Makin' Banana Pancakes

I am a lover of the little things. The little routines, traditions, rituals and songs of daily life warm my soul and make me happy to be alive. One of these little things are Sunday morning pancakes. What could be better than a cute mug full of hot, black, organic coffee and a stack of grain free perfectly fluffed pancakes? This past fall every Sunday morning was spent trying to find the perfect pumpkin pancake recipe and not every one was a success. In fact there were more failures than winners. Several times I ended up making muffins because the batter was so uncooperative. This recipe, however, is a winner! 

• 1 and 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 ripe banana (or 1/2 cup organic pumpkin)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup Swerve (optional) 

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl with a hand mixer until fully incorporated. Heat up coconut oil on a flat cast iron skillet (this is my favorite pan for pancakes- also tortilla making) and pour batter into small/medium pancakes. I find that the first few pancakes never come out perfect, but around #3 you should be good to go! 

Chia Superfood Energy Bars

These bars were inspired by a trip to Harry's (Whole Foods) for a cold coconut water after a Bikram Yoga class(105 degrees for 90 minutes). I was looking through the bulk snack food section, saw some chia based snack bars, read through the ingredient list and said "I can totally make these myself". So I grabbed some dates (which I normally don't keep around because they are pretty high in sugar) and headed home. I googled chia bars looking for a recipe and didn't find one I was thrilled about so I decided to wing it. Here's what happened...

9-10 pitted medjool dates
1/3 cup white chia seeds
1/4 cup black chia seeds
1/3 cup hemp hearts
handful raw walnuts
handful raw cashews
handful raw sunflower seeds
handful golden flax meal
2 tbsp melted coconut oil
1 tbsp hemp oil
2 tbsp coconut manna (which is AMAZING by the way find it here)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Place everything in the Vita-Mix and process until until thoroughly combined. Grease a glass pyrex dish with coconut oil and empty the sweet, nutty mix into container. Press down tightly so there are no bumps, cover and chill over night. In the morning cut into square or bars and enjoy!

After making these I thought of all kinds of other fun stuff you could add: goji berries, cacao nibs, coconut shreds/flakes, pecans, pistachios... the possibilities are endless!

Cozy Root Vegetable Soup

I've made this delightful soup twice in the last week!

• 1 sweet potato
• 1 small butternut squash
• 3 carrots
• 2 parsnips
• 1 yellow onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper, oregano
• olive oil 
• 2 boxes chicken broth
• 2 lbs boneless chicken (breast or thighs)
• 4-5 kale leaves

Step 1: 

Peel, chop and roast veggies at 425 for 30 minutes or until you can get a fork through it the tough veggies. 

Step 2: 

Boil chicken in filtered water until cooked through then shred. 

Step 3: 

Pour broth (except for 1 cup) into large soup pot with handfuls of the dried spices (I'm bad with measurements- I just do what tastes good).  Add in the chicken shreds and start to warm. 

Step 4: 

Take your roasted veggies (excluding onions and garlic) and put half of them into the soup. The other half, place in high power blender with the 1 cup of broth and blend thoroughly. 

Step 5:

Add in pureed veggies to the rest of the soup along with your chopped up kale leaves. Heat everything together for 10 minutes and then serve! 

This was wonderful when served with Kim's Southern Style Biscuits!