Almond Flour Pancakes
One of the more frequent questions I get asked is, “How do I figure out if I (my child) has a dietary intolerance?” And ranking like its siamese twin is this one, “But what do I eat?”
I’ve just come through nineteen months of being dairy free for my sweet Bella and honestly, it felt like a challenge all over again when I started. If you’re new to this, I hope you hear me cheering for you. The biggest part of the challenge is the mental part. It’s completely overwhelming to suddenly THINK about every protein in every bite you dare get close to your mouth. Stop, don’t lick the cool whip off the lid. Stop, don’t lick the beaters. Stop, don’t lick your fingers. Stop, did you check that probiotic label? Stop, did you double check that brand of italian dressing? Dairy is everywhere.
You would think I’d have remained a pro after Liam’s years of avoiding umpteen foods. But you forget which things are specific to what and I felt as though I was learning all over again. Bella is still dairy free. And cashew free. And mango free. And strawberry free. And limited soy, walnut, almond, and coconut.
If you are dairy free, but not having trouble with nuts, here’s my number one tip. Cashew milk is AMAZING. Like flat out amazing! You can substitute coconut oil for butter and cashew milk for regular milk in almost any baked recipe and hardly know the difference. If you’re making smoothies or eating cereal, cashew milk is creamy and delicious. Unfortunately, even indirect cashew milk exposure made Bella projectile vomit. I figured this out the hard way after multiple episodes.
Ever since Liam was gluten free, we’ve loved almond flour and especially almond flour pancakes. They’re hands down the best pancakes I’ve ever eaten. Maybe partially because I know they are as packed with protein and health as they are light and fluffy. I originally got the recipe from elanaspantry.com which is a treasure-trove of gluten free resources. She has since tweaked the recipe and doesn’t list this one or I’d link it. The other day I decided to make them dairy free and gave them to Bella. She was thrilled to have her first pancake ever.
Unfortunately by evening my suspicions about how well she was handling almond were confirmed and we won’t be trying that again. But because so many people ask for food tips, I’m going to try to incorporate more recipes here as a resource. And whether or not you are dairy free, these are worth adding to your Saturday morning! There’s also a sugar free version in this cookbook.
Almond Flour Pancakes
3 cups almond flour
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (or milk substitute of choice)
8 eggs
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup butter, melted (or coconut oil)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of sea salt
Mix all the ingredients well. I find these are easiest to make when I use an electric griddle as compared to doing them on the stovetop. Lightly spray with non stick cooking spray and then drop by 1/4 cupful. They’re absolutely amazing!
We love them with butter and maple syrup, or peanut butter, strawberries, and maple syrup, or literally roll them up and eat them plain. Sometimes I spread a teeny bit of cream cheese on them and add strawberries to mimic a crepe.
The other thing I love about them is that you can freeze them individually, then layer them and freeze. Let them thaw for a bit or if you’re like me and you’re in a hurry, defrost in the microwave for about 30 seconds before popping them in the toaster. They’re almost as good as when they first left the pan!
Mix. Fry. Repeat. Watch kids (and grownups) smile.
My stint with gluten free taught me to love buckwheat flour, it is great for pancakes or waffles… Easily egg or dairy free and I was already using it sometimes. I like to do a day or two hear and there where we avoid some of the most likely allergy offenders… Especially gluten, and dairy, and limit it most of the time.
Go you! We used buckwheat flour at first, too, for pancakes and I always felt like Almanzo Wilder when we did. 🙂 We prefer the lighter texture of almond flour, but buckwheat is certainly a great gluten free option!