When you use sweeteners, try to use some a bit healthier for you!
The truth is, sugar is not inherently bad for you. Your body runs off of sugar. The problem is gluttony and the addiction to sugar. Sweetness has such a elated effect on the brain and makes you think you need to eat more and more of it. Few people overindulge in steak, many overindulge in chocolate. The evolutionary assumption is that sugar used to only mean fruit, which goes bad or gets eaten quickly.
We have heard it before- and I'm sure it won't be the last time- "You eat things with maple syrup [or insert any natural sugar here]? Isn't that too sugary for your "diet"??" Well folks. Sugar is everywhere. You really have no choice when it comes to avoiding sugar- unless of course- you live under a rock and/or hunt for your own food. Sugar will be in your diet so you might as well make the best of it. The most common foods people get their undies in a bunch about are dates, honey, maple syrup and (coconut) palm sugar. I want to explain each item to you- so hear me out.
Dates
Now, dates are high in fructose sugar, but are also have an incredibly high fiber per gram content (one date has 1.6 grams of fiber, which is pretty crazy). The fiber helps you process your sugars, so the effect approaches neutral. This is similar to our use of ripe bananas, apples and applesauce. (We used dates in the Chocolate Snack Cakes recipe back in February- Check it out!)
Maple Syrup
Maple syrup is boiled maple tree sap and is about the most delicious thing ever discovered. The best part is that it is solely sucrose (which means it is equally balanced between fructose and glucose ).
Honey
The seemingly most obvious Paleo sweetener, raw honey is simply filtered from bee hives. A great thing about honey is it actually has the potential to help with seasonal allergies (I didn’t know that until I started using it more). Of course “regular” or pasteurized honey can be used as well. It has nutrients and a reasonably close profile of fructose to glucose. We find it’s about the same sweetness as table sugar, so we can use much less and gain nutrients in the process. (We used honey in our Pecan Crusted Chicken back in January! Check it out!)
(Coconut) Palm Sugar
Okay. I feel a little better! Now that there (hopefully) is a better understanding- Let's get to the recipe!
You are in for a treat! I have made these as late as 11:00 at night to nip a sweet craving in the butt. Instead of grabbing a pint of ice cream or sugary snack, I grabbed my ingredients and got to work! As with most Paleo recipes- they are quick, easy and delicious!
It took me a couple tries to get them to how we like them because of the thickness of the batter and how fast they turn brown- but it was worth it! I topped them with a sliced banana, sliced strawberries and blueberries. You can top and mix in what you would like! Try some walnuts in the batter or on top! Try them with cinnamon and grass fed butter instead of syrup. Any combination is doable. As long as you keep it natural and fresh!
PREP: 10 minutes
Cook time: 5 - 10 minutes, depending on how many you are making
Total: 10 - 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
1 3/4 cup blanched almond flour
2 eggs, whisked
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2/3 cup water
1 TBS grass fed butter or coconut oil [for frying]
Pure Maple Syrup- these pancakes will soak up your syrup. - try not to use too much!
DIRECTIONS:
In a small mixing bowl, whisk both eggs
Pour almond flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a medium sized mixing bowl
Add vanilla and whisked eggs to the medium bowl and mix well
Add water, and continue to stir
Heat 1 tablespoon of grass fed butter or coconut oil in a large non stick skillet.
Scoop batter into a large skillet, leaving enough space in between pancakes to flip- try using a little bit of
batter at first to get used to the consistency and how they cook
Cook 2 minutes on the first side, *flip, and cook for a remaining 1-2 minutes. Add more butter or oil as
needed
*I found I needed to flip the pancakes more often to make sure both sides were cooked through – the batter is a bit thicker than regular pancake batter and cooks way faster
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| This is the syrup we have and love! |
Enjoy!
--All the Best
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