Sourdough Pancakes (overnight)

So many sourdough pancake recipes just use the discard and don't let the flour soak so they aren't true sourdough.  Or they're complicated!  These are good and easy! 

For the Sponge:  
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour (white wheat is great) 
1 cup sourdough start, stirred down (fed or not) 
2 cups buttermilk 

Batter: 
2 eggs 
4 TBS butter, melted 
3 TBS honey or coconut sugar 
3/4 tsp salt 
1 tsp baking soda 

The night before you want pancakes, mix together the buttermilk and sourdough start with a whisk.  Then mix in the flour.  You may need to mix in up to a 1/2 cup of water to make it a nice batter, thick, but not too thick.  

Cover and let rest at room temperature for 8-12 hours.  

The "sponge" will rise up a bit and be a spongey texture.  

The next morning, mix together the eggs, butter, honey and salt in a small bowl.   Add to the overnight sponge and mix in until combined.   

Preheat a griddle.  

Add the baking soda, and stir just till combined.  Let rest for a few minutes as the batter expands and bubbles.  

Butter the griddle and pour 1/4 cup scoops on the griddle.  Cook about 2 min per side, watch for the bubbles forming and edges beginning to set before flipping.  Or you can make waffles.  

I usually double these and freeze any extras on a cookie sheet then put them in a freezer bag.  

Blender Sourdough Oat Pancakes

Super easy sourdough pancakes, which are great when you don't have time to let it ferment or you do!  

Add to blender:  
1 cup milk 
1 1/2 cups oats 
1 cup sourdough discard, stirred down 
1 TBS maple syrup or honey 
1 tsp vanilla 

Blend for about a minute until smooth. 

At this point, you can let it sit overnight for 8-12 hours, or you can continue on with adding the rest of the ingredients.  

Add now or in the morning:  

2 eggs 
3 TBS melted butter or olive oil 

Blend in the blender until mixed in.  If needed, add a little more milk so the mixture is more like pancake batter.   

In a small bowl mix together: 

3 tsp baking powder 
1/2 tsp baking soda 
1/4 tsp fine sea salt  

Add to the pancake batter and blend briefly until combined.   

Let rest for 5-10 minutes as the batter rises. 

Fry on a hot griddle.   

Old-Fashioned Oatmeal

Old-fashioned oatmeal is a great breakfast!     

I created this chart to adjust to the number of servings to make: 

Add water to a sauce pan and bring it to a boil.   Add rolled oats (use GF if gluten free).   Let simmer for 5 minutes, until thick and hearty.  

Scoop servings into a bowl.  Add a TBS of sweetener such as honey, and about 1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp cinnamon.  I also love adding 1/2 cup frozen fruit such as strawberries, peaches or blueberries.  Pour any kind milk on top if desired to make it creamier.   

Oat Blueberry Lemon Pancakes (GF)

Blend in blender:  

2-1/2 cups oats 
1/2 tsp salt 
1-2 TBS coconut sugar 
1 cup buttermilk (use 1-1/2 cups buttermilk with 1/2 cup milk for thicker pancakes)
1 cup milk (any kind) 
2 TBS butter, melted 
1 tsp vanilla 

Add and blend:  
1 egg 

Add more liquid if needed to have a hole in vortex while blending. 

Add and mix till blended: 
1 TBS Baking powder 

Pour into a bowl, gently fold in: 
1 tsp lemon zest 
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)  

Or: 
1 cup chopped strawberries 

Or:
1 cup finely chopped apples 
1/2 tsp cinnamon 

Blender Waffles (GF!)

 I love these waffles from Sue Gregg at www.suegregg.com.   This is how I make them.  This is a double recipe that I do in a blendtec blender.  

2-1/2 cup of buttermilk or other like yogurt (thinned to consistency to buttermilk.) or any kind of milk, but use less.  
2 TBS melted butter 
1 tsp vanilla 
1 cup oats 
1 cup brown rice 
2 egg 
1 tsp baking soda 
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt 
1 TBS sweetener, such as coconut sugar 

Preheat the waffle maker or griddle (if making pancakes.)  

In a powerful blender, add the liquid first, then the butter, vanilla and oats.  I usually blend this mixture 2 times on the smoothie button.  (About 2 minutes total.) 

Next this can sit overnight to improve digestibility, or you can move to the next step. 

Mix the baking soda, baking powder, salt and sweetener in a small bowl.  Set aside.  

Add two eggs to the blender.  Turn blender on low speed.  You may need to add a little more liquid to get a vortex going in the middle, but you don't want the batter too thin. 

After about 15-30 seconds to mix in the eggs,  slowly pour the contents of the small bowl into the blender (while it is still running.)  Let it run for a few more seconds, then turn off the blender.   

Let the batter rise for a minute or two. 

Spray the waffle iron with non stick spray.   Pour batter into the waffle iron.  Set a time for 3-4 minutes until golden brown and crispy.  (Or make pancakes on the griddle.)  

 

Cinnamon Apples

Peel and cube an apple into 1/2" cubes 
Put in a pot, and cover with water.
Simmer about 5 minutes on medium until tender. 
Drain apple. 
Add 1/2 TBS butter and 1/4 tsp cinnamon.  

Serve warm or cold.  Can add granola for an apple crisp!  

Crockpot Steel cut oats

We love steel cut oats, but they take a long time to cook up in the morning.  Solution?  Crockpot!  I had to play around with quite a few failed batches, but I got it!  This also makes a really big batch, so be forewarned. I have a 6 quart crockpot, so you may have to adjust to yours, but here are the basic directions: 

At night, put into your crockpot:

3 cups steel cut oats
11 cups liquid (I do 4 c. milk, 6-1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup buttermilk)
2 T butter (or coconut oil.  Can put up to 4 T butter if you prefer)
1 TBS cinnamon (optional)

Whisk ingredients together.  (It's OK if the butter is still in a chunk.)  Set crockpot to cook on low for 2 hours.  (Hopefully your crockpot is like mine, and will turn off and just keep it warm for the rest of the night.)  Open it up in the morning and it should be done and beautifully creamy. Sweeten to taste. It might burn a little around the edges, but I've never had that affect the taste of the oats.

Note on liquids:
Buttermilk is added to help break down phytic acids of the oats and make it more digestible.  I'm not sure how much it helps because you're cooking it right at the beginning, but it is in there!

You can do all water or all milk.  Milk just makes it creamier.

Smaller ratio:
2 cups steel cut oats
7-1/3 cups liquid (3 c. milk, 4 c. water, 1/3 c. buttermilk)
1-2T butter
2 tsp cinnamon

Crockpot Honey Sesame Chicken

So simple, so tasty.  

3 lbs boneless/skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs 
1 c honey 
1/2 cup soy sauce (or bragg's liquid aminos for GF or GF soy sauce) 
1/2 blended onion
1/4 c ketchup 
2 TBS Olive oil 
1 tsp garlic powder 
3 TBS cornstarch
6 TBS water 
Sesame Seeds 

Put chicken in the crockpot.  Combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil and garlic powder.  Pour over top of chicken.  Cook low 3-4 hours, or high 1.5-2.5 hours.  Take chicken out and shred or cut into bite size pieces (your preference).  Strain sauce if needed and put back into crockpot.  Mix cornstarch in water (I put it in a jar and shake it.)  Whisk cornstarch into sauce.  Put lid back on and simmer 10-15 more minutes until thickened.  Add chicken back to sauce when you want.  Serve over rice, sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.  

Quick Toasted Coconut Granola

You probably don't have too many granola emergencies, but there are times when you want it faster than two hours, and this is quick and easy.  

6 C. rolled oats (use GF oats if you want gluten free)
1 c. coconut
3/4 c. chopped or sliced almonds
1 TBS cinnamon
3/4 c. honey
3/8 c. coconut oil

Combine first 4 dry ingredients in a bowl.  In a large (family-size) electric skillet, melt honey and oil at about 350 degrees (med heat). Add dry to the honey/oil mixture and stir to coat.  Stir often to prevent burning for about 12 minutes.  Cool and it will get crunchy.

If you don't have a large electric skillet, you can half the recipe and do it in a smaller electric skillet or in a large frying pan.
 

Natural Pancake Toppers

What do you put on top of pancakes and waffles?  Here are some more natural options:  

Applesauce (natural kind, sugar free)

Apple butter (natural kind, sugar free)

Maple icing (1:1 ratio of maple syrup to vanilla yogurt)

Honey butter sauce (1:1 ratio of butter to honey, melt in pan)

Buttered maple syrup (2:1 ratio of butter to maple syrup, mix with stick blender)

Jam Syrup (1:1 ratio of fruit sweetened jam with water.  Mix together with stick blender.)

Cinnamon & Sugar (1:1 ratio of cinnamon and evaporated cane juice.  Spread butter on, then sprinkle.)

Berries & cream (thaw frozen berries or chop fresh strawberries.  serve with whipped cream - dairy or not)

Berry sauce (Place frozen berries in a pot, add water to about 1/2 the height of the berries.  Bring to a boil, let simmer until berries are soft.  Blend with a stick blender. Keep berry sauce simmering.  Put mix cornstarch and water in a jar at a 1:1 ratio - start with 1 TBS of each.  Shake it up.  Slowly pour into berry sauce while whisking.  Add more cornstarch to get thickness you like.  Add 1 tsp of vanilla.  Then add agave, honey or stevia to taste.)

Tips: Pinhole or put in squirt container so you don't pour too much

Soaked Buttermilk Cornbread

This is even better than the regular buttermilk cornbread recipe I posted earlier.  And it's more digestible because the grains are soaked first.  

Mix together and soak for at least 7 hours:
2 cups cornmeal
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (Soft white wheat)
2 cups buttermilk

When you're ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 and mix in:
4 eggs,
2/3 to 1 c honey (depending on how sweet you want it)
1/2 c. olive, coconut oil or butter

When mixed, add:
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda

Spread in greased (or lined with parchment paper) 15x10x1 jelly roll pan or 9x13 glass pan. (You can also make 24 muffins, but who wants to wash muffin pans? Not me!)   Bake at 350 for 12-18 minutes in the jelly roll pan, or 22-28 minutes in the glass pan.  The center should be set and the top & edges should begin to be golden.

Serve with butter on top.  Can also drizzle honey over the top.

Old-Fashioned Coconut Brown Rice Pudding

I always like to make a big batch of brown rice and then use the leftovers.  This is a relatively quick and yummy whole grain rice pudding. 

1 can coconut milk (Could sub cow's milk - 2 c. Rice milk separates. Almond milk may work)
2 c. cooked brown rice
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 to 1/2 c. sweetener (agave, honey, maple syrup) - depending on how sweet you prefer, I usually go for 1/3 to 1/2 with hone.
1/2 c. raisins (optional)
5 eggs

Mix everything together in a bowl.  Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and bake for about 35-40 minutes at 350, or until set.

Soaked overnight fridge muesli

This is a yummy, quick breakfast or snack.  Half my kids won't eat it (they don't like the texture of chia seeds) but a few of us like it a lot!  It's simple to make and to eat any time.

1 cup oats (use GF oats for gluten free)
1-1/2 cup milk (or rice milk or almond milk, or whatever milk)
2 TBS lemon juice
1 TBS chia seeds
1 cup frozen or fresh fruit, chopped
2 TBS sweetener (agave, honey -hard to mix in - or equivalent amount of stevia)

Put it all in a quart jar and shake it up.  Can add 1 TBS buckwheat flour or other flour if you want to make it even more digestable!

Flavors:
Maple blueberry (could add lemon zest)
Triple berry (costco mix)
Honey Strawberry
Mandarin Orange (sub 1/2 cup OJ for 1/2 c of milk)

Update:  This works just fine without the chia seeds for those who don't like them.  Just omit, and use the same ingredients as above.

GF Raspberry muffin cake

This actually tastes good and isn't crumbly like many gluten free muffins are.  Adapted from this recipe at www.eatnourishing.com. High protein so they're filling!

1/2 c coconut oil 
1/4 c butter 
3/4 c honey 
12 eggs 
2 tsp vanilla 
1/2 tsp sea salt 
1/2 tsp baking soda 
1 c coconut flour (can make this by blending unsweetened coconut shreds in the blender, but purchased flour is much more fine.) 
1/2 to 1 c fresh or frozen raspberries

Preheat oven to 325.  In a small saucepan, melt on low heat the coconut oil, butter and honey.  When just melted enough to mix, remove from heat.  Let cool for a few minutes. 

Meanwhile, crack eggs (yes 12 of them) into a large bowl.  Add vanilla and then mix in the honey mixture.  Mix the salt and baking soda into the coconut flour.  Slowly add coconut flour to egg mix while whisking constantly.  Pour into greased 9x13 pan.  Bake until center is set and edges are golden brown, approx 40-45 minutes.   (half batch takes 25-28 minutes.)  

Add about 1/2 to 1 c raspberries on top after you put the batter in. 

When cool, slice into squares.  Keep refrigerated.  I think.  

Variation:  Lemon Blueberry

Omit vanilla.  Add 1 TBS lemon juice plus 2 tsp lemon zest.  Add 1/2 to 1 c blueberries instead of raspberries.  

Strawberry Baked Oatmeal

This is a delicious baked oatmeal that everyone loves.  Except my husband who hates strawberries.  I still cannot figure out how anyone can not like strawberries...  You can substitute blueberries, but we all like it way better with strawberries. 

5 cups regular rolled oats
1 TBS baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups milk (can sub rice or almond milk)
4 large eggs1/4 c. melted butter
2/3 cup honey
1-2 tsp vanilla
2 cups chopped fresh or frozen strawberries


Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Combine all wet ingredients except strawberries in a medium bowl.  Add wet to dry and still till mixed.  Fold in strawberries.  Pour mixture in greased 9x13 pan. 

Bake 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and set in the middle. 

You can serve this with milk and/or butter on top, but it's delicious as is. 

Oatmeal Apple Bars

Tasty for a snack or breakfast.  And gluten free! 

3 c. rolled oats (not quick)
2-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBS cinnamon
6 TBS sweetener (honey, agave, or sucanat)

1 can coconut milk

2 eggs
1/2 c applesauce
1/4 c melted butter
2 tsp vanilla
1 apple, diced.

Mix all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.  Mix all the wet ingredients in a small bowl.  Add the wet to the dry.  Stir in the apple dices.  Pour into greased 9x13 pan.  Bake 350 for 25-30 minutes. 

Buttermilk Waffles

These are 100% whole grain, but they look like they're made from white flour!  

1 c. white wheat pastry grains
2 c. buttermilk
2 eggs
2 T melted butter or olive oil
1/2 tsp vanilla 
2- 3 T honey or sucanat 
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder 
1/2 tsp salt

The night before you want to eat waffles, put 1 c. white wheat pastry grains  into 2 c. buttermilk (if your buttermilk is super thick, use 1-1/2 c buttermilk & 1/2 cup water.)  Blend in powerful blender (like blendtec) for about 2 minutes, or until smooth.  Let sit for at least 7 hrs in the covered blender.

When you're ready to cook the waffles, preheat the waffle irons.  Add the eggs, oil, vanilla and honey.  Blend until mixed.  You want a good vortex going in the middle, so add more water if necessary.  Mix together the baking soda, baking powder & salt.  Turn the blender on low speed and pour in the dry mix slowly.  Once it is added, turn off the blender and let it sit for 5 minutes.

Spray the waffle irons with oil.  Pour batter in and cook for 2.5 to 3 minutes. 

Coconut German Pancake with Apple Pie topping

This disappeared so fast that I'm afraid I'll have to make TWO next time. This recipe is adapted from www.freecoconutrecipes.com.

2-3 TBS coconut oil (best quality)
1/2 tsp real salt
1/3 c. coconut flour (or blend coconut in seed grinder)
6 TBS arrowroot powder
8 eggs (farm fresh)
1 c. coconut milk

Preheat oven to 425. Spread the coconut oil thick and generously in a 9x13 pan. Mix together salt, flour and powder. In another bowl, mix eggs and coconut milk together. Whisk liquid into dry and mix well. Pour into prepared 9x13 pan. Bake 20-25 minutes until set and golden on top.

Meanwhile, prepare the apple pie filling:

3 large apples, chopped
1 tsp cinnamon
2 TBS butter
2 TBS honey

Mix apples with cinnamon. Melt butter & honey in skillet. Add apples and stir fry until apples are soft.

Serve german pancake with butter and apple pie filling on top.

NOTE ADDED: Don't forget to add the milk. Not so fun. Still edible, but not nearly as tasty. :)

Instant Oatmeal

It's better to soak your oatmeal first to make it more digestable, but this is a nice quick breakfast option to have around.

4 c. rolled oats (GF with gluten free oats)
1/2 c. sweetener (sucanat, evaporated cane juice, sugar, etc)
1 tsp real salt
2/3 c. Coconut milk powder (you can use dry milk, but coconut is healthier!)
1-1/2 tsp cinnamon

Pulse the rolled oats in the food processor 8-10 times. Mix all the ingredients together and put in a container with the directions:

2/3 c. mix
1/2 TBS dried blueberries, apples, raisins
1 c. boiling water

This way you don't have to put everything in individual baggies as "packets" - which is a whole lot more work and a lot more wasteful.

OPTIONAL:
Before you mix it all together, take 1/3 c. sweetener and add 1 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp butter. Bake in 250 oven for about 1 hr or until dry. Pulse in the blender. It expands from the butter so you need less sweetener. You may want to store this in the fridge if you're not going to eat it quickly.

I tripled the batch and put it in a big container. Of course, I also have 7 children including two teens!

Whole Grain Banana Bread Muffins

Great texture, yummy, non refined. And they have the added bonus that you don't have to throw out those black bananas that are too gross to even put in a fruit shake.

3-1/2 C. soft white wheat (aka whole wheat pastry flour)
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2/3 c. good fat - olive oil, coconut oil, or softened butter (can also sub 1/3 c. applesauce)
3/4 c. honey
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 c. mashed very ripe bananas
1/2 c. hot water

Mix dry ingredients together in smaller bowl. Cream together honey & oil. Add eggs and beat well. Stir in vanilla and mashed bananas. Add about 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the wet and stir. Add 1/2 the water, stir. Repeat till it's all added. Don't over-stir.

Spoon batter into greased muffin pan. Makes 24 muffins. Bake at 325 for about 12-16 min. Test with a toothpick to make sure they are done.

Bonus treat: add 1 c. chocolate chips.