No Grain Pancakes

Topped with Almond Butter

My lovely son said to me on Friday “Mama, can we have pancakes for breakfast this weekend?” I immediately thought about how much I wanted to eat pancakes but also how horrible I would feel after eating them. I try to avoid grains at all costs. My body functions better on a very low carb, high fat, moderate protein diet. I’m endurance training, without grains, I know, I’m crazy!!

Waking up this morning I knew I wanted pancakes, so much in fact I almost cheated and made the 10 Grain mix I have in my cupboard. But then it dawned on me that I had so much success with the flax meal bread perhaps I could recreate a pancake as successful. Voila! Here you have the most yummiest pancakes I’ve had in a long time!

All it took was few simple ingredients.

No Grain Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe banana ( I used one from the freezer, allowed it to thaw first that’s why the peel is black)
• 3 free ranged eggs
• 1 tbsp Chia Seeds
• 1 tbsp Flax Seeds
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• Pinch of Salt

Directions:

Grind your seeds in a coffee grinder until you reach this consistency.

Add eggs, banana, ground seeds, vanilla, salt and blend until you reach this consistency.

Preheat pan to med-low heat.
Add a dollop of batter. (about the size of your spatula)

Wait until you see bubbles forming to flip.

Cook evenly on both sides and transfer to a plate.

Voila! We have pancakes!!

Alternative topping would be natural jam or unpasteurized honey.

Topped with Jam

 

No, thanks. – The Past is in the Past

Daily Prompt: No, Thanks

by michelle w. on March 3, 2013

Is there a place in the world you never want to visit? Where, and why not?

This is an easy for me. I used to dream of going to Iraq. More specifically to the Babylonian Ruins of Iraq. When I had my son, who is of Iraqi decent, I used to sit and invision us visiting together. My son getting to explore where he comes from, learning the depths of his heritage. I was in love with Iraq, pre-invasion that is. Don’t get me wrong, I was never a supporter of Saddam Hussain, but what Iraq is today, the destruction to that ancient world that existed pre-invasion, the mentality of the people and government, there is no way I would attempt to visit now.

Babylon

Photo Source nytimes.com

The Truth Behind the Lies

(warning personal rant here)

We all know what a liar does, ”liars make a deliberate choice to fabricate the truth and do not let others know that they are doing this.” Psychology Today, how does this make me feel?

One of the first things I say to anybody when I get into a relationship with them now is “I am damaged, I do not trust people”. I classify myself this way because, in fact, I am. But, in fairness to the relationship, the other party, I make this statement loud and clear so that the other party has the ability to choose whether or not they can or will accept this fact and continue on with a relationship with me. If the person decides that they wish to proceed knowing this information then the onus is on them to take care of this in our relationship from their perspective. Just like, if a friend decides to have dinner at my house and mentions an anaphylaxis reaction to almonds is the onus on me to not serve almonds.

Lying in any relationship with me, whether it’s a spouse, a friend, a co-worker is not black or white, I find a myriad of sub reasons the person chose to lie instead of owning up and be accountable for their actions which ultimately circles back to the liar is not only defining who they are as a person but defining how they see the relationship and how they perceive me to be and my worth as a person.

Here’s the thing, when a liar decides to lie and has repeatedly done so, and I decide to accept their excuses and accept their promises to never lie again I am accepting the fact that they are not a person of their word, I am accepting the fact that they do not value our relationship however the dynamics are, I am essentially saying to the world I am not worthy. I have no self-worth, because I choose to remain in a dynamic that is counterproductive to my personal growth as a human. I am declaring to the world I do not love myself.

But I do love myself, I do believe I am worth something. I believe that I deserve to be in symbiotic relationships with people, co-workers, family who protect my interest as I would protect theirs. I choose to disallow behaviors from people who claim to be my friend, my partner, my family, my lover, yet only look out for their own best interest. I choose to not accept being lied to. This is my personal choice, which I believe is aligned with my values and I am making my declaration to the universe. If that means I lose many relationships in my life, then so be it, but at least at the end of the day I can lay my head on my pillow and know I was being as authentic to myself as I could possibly be.

Hindsight & Salt Water Lies

Reblogged from rarasaur:

• 

Today I learned that salt water taffy does not contain salt water.

Thus adding to my list of food misnomers.

• Champagne grapes
• Candy corn
• Salt water taffy
• Cotton candy
• Eggplant
• Butternut squash

What did I leave out? Let's get these lies out in the open!

Daily Prompt: Hindsight: Now that you’ve got some blogging experience under your belt, re-write your very first post.

Read more… 70 more words

Clever and fun post, but most importantly a terrific blog that I am grateful to have found.

Very Low Carb Gluten Free Flax and Chia Foccacia Bread

I have been low carb and gluten free for quite some time now. I rarely (unless I have no choice) eat things that come out of packages. Bread is certainly out of the question, that shit is just garbage no matter how many ways companies try to disguise their products with healthy catch phrases. Traditional bread of any shape or form just doesn’t work for me. However, that being said, I LOVE to eat bread. It just isn’t good for me. But I love sandwiches and I love toast. So giving it up has been hard. Until I discovered this treat!

This is my alternative to the everyday bread that kills my digestive system. Its made with superfoods Flax and Chia rich in the much needed Omega-3 fatty acids and complete protein and it packs a great taste. I can’t speak enough about how amazing chia and flax is for one’s health. Having this bread everyday will certainly bring many advantages to one’s life, to name a few: reduced inflammation (unlike regular breads), stronger hair, nails, and an increase in energy.

Best part is, its so easy to make and very cost effective!!

Give it a try and let me know how you like it!

Flax and Chia Foccacia Bread

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups flax seed freshly ground (do not use preground flax as it will be rancid)
• .5 cups ground chia seeds
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-2 Tablespoons unpasturized honey (pasturized honey has had all the nutrients boiled out UP honey is best)
• 5 beaten eggs
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup coconut oil (add to ingredients)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil to add to parchment paper

Directions:

Preheat over to 350 Degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Grind your seeds in a coffee grinder.

Until they have this consistency.

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Mix all your dry ingredients together well.
Combine your wet (ensuring to combine eggs completely).
Let mixture stand for 2 minutes.

It will look like this.

Line parchment paper with olive oil.

Add bread batter and spread out to make about half an inch thickness.

Bake for approx 20 minutes. It should look like this.

Allow to cool and slice into whatever slices you want. I slice horizontally too using the top and bottom pieces as my bread slices.

Make a sandwich!

Flax and Chia Foccacia Bread with Curried Avocado Chicken Salad

Daily Prompt: Cliché

Clichés become clichés for a reason. Tell us about the last time a bird in the hand was worth two in the bush for you.

A diamond in the rough, I was never one to believe that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Having  nerves of steal I never get my knickers in a knot. I don’t know when to fold, or when to walk away, never mind run. I can’t refuse a  wild goose chase, because, really, what are wild geese for?

Time will tell if my methods to this madness will prove that haste makes waste. However, the writing on the wall says I always bite off more than I can chew.

To tell the truth, if in experience comes wisdom and wisdom comes experience, the only thing I know for sure is when you have lemons you make lemonade.

1/2 Marathon Training Week 1 Complete

Me? Yes, I! Signed up for a 1/2 marathon in June. What the hell was I thinking? Not only did I sign up for a 1/2 but I did so in Seattle Washington which is a flight away! I’ve gone over and above in making a commitment to this. There is NO way I can back down now. What was I thinking? I have to stop listening to my manic I-think-I-can-conquer-the-world voice that comes on every now and then. The reality of it is, I am scared shitless.

I’m recovering from a pretty nasty back injury. I was knocked off my ass for over 6 weeks to the point where I was unable to walk, lost feeling in my legs, butt, and low back and was hospitalized for a few days to be pumped full of heavy duty drugs including morphine. I was fast tracked into physiotherapy and was advised NOT to start running until I got the all clear. I haven’t been to physio for a month or so and I am a bit scared to break the news to her that I started a 12 week plan for my first 1/2 Marathon.

Before my accident, I was fit. Well, not to my fittest of standards but I could hold my own. Then, I got benched and it really did a number on me. I gained weight and I picked up all kinds of bad habits to cope with the depression of it all. I’m starting from scratch! I could feel it today.

Today marks the end of my first week of training. It is a very simple plan. I love the fact that I am on a schedule. It really helps my ADD mind. I don’t find the intensity too much (except for todays 4.5m run) and the great thing is I can go at my own pace because my race is well more than 12 weeks away. So, I am using this as my stepping stone easing into the milage. After I complete this plan I will move on to a more rigorous plan.

Somethings I learned this week are:

Running hurts
Running makes me hungry
Running makes me NOT want wine
Running makes me feel unstoppable
Running makes me crave carbs

I ran a total of 14 miles this week