Amaranth pancake recipe, gluten free, no sugar, no dairy, candida diet approved

This is an awesome pancake recipe, gluten free, sugar free, lactose free (optional), candida diet approved and really yummy. Combine with veggies and eggs and you have a great dinner!

Last Saturday I took a small course in food photography. It was really fun and useful. Sadly I couldn't use the tips right away which means you still have to do with the awful pictures seen below, giggle.

I also started the Candida diet about a month ago. I did the no sugar, no lactose, no gluten, no carbs.... The first week I was ok, the second week I felt like throwing everything within reach against the wall (except my kids of course, they kept me sane enough to function), and the third week I was feeling so much better that I started eating normally again. I still eat a lot of veggies and try to keep the sugar to a minimum. 

So hereby a nice healthy candida diet recipe. The pancakes have a nice nutty taste and work really well with veggies and eggs. No need for maple syrup on these :)

Amaranth pancakes with veggies and eggs

(Makes about 8 pancakes)

The steam coming off the food made the picture blurry...

 

I love my coffee grinder, so versatile

Amaranth flour

First we need amaranth flour. This is easily made with a coffee grinder. I use a Krups Spice and Coffee grinder. Works really well and doesn't cost much, just 17 dollar! One tip: buy a little brush to get everything out.

 Just a few seconds of grinding is enough to turn the amaranth into flour. The amaranth that didn't get chopped will make for a nice crunch in your pancake!

Pancake ingredients: 

1 cup amaranth flour

1 cup buttermilk or almond milk (other milk is fine too)

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon baking soda when using buttermilk or 1 teaspoon baking powder for other types of milk

Mix baking soda/baking powder with flour. Add milk and egg, mix well. 

The batter will be quite thick but don't be tempted to add a lot of water. One or two tablespoons of water will make it a little bit more fluid without it getting impossible to flip the pancakes.

Bake small pancakes, add some (green) veggies (I used zucchini, broccoli and some carrots) and some scrambled eggs. 

Looks just like a normal pancake :)

My kids loved this!

Looking for more pancake inspiration? How about these Healthy American pancakes or these classic Dutch pancakes.

Have you cooked with amaranth before? Any other good recipes I should try?

Easy quick healthy ice cream, sugar free, no egg, no dairy

With the first heat wave already behind us, get yourself ready for the next one with this great healthy ice cream recipe. It tastes delicious and with just 2 base ingredients you can make a lot of flavors. It takes about 5 minutes to make with a food processor and can be eaten immediately which is a great plus when you have kids! Of course you can have more ice cream!

 

I've included three different flavors but you can experiment when you understand the basics.

Healthy ice cream

Chocolate ice cream
Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup frozen blue berries

Forest fruit ice cream
Ingredients:
1 ripe banana
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
250 grams (about 1,5 cups) frozen forest fruit

Mango ice cream
Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas
250 grams (about 1,5 cups) frozen mango pieces

Mix the bananas and cocoa if using, in a food processor until the banana resembles a liquid. 
Add the frozen fruit a handful at a time and mix until completely smooth.
(Be sure to use a device that can handle frozen fruit. I broke my little mixer thing.)

That's it! You can eat your yummy healthy ice cream now!

If you feel your ice cream is too runny, pop it in the freezer for 30 minutes. Give it a good stir and repeat as needed.

Making ice cream really is this easy!

Tips to make your own creations:
-As you can see I use a ripe banana as a base. Be sure to use a ripe but not overripe banana. The taste will be too strong. (Unless of course you want to make banana ice cream, then an overripe banana will be even better)
- Don't use big pieces of frozen fruit unless you are sure your device can handle it. Adding a handful at a time will help small devices handle the stress.
- Experiment by adding pieces of chocolate and nuts. I recommend grinding these down separately and stirring them in at the end.

So what ice cream are you thinking of making? I would love to hear!

Want to come to Disney World with me?

It should come as no surprise to anyone who has read this blog that I love Disney World. It's right up there with the entire rocky mountain range (especially Canada and Boulder, Colorado. I would have loved to study there!) Luckily my hubby also likes both! The only thing holding us back is a lack of money. That might change if my blogs started earning dollars a day instead of pennies. Click a banner! go on, no pressure ;) (Kidding aside, I'm grateful to all of you who read this blog and I do not do this for money.) 

Though Disneyland Paris is just a 6 hour drive away, it is very expensive. In part because they put it right next to Paris. Once in a while I check how much it would cost and it always seems that just a few days Disney Paris is just as expensive as two weeks Florida! Excluding transportation costs. I always end up choosing to save for a big trip to Florida, even if it is years away, than spend it on a few days Paris.

 

You can imagine how excited I get when Disney turns on their webcam. They do this for special events and the one I like best is the 24 hour event they started having annually. It's going on right now so check it out:

A great view of Disneyland, though a little small on my iphone... Tiny people :D

http://www.disneylandevent.com   

This will get you no less than 6! Webcams in Disneyland California

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/watch-coolest-summer-ever-live-stream-main-street-u-s-a-at-magic-kingdom-park/   

This is Floridas webcam, it is not as good as those from California but you can watch the parades and fireworks really well with this one! 

Want to know when to watch the Florida cam, check this site for the scedule:

http://www.wdwmagic.com/events/coolest-summer-ever/news/20may2015-entertainment-and-attraction-operating-schedules-for-the-24-hour-'coolest-summer-ever'-event-at-the-magic-kingdom.htm

Wishes is awesome, as are the parades.

And the best part this year: the cams how sound now! Yay! You can hear the hustle and bustle of the theme park and all the beautiful music.

Have fun!!