Lightly oil or butter the pan, then ladle in just enough of the batter (about 3 tablespoons) to coat the base thinly. Working quickly, immediately tilt and turn the pan in a clockwise direction to spread the batter evenly - the pancakes should be as thin as possible.

Fry over a medium-high heat for 30-60 seconds until just set. Flip over with a palette knife and continue to cook for a further 30 seconds. Serve immediately.

Or to make a batch, slide the pancake onto a large warm plate (set over a pan of just simmering water) and cover loosely with cling film. Repeat this process until all the batter has been used to make 8 pancakes.

When you are ready to eat, sprinkle each pancake with freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice and maple syrup (or coconut sugar), fold in half, then in half again to form triangles.

Serve sprinkled with a little more juice, extra sweetener and wedges of lemon or orange if liked.

Notes

Use a ladle (or jug) to pour all the batter into the pan in one go so it doesn’t set before it has chance to spread out evenly.

The side of the pancake fried last never looks as nice, so make sure that it’s this side that becomes the inside of the pancake when you fold it into a triangle.

Carbohydrate 10g Protein 6g - per pancake

Carbohydrate 14g Protein 0g  - per serving of orange/lemon juice/maple syrup per pancake

Primal Perfect Shortbread

These Primal Perfect Shortbread biscuits are wonderful with a cup of tea but when I was making them I transported myself in my mind to a quintessential Best of British afternoon tea party, where they could be rightfully celebrated dolled up with the first strawberries of the season and cream. No doubt this idea will manifest as a future recipe on Primal Plate!

For now, they are a simple pleasure to share and enjoy without spiralling into a sugar and starch overload. Classic shortbread contains just three ingredients: flour, white sugar and butter. Grains and refined sugar are both strictly off-limits for low carbers, so I’ve fiddled and diddled around with various ingredients (good quality butter is still compulsory!) and I think that this Primal Perfect Shortbread comes very close to the real thing.

True, it is much darker in colour than the pale gold of Scottish shortbread due to the coconut palm sugar (my shortbread is only that pale gold before it goes into the oven!) but at the same time it’s this coconut sugar that gives a slight gritty texture, synonymous with shortbread recipes that suggest adding polenta for extra crunch. Also, coconut sugar combined with my ‘secret’ ingredient Ndali vanilla essence makes for a truly scrumptious butterscotch flavour to this shortbread, which in our house has proven to be quite addictive.

You might think, judging by the recipes I’ve posted to date, I have a sweet tooth, which in fact I don’t. What I want to demonstrate is that eating no grains, no refined sugar and low carb foods does not mean missing out. Nor does it mean that if you indulge yourself sensibly, you’re going to get fat or sick.

I get a buzz from sharing these delicious, nutritionally sound, low-carb versions of everyone’s favourite foods, knowing that they are the key to effortless weight loss and better health. Equally, I like to confound expectations that something, somehow, must get lost in translation if you’re eating low-carb, relatively high fat food (no hydrogenated/trans fats here please!) and baking without flour and refined sugar!

In my view, you can forget about Walkers because nothing comes close to a real-food version of plain home-baked shortbread. Not too naughty, just very, very nice.

Primal Perfect Shortbread Recipe (V) (Makes 12 pieces)

Ingredients

90g (3 oz) salted butter (if you’re not using salted, add a pinch of salt)

160g (6 oz) ground almonds 

40g (1½ oz) raw coconut palm sugar

25g (1oz) organic coconut flour

15g (½ oz) arrowroot powder

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 130℃/ 250℉/ Gas mark ½

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over a low heat.

In a medium bowl, mix together the ground almonds, coconut sugar, coconut flour, arrowroot and baking powders (and pinch of salt, if using).

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the melted butter and vanilla essence. Stir thoroughly so everything is mixed together really well. Then using your hand, squash it together into a soft, cohesive dough. 

Lay a sheet of non-stick baking parchment on top of a baking tray then put the dough directly on top of the paper and pat it down flat. 

Continue to pat or lightly roll it out until it’s an even 1 cm thick round circle (I use an 8 inch cake tin liner placed under the parchment paper to get the right size and shape and a piece of cling film laid on top to save my hands or the rolling pin getting too greased up) - if the dough splits or tears just press it back together with your fingers but don’t overwork it, the less you handle it, the better.

Once it’s the shape you want, use the prongs of a fork to mark the outside edge and score lines across the shortbread so it can be broken into individual biscuits later. Rest the dough by chilling in the fridge for 15 minutes. 

Put the baking tray in the oven and cook for about an hour.

Let it cool completely before serving. These biscuits will be delicious for several days stored in an airtight tin or container, though I suggest you hide the tin if you want them to last that long!

Notes

I make the coconut sugar a little bit finer for this recipe by grinding it down in a pestle and mortar. If you don't have one of these you could try passing the sugar through a coarse metal sieve instead.

Carbohydrate 6g Protein 3g - per  biscuit

Walnut & Banana Bread

If you think that over-ripe bananas are just too unappetising to eat and are really only fit for throwing away, then this scrumptious recipe should make you think again!

Walnut & Banana Bread seemed an obvious choice for our breakfast today as I had several brown and mottled bananas in my fruit bowl that were crying out to be converted into a banana bread. Not only is this recipe a pleasure to make, the smell, reminiscent of treacle toffee, which pervades the air as it cooks, is fantastic. 

Eat whilst still warm from the oven, generously buttered. A mug of hot spicy Organic Three Cinnamon Tea works well for me. It is the perfect antidote to a cold winter’s day.

Walnut & Banana Bread (makes 16 servings)

Ingredients

75g (3 oz) organic coconut flour (I use Tiana)

100g (3½ oz) ground almonds

60g (2½ oz) walnuts, roughly chopped into smallish pieces

45g (1½ oz) raw coconut palm sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp sea salt

400g (14oz) unpeeled weight, over-ripe bananas, mashed well with a fork

100g (3½ oz) butter melted + extra butter for greasing 

4 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180C degrees.

Grease a 8.5 x 4.5 loaf pan with butter then place a cut strip of parchment paper to fit along the bottom of the loaf pan and up the short sides.

In a medium-sized bowl combine the coconut flour, almond flour, chopped walnuts, coconut sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt and mix with a fork to reduce any clumps.

In a separate bowl whisk eggs, vanilla extract and melted butter together. Add the mashed banana and whisk more until well combined.

Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry and stir with a rubber spatula until thoroughly combined.

Spoon the batter into the loaf pan and spread it out evenly with a spatula.

Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the centre comes out clean.

Take out of the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes or so. 

Run a knife around the edges of the loaf tin to make sure nothing is sticking, then cautiously invert it onto a wire cooling rack, peel off the parchment paper and carefully turn it over so the bottom of the loaf lies flat against the rack. 

Let it cool for another 20 minutes or so before slicing. 

Notes

I’ve used raw coconut palm sugar as a sweetener because unlike most sugar it’s real food that offers solid nutritional benefits i.e. it’s not just sugar. See more information here. Nevertheless, sugar is sugar and, in my view, all sugar should come with a health warning! Enjoy this walnut and banana loaf as a sweet treat in moderation.

To store, wrap in a paper towel and keep refrigerated.

Although this still eats well at room temperature, you can enjoy any leftovers by slicing and gently frying in butter. Also, lovely toasted.

Carbohydrate  9g Protein  5g - per slice

Nut & Seed Granola à la Paleo Trail-Mix

The headlines in yesterday’s papers caught my eye. A lack of exercise could be killing over 600,000 people a year in Europe and, according to the 12 year study by Cambridge University researchers, inactivity is proven to be twice as deadly as obesity! Furthermore, inactive thin people have a higher risk of health problems,  which suggests to me that obese people who exercise are in a better state of health than thin people who do not!

Don’t panic! You simply need to put on a pair of walking shoes and go for a walk! Walking became an integral part of my ‘get well soon’ strategy just over a year ago, which was when I first discovered Mark Sisson’s Primal Blueprint.

I believe that it’s the little things done often that can have the most impact on your life. Last year, walking at a moderate pace for 30-40 minutes five times a week on average, I clocked up 626 miles (1000 kilometres), which is the equivalent of walking from Penzance to Dundee! And I burned 39,500 calories in the process! How fabulous is that for minimal effort? Fat or thin, regular walking at a moderate pace (not the same as a gentle stroll!) is the easiest way to keep yourself fit.

Anyway, my husband is already ahead of the game. Even before this latest scientific revelation from Cambridge University, he had upped the anti for my exercise regime to 800 miles in 2015. Sounds good to me.

Probably one of the most frequent questions I’m asked about my diet is “What do you have for breakfast?” I assume what they mean is that most people choose cereal or toast, if only for convenience. If this is true for you, the recipe today is a breakfast ‘cereal’ without the cereal. Namely, a Paleo version of granola that is made entirely from nuts, seeds, raw honey and coconut oil.

I like mine for breakfast with raw milk, which I buy from Gazegill Organics. But it’s also great to eat by the handful when you’re on the move. Pack some into a ziplock bag when you’re going to be out and about and you don’t know where your next meal’s coming from. It is a satisfyingly crunchy, sweet and healthy snack, which eaten on its own boasts a mere 14 grams of carbohydrate per adult serving.

You can use any combination of nuts and seeds you like but we find this recipe particularly pleasing…

Nut & Seed Granola à la Paleo Trail-Mix (18 servings) (V)

Ingredients

55g Brazil nuts, chopped into rough pieces
75g raw whole almonds
100g flaked almonds
110g cashew nuts
150g raw pistachio nuts
75g pecan nuts
70g walnuts
70g macadamia nuts
50g hazelnuts
30g chia seeds
70g sunflower seeds
70g pumpkin seeds
75g flaked coconut

25g coconut oil
50g organic honey

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 140℃ Gas Mark 1.

Line two large baking trays with a silicon baking mat or non-stick baking parchment.

Weigh out all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl - you should have a total weight of 1 kg of nuts and seeds.

Melt the coconut oil and honey in a small saucepan over a low heat until just liquid.

Pour the liquid coconut oil and honey over the nuts and seeds and mix together well with a large spatula.

Spread the nuts and seeds out evenly between the two baking trays - they should be in a single layer.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Take both trays out of the oven and, using a couple of flat wide spatulas turn the nuts and seeds over and around to ensure even cooking.

Return to the oven for another 15 minutes. Repeat the above process, making sure the more golden coloured nuts are moved to the centre of the tray and the less so to the outer edge.

Return to the oven for a final 15 minutes cooking time. Take out of the oven (total cooking time 45 minutes) and allow the mixture to cool on the trays.

When the granola is cooled, break up any big clumps into smaller pieces with your hands.

Store in an airtight container.

Carbohydrate 14g Protein 10g - per serving

Chocolate Banana Muffins

You will probably have noticed how Primal Plate posts to date have been biased in favour of low-carb replacements for those ‘naughty but nice foods’ that you’ve always been happy to eat, but might have assumed were essentially off the radar for low carb life-stylers. 

Introducing Primal Plate with Grain-Free Bread, Spiced Fruit Scotch Pancakes and Chocolate Banana Muffins is quite deliberate; a ploy to explode the myth that eating grain-free is an uncomfortably restrictive diet plan. 

That said, these relatively healthy alternatives are not intended to be eaten every day. Carbohydrate intake is the deciding factor in gaining or losing weight and the sweet spot for losing those extra pounds is between 50 to 100 grams of carbohydrate per day. 

One of these Chocolate Banana Muffins uses up 28 grams… so go steady, these are only intended as an occasional treat!

Chocolate Banana Muffins (Makes 6 Muffins)

Ingredients

100g (1 cup) ground almonds                

40g (¼ cup) organic coconut flour

1 level tsp baking powder                

½ level tsp sea salt

1 level tsp cinnamon

½ level tsp nutmeg

30g (2 tbsp) organic coconut oil, melted        

3 large eggs

85g (¼ cup) raw coconut nectar (or maple syrup)        

2 tsp vanilla essence

2 medium-large mashed ripe bananas (300g unpeeled weight)

50g (¼ cup) dark chocolate chips (70% cocoa solids)        

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180ºC (350º F).

Mix dry ingredients (ground almonds, coconut flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg) well in a large bowl. 

Beat the eggs and mix in the rest of the wet ingredients (coconut oil, bananas, coconut nectar, vanilla). 

Combine the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients mixing well. 

Fold in chocolate chips. 

Pour into cupcake liners in a muffin tin (about ¾ of the way full).

Bake for 30 minutes. 

Carbohydrate 28g Protein 9g - per muffin

Spiced Fruit Scotch Pancakes with Orange & Apricot Syrup

Tuesday 17th February 2015 is Pancake Day!  It must be at least 25 years since I last allowed myself the indulgence of eating pancakes. My prohibition began with the Hay System Diet, a diet that promotes separating food into three meals a day - one meal carbohydrate, one protein and the third entirely alkaline. I followed the Hay Diet, which subsequently evolved into Vegetarian food combining, for over two decades.

Pancakes are normally made of wheat-flour, eggs and milk, that is to say, high starch wheatflour, protein eggs and milk and, if you’re a traditionalist like me, alkaline lemon juice to serve. Add to this the generous quantity of refined sugar people like to sprinkle on top, for Food Combiners and Atkin dieters (that dietary exploration came later!) pancakes were probably one of my most obvious dietary ‘no nos’ of all time. Until now…

Thanks to this brilliant grain-free pancake batter recipe all things ‘pancake’ have been at the forefront of my mind recently - big time! Sweet or savoury, perfect pancakes have the potential to fill so many of the previous gaps in my culinary repertoire. 

Spiced Fruit Scotch Pancakes is my first offering. Stacked high and served with sugar-free Orange & Apricot Syrup and perhaps a dollop of creme fraiche, it makes for a very impressive dessert when entertaining. Alternatively, leave out the fruit and spice and serve these little beauties plain for a lazy Sunday breakfast, perhaps accompanied by a mixed berry compote (recipe to follow in due course!) or with fresh blueberries and a drizzle of maple syrup. 

Spiced Fruit Scotch Pancakes (Makes 16) (V)

Basic Pancake Batter Ingredients

180ml (¾ cup) raw whole milk (or almond milk, if preferred)

3 large eggs

30g organic ground almonds

45g Sukrin reduced fat organic coconut flour

40g arrowroot flour

15g (1 tbsp) coconut oil

1 tbsp clear, preferably raw (unheated) organic honey

½ tsp apple cider vinegar

½ tsp baking powder

Plus:

1 tsp mixed spice

85g (½ cup) mixed dried fruit e.g. currants, sultanas, raisins, cranberries

Instructions

Blend all the basic pancake batter ingredients in a blender. Fold in the mixed spice and mixed dried fruit. Set aside. 

Add some coconut oil to a pre-heated non-stick frying pan.

Drop good tablespoons of batter into the pan (one spoonful per pancake - obviously these need to be cooked in batches). 

Even them out slightly with the back of a spoon then leave alone to cook for 2 - 3 minutes (small bubbles will appear on the surface when they’re ready to turn). 

Cook for 2 minutes more, until the pancakes are cooked through, then remove from the pan. Cover with a tea towel to stop them drying out.

To serve, warm through in a low oven and stack them into a tower on each plate, allowing four to five per person.

Drizzle Orange and Apricot Syrup around the pancake stack and top with a spoonful of creme fraiche, if liked.

Carbohydrate 8g Protein 3g - per pancake with fruit

If you don’t like dried fruit or you want to minimise your carb intake, just cook 3-4 tablespoons of the basic pancake batter first...  

Carbohydrate 5g Protein 3g - per pancake w/o fruit

Orange & Apricot Syrup (4 servings) (V)

Ingredients

2 heaped tbsp All-Fruit Apricot Conserve (St Dalfour’s range of all natural 100% fruit spreads are available in most supermarkets and health food shops) 

Juice & finely grated zest of 1 large orange, preferably organic

1 tbsp clear, preferably raw, organic honey (or 1 tbsp Sukrin icing sugar)

Instructions

Heat all the ingredients together in a small saucepan over a low to medium heat for 3-4 minutes.

When bubbling and slightly reduced, pass through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing as much of the apricot flesh through as possible.

Return to a clean pan and gently warm through when ready to serve.

Carbohydrate 18g Protein 1g - per serving (made with honey)

Carbohydrate 14g Protein 1g - per serving (made with Sukrin icing sugar)

Grain-Free Bread

Just over a year ago I decided to ditch all grains including bread, pizza, pasta, cakes, rice and corn together with potatoes, sugar, trans (hydrogenated) fats, high Omega 6 seed and vegetable oils and anything else that was highly processed, aka made in a factory. Cheerio to the last one standing, which for me was Pizza Express!

It wasn’t such a hardship. I’d been ill for several months and prescribed medication had done diddley-squit to improve my symptoms. My decision to go cold turkey with the steroids and address the problem naturally by re-focusing all my attention on my diet I now know probably saved my life - or at the very least, added more life to my years.

Once I got better, I wanted the comfort of carbs back in my life and so began my search for the perfect no-grain bread. This is where my search ended, on the Living Healthy With Chocolate website (although there's no chocolate in this recipe!)

Still warm from the oven and simply buttered I’d defy you to tell the difference. Thinly sliced and made into a chicken salad sandwich, it is to die for. Or try it toasted and topped with perfectly scrambled eggs or sautéed mushrooms in a creamy tarragon sauce. This is food fit for the gods! Plus, it sustains you like no wheat-based bread ever can!

Grain-Free Sandwich Bread (V)

Ingredients - dry

200g (2 cups) organic ground almonds

85g (½ cup) organic arrowroot powder

50g (⅓ cup + 1 tbsp) organic ground flaxseed

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 rounded tsp baking powder

1 tsp whole flaxseeds (to sprinkle on top)

Ingredients - wet

90g (6 tbsp  butter (or coconut oil)

4 large organic eggs, well-beaten until frothy

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

140g (½ cup) Greek plain yogurt (or coconut cream)

Instructions

In a small saucepan, melt the butter and let cool for 5 minutes.

Switch the oven on to 180C.

Grease an 8½” x 4½” medium loaf pan and line along the bottom and up the short sides with a long strip of non-stick parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix the almond flour, flaxseed meal, salt, baking powder and arrowroot powder.

Whisk melted butter together with the eggs, apple cider vinegar and yogurt.

Using a rubber spatula, gently mix wet and dry ingredients to form a batter being careful not to over mix or the batter will get oily and dense.

Pour batter into prepared loaf tin. 

Sprinkle top with whole flaxseeds.

Bake at 180C for 40 minutes - or until a metal skewer inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean.

Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then loosen around the edges with a spatula and turn out.

Let it cool completely on a wire rack and then cut into thin slices.

Notes

To preserve freshness, wrap the loaf in a paper towel, place inside an airtight container and keep refrigerated.

Carbohydrate 7g Protein 5g - per slice