Low Carb Pancakes

Processed grains have been out of my diet for about a week now. My intentions are to get my blood sugar to a neutral place where I have consistent energy and am not storing excess abdominal fat that could result in poor health. I want to keep the carbohydrate-weight off of my body. I do that by increasing my protein intake, eliminating overly-processed grains, and reducing my intake of foods with whole grains and high natural sugars. That means lots of eggs, nuts, & vegetables. I also add cardiovascular activity and muscle conditioning into my daily life.

It’s hard to stop eating overly-processed foods. I like cereal, bread, crackers, & baked goods very, very much, and I can over consume them. I get to a point where half of my food intake is bread or starchy carbs. This week, however, I changed my sights. Which led me to the point, this Sunday morning, where I stood in front of my griddle, making my children pancakes from scratch and I was just dying with the desire to eat those sweet, little, soft, crunchy-edged pancakes.

I didn’t do it. I kept my reserve. Instead, though, I turned to the internet for a way to make pancakes that were high in protein and low in grain. That’s when I came across the Almond Flour Pancake.

I got the original recipe from Brandon and Megan Keatley's blog, but like always, I felt a need to change the recipe to meet my own needs. In this case, I didn’t want to waste five eggs on a test run of this pancake. So, I tried to cut everything into thirds. Then I made a mistake and had to adjust the flour. I also didn’t want any sugar, so I replaced it with Stevia. I don’t use coconut milk, so I just used milk. However it came to be….it came to be, and the below recipe is how I did it.

These were sooooo good. They do not taste like almonds and I cannot believe there isn’t any flour in them!

A nutritional note (see below for complete nutrition label): These pancakes are high in mono-unsaturated fats. According to the American Heart Association, “Monounsaturated fats can have a beneficial effect on your health when eaten in moderation and when used to replace saturated fats or trans fats. Monounsaturated fats can help reduce bad cholesterol levels in your blood and lower your risk of heart disease and stroke. They also provide nutrients to help develop and maintain your body’s cells. Monounsaturated fats are also typically high in vitamin E, an antioxidant vitamin most Americans need more of.” In a nutshell: Don’t eat these everyday, but use them to replace your Sunday-morning regular pancakes. These pancakes have GOOD fat ☺.

Low Carb Pancakes

Makes 6 pancakes
Serving Size: 3 pancakes

Approximate nutritional content per serving size: 
315 calories
27 grams fat
3 grams saturated fat
179 grams cholesterol
11 grams carbohydrates
4.5 grams fiber
4 grams sugar
10.5 grams protein

Ingredients:

 3/4 C Almond Flour
1/3 t baking powder
1/3 t baking soda
1 packet of Stevia
2 eggs (please read the directions before adding eggs and milk)
½ C 2% Milk a stick of butter toppings of your choice

Directions: 

1. Preheat a skillet to 400 degrees or medium high heat.
2. Mix the almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, & stevia together in a medium bowl.
3. Gently beat the eggs in a small bowl. Slowly beat in the milk.
4. DO NOT add all of the wet ingredients to the dry. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture until it resembles the consistency of salad dressing or ketsup (it should pour easily and slowly out of a cup, but not run out like water). Discard the remaining wet mixture.
5. Unwrap the stick of butter and quickly rub the smallest end across the griddle. Set aside.
6. Pour the pancake batter onto the heated, buttered, griddle in ¼ C increments.
7. Let sit until bubbles form and the edges begin to form a harder ridge, then FLIP (about 4 minutes). 8. Let sit another 3-4 minutes and remove from heat.
9. Serve with toppings of your choice (example: small pats of peanut butter and a drizzle of sugar free syrup).