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?

Gluten free chocolate chip cookies, no egg either

These gluten free chewy cookies also contain no egg and very little ingredients. They do not last long in our house and are great for unexpected company because they are so quick and easy to make!

Gluten free chocolate chip cookies

Makes about 12 medium cookies

Ingredients

300 grams (3 cups) almond flour
90 grams (6 tbs) butter, room temperature
5 medjool dates, pitted
4 handfuls of chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (350 F)
Put a piece of wax paper on a tray.

Mix flour, butter and dates in a food processor until no big pieces of dates remain.
Add up to 5 tablespoons water, one at a time, until the dough starts to form a ball.
Add the chocolate chips (you can add as little or many as you like which is why I didn't give a clear amount)
Mix the dough by hand until the chips are well spread.

Roll small balls from the dough, about the size of a golf ball.
Put them on the tray, pressing them down to about 1 cm (1/3 inch) thickness.
Keep in mind that these cookies do not spread or rise. What you make on the tray is what they are going to look like after you baked them.

Put the tray in the center of the oven (or if you can't put it in the center because you have a stupid oven just like me, put it above the center, not below).
Bake the cookies for 10 minutes.
Let them cool on the tray.

Try not to burn your tongue! (I always do, they are just too yummy to wait for them to cool!)

Let me know what you think!

Healthy apple crumble, no added sugar, no gluten

My toddler is always asking for cookies. No idea why, because we never have any. On those occasions when she gets really pushy, I try to make something yummy and healthy like this apple crumble.
The apples are obviously just apples. The crumble is a bunch of raw super food (at least that is what they are calling it here) tied together with real butter.
It's really good and leftovers are great for breakfast, mixed with some yoghurt.

(Be sure to buy products that are truly gluten free if this is important. Products like oatmeal are of themselves gluten free but the machines they are processed on are often not. Check the package to be sure!)

Healthy apple crumble

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

8 or more sweet apples
2 tablespoons cocoa nibs
2 tablespoons hemp seed
2 tablespoons flax seed
5 tablespoons oatmeal

1/2 teaspoon salt
5 gooey dates 
2 to 3 tablespoons butter

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius (375 fahrenheit)
Take a small baking dish and butter the inside.
Cut the apples into cubes and distribute them over the dish.

Mix the dry ingredients (no dates) in a food processor until it turns into a flour like substance.
Put the dates in and mix well.
Add the butter until it just starts to clump.

Mix the crumble by hand until you have nice size clumps.
Distribute the crumble over the apples.
Bake for 20 minutes then add a loosely tented foil over the top.
Bake for another 40 minutes or until apples are soft and just a bit mushy.