Paleo Vegan Almond Pancakes | Egg-Free, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free

Name: Paleo Vegan Almond Pancakes
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 8 people
Ingredients: 5 Tbsp. flax seed (ground); 7.5 Tbsp. cold water; 150 g almond flour (~1.5 cups); 100 g coconut flour (~1 cup); 1.5 tsp. baking soda; 1 tsp. cream of tartar; 1/2 tsp. sea salt; 2 Tbsp. coconut sugar; 1/4 cup coconut oil (melted); 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar; 1 tsp. vanilla; 1.5 cups almond milk; olive oil (for cooking)

Did I get enough “-frees” in that title?? It made me giggle. I just hand to spell it all out. Anyway, so glad you dropped in today! As you might know, I’m a diet controlled Type 1 Diabetic (1 year and counting!). My diet is the Autoimmune Protocol plus a few reintroductions: almonds, wine (in small, infrequent amounts), chocolate, fruit and seed-based spices, beans with edible pods, and seed/nut oils. Yes, this diet is restrictive, but I choose to live the happiest, fulfilled life even when on this diet. Want to know one silly thing my fulfilled life must have? Pancakes. It’s taken some time, but I have created Paleo Vegan Almond pancakes that fit into my diet AND treat my kids. Let me share it with you today.

A little back story is needed here. I once read a story about a mom who made pancakes for her family every Saturday morning. I don’t remember much about the story other than she wasn’t a terribly good cook and often burned the pancakes. Yet she kept doing it because she wanted her family to be the kind of family that eats pancakes together every Saturday morning.

Maybe you hear that and think “so hokey!” I get that. However, I’m with that mom. I want my kids to have fond memories of traditions from their childhood. Whether its a once-a-year thing like Christmas books every day of December leading up to Christmas or a seemingly mundane tradition like pancakes every Saturday. I like traditions.

To keep this tradition alive this last year, I’ve had to learn how to make pancakes first without gluten, then without dairy (similar, I used the regular Fluffy Pancake recipe from her cookbook). Truly those were a breeze. Dairy makes many things possible, and almond flour is easy to cook like wheat flour. What is really hard? Eggs. Baking without eggs is extremely tricky.

When I started the Autoimmune Protocol in February, that ended our pancake Saturdays for a while. I just couldn’t figure out how to make pancakes without seeds, nuts, or eggs. Once almonds and seeds were successfully reintroduced, it was game on! Let’s figure out pancakes!

Egg Substitute

Flax seed eggs are my egg substitute of choice for this recipe. The ratio I’ve found best is 1 Tablespoon of ground flax seed to 1.5 Tablespoons of water. There are a lot of flax seed egg recipes out there with a 1:3 ratio. In my humble opinion, that is flat wrong. It doesn’t gel; I’ve tried. The best ratio for a flax seed egg is 1:1.5, 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed to 1.5 tablespoons of water.

I did not try chia seed eggs or other commercially available vegan egg substitutes. If you do try those, let me know how it goes!

Flour Ratios

This recipe uses almond flour and coconut flour. Non-gluten flours spoil quickly, so I store them both in the freezer. Almond flour tends to freeze in clumps so I prefer to measure out my flours using a kitchen scale as getting my clumpy flour to measure correctly into a cup is quite difficult. For best results, weigh the flour, but I have provided volume measurements that are approximate.

Time

The rest period written into the recipe is crucial. It cannot be skipped! The rest time allows the coconut flour to absorb the almond milk creating a sticky, thick dough. If the dough does not have time to rest and thicken up, it will all fall apart on the hot pan. Trust me, let the dough rest.

Another comment on time, this recipe is a labor of love. I make them because I want my kids to have pancakes. I want the memory of pancake Saturdays to be a part of their childhood. That being said, the dough has to rest and the pancakes take a while to cook. So have your patient pants on when you begin this recipe. Start to finish will be about an hour. Also, don’t turn up the heat to cook the pancakes faster, you will end up with burnt outsides and mushy insides. Take your time.

Form the Pancakes

As mentioned earlier, the dough is very thick. You might be tempted to thin it out with more almond milk or water before cooking, don’t do it! I’ve tried, and the pancakes will not hold together from a thin dough.

Use a spoon to scoop mounds of dough onto the pan then use the spoon to form into a patty. Or use your hands to form the patty then gently lay on the hot pan. I prefer to form the patty in my hands before putting it on the pan. The resulting pancakes are more uniform that way.

Other Tips

Since there is no gluten or eggs in the recipe, the pancakes are fragile. Use a nonstick pan and a flexible plastic spatula to turn over the pancakes. Get the pancake fully on the spatula before flipping. It will rip easily!

While my kids do top these with traditional maple syrup, I like to think outside the box too. Almond butter, homemade jelly, fresh fruit, coconut whipped cream, dried fruit, and nuts are all fair game in our house. Let your kids decide how to top their pancakes; they will love it!

It thrills me to no end to be able to serve my kids pancakes on Saturday morning. These Paleo Vegan Almond Pancakes are a family favorite. If you have leftovers, make sausage gravy the next morning and pour it over the pancakes. Yum. Hope you enjoy these!

What traditions to you keep with your kids? Which are your favorites and which do your kids love?

Paleo Vegan Almond Pancakes

Egg-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, and grain-free pancakes. The perfect breakfast recipe for those with gluten, egg, or dairy sensitivities!

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Paleo, Vegan

Keyword Dairy-free, Egg-free, Gluten-free, Grain-free, Paleo, pancakes, vegan

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Rest Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 8 people

Calories 276 kcal

Author Emily Stauch

Ingredients

5 Tbsp. flax seed ground
7.5 Tbsp. cold water
150 g almond flour ~1.5 cups
100 g coconut flour ~1 cup
1.5 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 Tbsp. coconut sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil melted
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1.5 cups almond milk
olive oil for cooking

Instructions

Flax Seed Eggs

Mix ground flax seed and cold water in a small bowl and set aside to gel.

Pancake Batter

In a large bowl, weigh the almond flour and coconut flour. Add baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, coconut sugar, coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla, Stir to combine.
Once coconut oil is incorporated, stir in the almond milk and flax seed eggs. These are mixed in last so the coconut oil doesn't firm up into hard balls.
Let the bowl sit on the counter, untouched for 20 minutes. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP.

Cook the Pancakes

Warm up a large flat nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan.
When the pan is hot, spoon pancake batter onto pan and press into pancake shape. Either do this with a spoon after batter is on the pan or scoop some into your hand, form a patty, then lay the patty on the pan. The batter will be very thick and unlike other pancake batter so will form easily in your hands.
Let pancake cook until brown on one side, about 4-5 minutes, then flip and cook until brown on the other side, about 4 minutes.
These pancakes cook slowly so I usually have two pans cooking at the same time with 4 pancakes in each pan. The recipe makes 16, 4 inch pancakes, so each pan only has to be reloaded once.

Paleo Fresh Blueberry Pie

Hi, everyone! Thanks for stopping into Flawed yet Functional today! I’m a huge advocate for owning your health, eating real food, and living a fulfilled life. If you’re curious about my health conditions, read more here, or tasty, healthy recipes click here, or my recent habits for setting up a productive day, click here. Today let’s talk tasty desserts! I’d like to share my Paleo Fresh Blueberry Pie. It is blueberry season in West Michigan, and this cold pie is a staple in our home in the summer.

West Michigan has a great climate and soil for fruit growing. We (Michiganders) like to do things ourselves around here so there are u-pick fields aplenty by us. So far this summer, I’ve picked strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. Before winter hits, I’ll have picked apples and maybe cherries…maybe peaches, we’ll see what the summer holds!

My husband grew up loving fresh, cold blueberry pie. Traditionally, it is made with a graham cracker crust, and the blueberries are held together with lemon jello. Well, since we can’t eat gluten anymore and as a Type 1 Diabetic, I want to watch my carbohydrate intake, I wanted to give this family favorite recipe a Paleo and low(er) carb make-over.

My goals for this pie were Paleo-friendly, cut as many carbs as possible (for a dessert that is!), and the fewest, whole ingredients possible. The crust is made of crushed pecans (graham cracker substitute) with coconut oil, and a bit of coconut flour to hold it together. It comes together very much like a traditional graham cracker crust, just different ingredients!

The gelatin took a quite a few tries to get right. Injecting fresh lemon flavor while still allowing the gelatin to set was trickier than I thought it would be. Come to find out, too much acid messes with the gelatin’s ability to set properly. Who knew?! The ratios in this recipe will set, but you do need to be patient. I recommend making this pie the day before you need it to make sure it is gelled completely.

To sweeten the gelatin, I used powered Stevia to keep the carbohydrate count in the pie as low as possible. If you don’t want to use artificial sweeteners, just add your sweetener of choice. However, it matters to the gelling process when you add it. If it’s a powdered/granulated sweetener, stir it into the gelatin before blooming it in the cold water. If a liquid sweetener (honey, agave, liquid stevia), add it with the boiling water.

This recipe can handle up to 8 cups of fruit. One of my attempts used 8 cups which made for a nicely domed pie (pictured below).

I decided to knock off a cup of blueberries for the final version to cut some of the carbs. A 7 cup pie is a touch less rounded, see below, but still pretty. If watching carbs isn’t necessary for you, use 8 cups!

Diabetic Tip: Each 1/8th serving of the 7-cup pie has 25 carbs. For me, that’s too much for one sitting so I usually eat a 1/16th slice.

Once the pie has had plenty of time to set, it will cut into nice pieces. Top with coconut whipped cream if that strikes your fancy and enjoy!

I hope you enjoy this dairy-free, gluten-free, Paleo fresh blueberry pie! It’s a favorite at our house in the summer and sure to be one in yours too!

What are your go-to summer desserts? Do you bake pies for dessert often? I hear there are people out there who don’t like pie. I, personally, don’t understand such people. Are you one of them?

Paleo Fresh Blueberry Pie

Paleo fresh blueberry pie is light and refreshing, perfect for a summer party! Use freshly picked berries and top with coconut whipped cream for the best summer dessert!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Gluten-free, Paleo

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Chilling Time 10 hours

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 8

Calories 382 kcal

Author Emily Stauch

Ingredients

Crust

2.5 cups pecans crushed
1.5 Tbsp coconut oil melted
1.5 Tbsp coconut flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla

Pie Filling

2 pkts unflavored gelatin, ~5 tsp. Knox brand
2 pkts stevia, ~1 tsp.
2 lemons zested and juiced
3.5 cups water divided
7 cups blueberries

Instructions

Make Pecan Crust

Preheat oven to 350°.
In a medium mixing bowl, add crushed pecans, coconut oil, coconut flour, sea salt, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly.
Press into an un-greased pie plate firmly on the bottom and up the sides of the plate.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until pecans are fragrant. Set aside to cool completely before filling.

Make Lemon Gelatin

In a glass measuring cup, add the juice from the 2 lemons (~1/2 cup). Then fill up with cold water to make 2 cups total. Pour the lemon juice and water into a small mixing bowl.
In another small bowl, mix unflavored gelatin and Stevia. Gently shake the Stevia/gelatin mixture over the lemon juice/cold water and allow to bloom for several minutes.
Bring 1.5 cups of water to boil then stir into bloomed gelatin. Stir in the lemon zest from the 2 lemons at this time too.
Put the mixing bowl in the refrigerator to partially set before completing the pie. Check every 45 minutes or so. Around the 2 hour mark, it should be slightly thick and beginning to stick to the sides of the bowl.

Assemble the Pie

Place the blueberries in a large mixing bowl and gently stir in the gelatin to coat.
Using a slotted spoon, gently scoop blueberries into the pecan pie crust. Gently move the blueberries around as you add to make them at tight together as possible.
When all the blueberries are arranged in the pie pan, spoon the remaining gelatin over the blueberries to fill any gaps. Fill as many holes as possible without allowing the gelatin to ooze over the sides of the pie pan. You will have gelatin left over.
Chill in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, overnight for best results.
Serve cold with coconut whipped cream. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

This recipe has 25 carbs per serving.

Wilted Bacon Summer Salad | AIP and Paleo Recipe

Easy side dishes that don’t heat up my kitchen too much are my go-to’s in the summer. My favorite summer meal is meat on the grill (cooked by my hubby!) and two vegetable sides that do not take too long to cook. If my oven is on for longer than 30 minutes, my kitchen gets boiling hot. Yours too? Wilted bacon summer salad comes together in under 20 minutes, making it perfect for my summer dinner prep! Also, this is a one pan side dish! Fewer dirty dishes is always a win!

**Disclaimer: This recipe is not mine originally. I simply tweaked it to make it fit into my AIP/Paleo diet. Zach and Anne Gembis get all the credit for introducing me to this tasty salad!**

Let’s take a look at how to make this super easy summer salad!

First, cook the bacon in a large skillet to your desired crispiness. I like mine quite crispy, borderline burnt some would say, in fact, I see nothing wrong with burnt bacon. The black parts taste great!

Cooking Tip: Use a larger pan than you need for these few slices of bacon and green onions. That way when you add the lettuce to wilt, there will be plenty of room!

Remove the bacon when it is to your desired doneness, but leave the rendered fat in the pan! This is the foundation of the dressing for the salad! Toss in the green onions to wilt for about 30 seconds then stir in the coconut sugar until melted and onions are kind of caramelized.

When the onions and sugar have cooked for a couple minutes, pour in the apple cider vinegar and water. Stir to deglaze the pan, scraping up any wonderful bacon or onion bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Finally, add the chopped lettuce and crumbled bacon to the pan. Stir to coat the greens and allow them to wilt. I usually leave the heat on if I’m using a more sturdy lettuce, like romaine, but turn the heat off if using a more fragile lettuce. Taste and add more apple cider vinegar if necessary then serve warm!

This is a super simple side dish that comes together in a flash. And if you are looking to eat more leafy greens, look to wilted salads! A wilted salad cuts the volume way down allowing you to eat more without even noticing!

Cooking Tip: The original recipe, as given to me by my friends, would use a leafy, fragile green like butterhead or royal red lettuce. I like it that way too, but lately, I’ve been using a mix of red and green romaine with a small amount of butterhead. The ratios are about 3 parts romaine to 1 part butterhead. What I like about using romaine is it is more sturdy and holds up better as leftovers.

The perfect summer meal for me is pork chops on the grill with a side of wilted bacon summer salad and green beans. This combination is an AIP/Paleo 30 minute meal! They do exist! (However, you do need 2 cooks to accomplish this in 30 minutes: 1 on the grill and 1 in the kitchen)

Wilted bacon summer salad is a quick summer side dish that complements any meat you toss on the grill. Pair it with hamburgers, pork chops, steak, or chicken. It is delicious with any meat. The best part is you will eat tons of greens without noticing! Enjoy this yummy, warm side salad today!

Wilted Bacon Summer Salad

A warm, wilted salad perfect for those fragile (and not so fragile) lettuces that pop up in late spring and summer. Serve this delicious salad alongside any grilled meat for a quick summer meal!

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine AIP, Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Grain-free, Low-Carb, Paleo

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 80 kcal

Author Emily Stauch

Ingredients

4-5 slices bacon
6-8 cups lettuce, romaine or fragile chopped
5 green onions rough chop
1.5 Tbsp coconut sugar
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1.5 Tbsp water

Instructions

In a large skillet over medium-low heat, cook bacon until desired crispiness. Remove bacon from pan to cool on paper towel lined plate.
In the same skillet with bacon drippings, add roughly chopped green onions to cook for 30 seconds.
Add the coconut sugar to the green onions and cook stirring occasionally until sugar is melted and onions wilted, about 1-2 minutes.
Add apple cider vinegar and water to the skillet and stir to deglaze the pan.
Stir in lettuce to wilt, 1-2 minutes. While lettuce is wilting, crumble the bacon and add to the skillet. Taste for more vinegar.
When lettuce is wilted to your liking, remove from heat and serve immediately.

Top 5 Autoimmune Protocol Dinners | Tried & True Recipes

First time at Flawed yet Functional? Welcome! Start here to get a feel for what my heath challenges are and why I’m managing them the way I am! If you haven’t followed along, this week I’m sharing my top 5 breakfast, lunch, and dinner recipes that I’ve made and love (and the whole family loves!). Today, I’ll finish up this mini-series with a review of my Top 5 Autoimmune Protocol Dinners!

Dinner is my one meal of the day that I love variety. I make a fresh dinner almost every night, unless the leftovers are piling up. Oddly, I am one of those people who can eat the same breakfast and possibly lunch day in and day out but the same dinner No Way. I need variety!

As I review my AIP board on Pinterest, there are SO many recipes that I love. I’ll keep today’s post to 5, but I think I’ll need to expand this series in the future. I could easily break the dinner category into soups, one pan dinners, Asian fusion, etc. (Want more inspiration? Follow me on Pinterest!)

Bacon Ranch Chicken Poppers

Who doesn’t like handheld food? I originally selected this meal as a fun chicken nugget-like meal for my kids’ sake, but the flavors in these poppers are definitely adult-friendly too! The whole family gobbled these up. Add a couple vegetables on the side, and you’ve got a complete meal!

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Pan-fried Sage Pork Chops

A fond flavor memory from growing up are my mom’s sage pork chops. I spent some time last winter perfecting my Autoimmune Protocol compliant version of this comfort food. It is now on regular rotation in our diet. To round out the meal, I serve this with a couple roasted vegetable or on a garden salad.

Adobo Chicken Burgers

Burgers of any sort are regulars at our dinner table. I found this recipe to be versatile, easy, and tasty. I’ve made it using ground turkey and ground chicken, and honestly, couldn’t tell the difference. I love that it is packed with spinach that is not easily noticed when eaten. For serving, I like to make this avocado dip to put on top the burgers then I just eat them with a fork. A lettuce wrap would do too, but I find them a bit cumbersome, so I usually just use utensils!

Adobo Chicken Burgers (AIP, Paleo, GF)

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Sweet Potato and Beef Stew

This hearty stew is a favorite of mine once the weather turns cold. I do not have an insta-pot so I just make the soup on the stove. It turns out lovely every time! A soup that uses ground beef versus more expensive cuts is something I look out for. Try this one once it gets cold again! You’ll love it!

Easy Instant Pot Sweet Potato & Beef Stew (AIP, Paleo) - [low allergen and anti-inflammatory gluten free recipes from rally pure] autoimmune protocol compliant, dairy free, grain free, top 8 free, egg free

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Slow Cooker AIP Pork Carnitas

For ease of getting dinner on the table, I plan in 1-2 slow cooker meals into my two week menu plan. Pork carnitas are tender and delicious and, bonus, makes enough for several meals! I make these even in the summer because the slow cooker doesn’t heat up the kitchen, and pulled pork doesn’t sit heavy on a warm day. Serve it with lettuce wraps, on a bed of salad greens, plain with vegetables on the side, or mix it in with your breakfast hash the next day. It’s a very versatile dish!

Slow Cooker AIP Pork Carnitas Recipe #aip https://healingautoimmune.com/slow-cooker-aip-pork-carnitas-recipe

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I hope you see what variety of meat, vegetables, textures, and flavors are possible on the Autoimmune Protocol diet. These recipes are tried and true in my house, and I’m sure they will be in yours too. If you need inspiration on what to put on your menu plan when beginning the Autoimmune Protocol, start with these Top 5 Autoimmune Protocol Dinners!

Do you like variety at dinner time too? Or are you more comfortable rotating between a few tried and true dishes?

Check out the rest of this mini-series!

Top 5 Autoimmune Protocol Lunches | Tried & True Recipes

Welcome to Flawed yet Functional! My diet is currently the Autoimmune Protocol plus a few reintroductions. I’ve been working to heal my gut (and manage my Type 1 Diabetes) through this diet for almost 150 days, so I know a thing or two about AIP friendly recipes! Continuing on with my top 5 Autoimmune Protocol recipes mini-series, today I’m sharing my top 5 Autoimmune Protocol lunches. (To see my top 5 breakfasts click here!) If you want to dip your toes into a diet change, start with these tried and true recipes!

Truthfully, most of our lunches are leftovers from the night before, but I always have ingredients on hand for a quick, easy, freshly-made lunch just in case the leftovers run out. Most of the meats used in these meals are ones that have a long shelf life: kielbasa (kept in the freezer), salami (kept in the pantry or fridge), canned salmon (kept in the pantry). Since these are my second-string lunch options, I don’t buy the meat often. They are more of a “just-in-case” lunch option hence the need for a long shelf-life. Let’s check out these quick, easy, and healthy recipes!

Broccoli “Cheese” Soup

Who doesn’t love broccoli cheese soup? This soup is dairy-free, believe it or not. The cheese-y flavor comes from nutritional yeast. Likely, you will need to plan ahead for this meal as nutritional yeast is probably not in your regular pantry stocking! I love the rich flavor the soup contains while not coming off heavy. Pair it with fresh fruit and a side salad or just eat it by itself!

This Broccoli Cheese Soup is so delicious and creamy, you wonât even miss the cheese! You will find it hard to believe that it is AIP, Paleo and dairy-free.

Source

Kielbasa and Roasted Veggies

Take note that the recipe I linked to is made with Bratwurst which is not AIP compliant (contains ground mustard and mace). If you’d like to make this recipe, change the meat to Kielbasa which contains only spices that are AIP approved (black pepper, marjoram, and garlic). However, if purchasing from the store, always read the labels! I recently found hot dogs and brats with dairy in them!

What I love about this recipe is it tastes like you put a lot of effort into the meal, but really, you just chopped a couple veggies and tossed them in the oven. Roasting brings out the best in vegetables, I recommend you roast veggies any time you can!

Mediterranean Snack Lunch

While I don’t want to push eating lunch meat all the time, there is a time and a place for quick protein. Salami (original, not spicy as that has nightshades) is my first choice when I’m putting together a “snack-y” lunch either at home or on the go. My favorite flavor combination is salami, Kalamatta olives, pickles, and dates. I serve these with a fresh fruit and something crunchy like pork rinds.

Salmon Patties

Canned salmon or tuna is a pantry item I always have on hand for a quick lunch or dinner. These salmon patties are unique in that they don’t use eggs. Eggless salmon or tuna patties are hard to come by! They are more fragile than usual salmon patties, but the flavor is good so I can handle a bit of crumbliness.

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AIP Chicken Salad

Chicken salad that is creamy and dairy-free?!? Does it exist?? It sure does, and this version rocks! The coconut milk is a great creamy base and the flavor is jazzed up by the addition of lemon zest and lemon juice. The citrus helps cut the coconut flavor and give the dish the tang you would expect from traditional yogurt or sour cream based chicken salad. This recipe is excellent! Try it today!

Eating nutritious, easy lunches while on the Autoimmune Protocol IS possible. Plan on leftovers from dinners as much as you can then use these simple top 5 autoimmune protocol lunches to help round out your lunch menu plan!

What is your ideal lunch? Do you like to cook at lunch time or is the microwave your best friend for this meal?

Check out the rest of this mini-series!

Top 5 Autoimmune Protocol Breakfasts | Tried & True AIP Recipes

Welcome to Flawed yet Functional! I am a Type 1 Diabetic managing my blood sugar levels through diet, exercise, and habits WITHOUT insulin. Sound amazing? Read more here. I hope to inspire you to do amazing things with your health too. Even if you don’t have a life-long disease like I do, you can take steps to improve your long-term body and brain health and that of your family. Thanks for joining me!

I am approaching 150 days on the Autoimmune Protocol. I have only made it this far by discovering truly delicious food that both my family and I love to eat. This week I’d like to do a mini-series on my top 5 Autoimmune Protocol breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. If you’d like to give this diet a try but don’t know where to start, try these 5 recipes first! They are tried and true for my family!

I began the Autoimmune Protocol in February of 2017 with the full knowledge that breakfast would be the hardest meal of the day. No eggs. No grains. That basically summed up my breakfasts prior to my diabetes diagnosis! We had oatmeal or eggs every single day. I loved oatmeal because it was hearty and quick. Quick breakfasts were out the window for a while, a fact I had to come to grips with very quickly.

While this all-important meal of the day did intimidate me at first, I stuck to the AIP diet and found my rhythm. Breakfast IS possible without sweets, grains, and eggs. I know you might not believe me, but it’s true! These are recipes I’ve made over and over again with great success for my family and me.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Kale Chips and Sausage Patties

I developed this recipe in a hurry one morning, and it quickly became a go-to. The juxtaposition of textures is perfection: crunchy kale and soft sweet potatoes both filled with roasty flavor. I make our own breakfast sausage, and my current favorite recipe is sage heavy. I love sage. Most breakfast are just these two dishes, but if I have avocados, I eat half of one to get more fat in my diet. This breakfast is a winner!

Sausage and Mushroom Hash

Hash is a regular at our table. I make it all kinds of ways, but the mushroom and roasted butternut squash in this one is killer. This is a complete meal all on its own: meat, vegetables, fat, and aromatics. I don’t usually add anything else to the plate, just the hash.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Roasted Broccoli, Ham Steak, and Fresh Berries

Don’t overthink an Autoimmune Protocol breakfast! Roast two vegetables: one light on carbs and one heavier then add meat and fruit. Done! Roasting sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper is easy and delicious. I usually toss some garlic powder on the broccoli, but it is just as delicious with only olive oil, salt, and pepper. The ham I sliced then briefly warmed in a skillet on the stove (Very briefly! It dries out quickly!). Fresh berries are a bonus if you have some in season. Nothing crazy here, just good, nutritious food.

Chicken Apple Sweet Potato Skillet

Truth: this one is prep-heavy. It isn’t in our regular rotation because of the amount of chopping involved. HOWEVER, it rocks. It’s so good with a great variety of vegetables in it. I recommend making it on the weekend or a morning you aren’t pressed for time. It’s delicious!

Pumpkin Spice Coconut Breakfast Porridge

So remember I loved oatmeal, right? I have spent far too much time on Pinterest looking for oatmeal alternatives. I’ve made several kinds and not all were winners with the family. This one was though! However, it’s higher in carbs. I reduced the amount of banana, and if you are a diabetic, I recommend you do the same. Delicious though and fills the void of warm bowl of mush in the morning. 🙂

Pumpkin Coconut Breakfast Porridge

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Honestly, once you take the dive to improve your diet, you will find so much good flavored and good for you food. You will not be missing your old breakfasts! Well, you might miss the ease of them, but that will be made up for in how good you feel after eating these recipes! That wraps up my top 5 Autoimmune Protocol breakfasts. Enjoy!

Have you tried any AIP recipes? Do you have any favorites to share? What are your go-to breakfasts?

Check out the rest of this mini-series!

Cinnamon Spice Sun Tea | Sugar-Free, Dairy-Free, Gluten-free, Guilt-free Paleo Summer Drink

Welcome to Flawed yet Functional!

If you’ve wandered over for the first time, I like to encourage my readers to live a healthy life in the food they eat, how they care for their home, and manage their long-term health. Today I want to chat about drinks. Tasty beverages can run up our calorie and carbohydrate count quick, fast, and in a hurry: 70 carb, 440 calorie frappuccino, anyone? Delicious, refreshing summer drinks don’t have to break your diet! Cinnamon spice sun tea is refreshing and has no sugar, dairy, gluten,or even carbs in it. It’s a guilt-free summer pleasure. Bring back sun tea!

Now I haven’t made sun tea since I was a kid, and I had to make several batches before I landed on a strength that I liked the best. So I’m going to show you step by step because you just might be like me and not know/remember how to make this super simple drink!

First, you need Harney & Son’s Cinnamon Spice loose leaf tea, a gallon glass jar with a lid, and water. That’s it! You are going to be amazed how such a simple process and ingredients can produce such a delicious beverage! I’m not exaggerating, folks. You just have to try this! (I just saw you can subscribe to have it delivered at any frequency! Ha! I think I might need this!)

Scoop 5 tablespoons of loose leaf tea into the gallon jar and fill with filtered water. I use the filtered water from my refrigerator.

Have I mentioned yet that my husband and I are go big or go home people? We have actually tested whether filtered water or tap water actually make a difference in tea brewing. I’m here to testify it does. Filtered water produces a brighter, truer flavor from the tea. I’ve even tried leaving tap water sitting out overnight to let the chlorine evaporate, and the filtered water was still better. Now you know.

Screw the lid on tight so bugs can’t get in and set that jug in a nice sunny spot! Make sure it is a spot that will get sun for 4-6 hours. If I make sun tea in the morning, I put it on my front step; if in the afternoon, I put it on the back deck. Just take note of the sun before putting it out.

Let the tea do its thing in the sunshine for 4-6 hours. I usually stop at 4 hours, but I have forgotten it outside for more than 6. The timing is loose, but at least 4 hours is needed.

Bring that sweet nectar inside and strain out the tea leaves. I use a fine mesh strainer with a paper towel lining it. Cheese cloth would be the proper item, but you work with what you have! The mesh strainer works ok by itself, but it does let a small amount of sediment into the tea.

Pour into a pitcher, chill, and enjoy!

I have been drinking this like its my job this summer. As you know, I like my hot drinks in the morning, but once the summer the summer heat hits, I just can’t do hot tea or coffee. I’ve switched to cinnamon spice sun tea, and it is that refreshing kick I love in the morning!

Sun tea is super easy! You just need tea, water, sun, and time. If you usually put sugar in your tea, I think you will be pleasantly surprised, no shockingly surprised, by how good cinnamon spice sun tea is without sugar. It will be your new favorite, I guarantee it!

What is your go-to refreshing summer drink? Are you a tea drinker? Sweet or unsweet? Any other low-carb summer drink suggestions?

Cinnamon Spice Sun Tea

Sun tea is the perfect, guilt-free summer drink! Brewing in the sunshine lends for a mellow, mild flavor that is delicious and refreshing.

Course Drinks

Cuisine AIP, Low-Carb, Paleo

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 4 hours

Brewing Time 4 hours

Total Time 4 hours 5 minutes

Servings 8

Author Emily Stauch

Ingredients

5 Tbsp cinnamon spice tea loose leaf
1 gallon water filtered

Instructions

In a one gallon glass jar, add the cinnamon spice loose leaf tea.
Fill the jar with filtered water and secured with a tight-fitting lid.
Place in the sun, outside, for 4-6 hours.
Filter out the tea leaves by pouring the tea through a fine mesh strainer lined with a paper towel or cheese cloth.
Pour into pitchers, chill, and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Zero carbs, zero calories this is the perfect guilt-free summer drink!

Paleo Fresh Strawberry Pie

Happy Independence Day! I hope you have a wonderful day off today filled with great food, family, friends and being grateful for the freedom we have. I’ve been working on my fresh fruit pies for several years now, and I think fresh strawberry pie to be the perfect dish to pass at a fourth of July picnic! I tweaked my traditional fresh strawberry pie this year to be as low-carb as possible and eliminating gluten and dairy from the crust. The result is a guilt-free pie that tastes like biting into fresh strawberries. I hope you enjoy this Paleo fresh strawberry pie!

While I don’t have a sweet tooth like I did before the Autoimmune Protocol, I still love dessert. Who doesn’t?? I make fresh fruit pies like this one every summer with each fruit that we pick throughout the season. Before going gluten-free, I would make a graham cracker crust and use a box of jello to hold the fruit together. Those days are long gone, so I needed to revamp our summertime favorite pie.

This year I challenged myself to make a gluten-free, dairy-free fresh strawberry pie with the fewest carbs possible. This means no added sugar in the crust and using stevia to sweeten the strawberry filling. While strawberries are a good fruit for diabetics and fairly low glycemic, they are still a fruit which means sugar. I’m so proud to share that this Paleo Strawberry Pie only has 12 carbs per serving! For a dessert, I call that a major win!

Instead of a graham cracker crust, I blended up pecans into a coarse meal then mixed it with coconut oil, coconut flour, salt, cinnamon, and a flax seed egg. Then I baked the crust as usual at 350° for 10 minutes until smelling toasty and slightly browned. No gluten, no dairy, no problem!

My fresh fruit pies are usually heaped with fruit, and unfortunately, this one was a tad flat. If you’d like a more heaped pie, add 1-2 cups of fruit. I used about 6 cups, but I think 8 would have been better.

For the filling, I used unflavored gelatin sweetened with stevia and fresh strawberries. That’s it, just 3 ingredients! Gelatin is good for healing the gut, so there’s no reason to feel guilty for eating gelatin…unless it’s filled with sugar! Since I used stevia to sweeten the gelatin, the major source of carbs for this dessert is only the strawberries themselves.

When the pie crust has cooled completely and the prepared gelatin is a thick water consistency, stir the strawberries into the gelatin, gently, coating all the strawberries. Then use a spoon to gently scoop the coated strawberries into the pie crust. Arrange as necessary then pour the remainder of the gelatin over the berries, focus on filling any holes in the berries.

Refrigerate for at least 6 hours. Don’t cut in sooner! The gelatin will not be set! Ask me how I know…the first fresh pie of each summer is usually consumed before it has set. It’s more like a fresh berry crumble. It’s just so hard to wait! If you give the gelatin time to set, the slices of pie will hold together perfectly!

Let me explain the flavor of this Paleo fresh strawberry pie so you won’t be surprised when you try it. It tastes like fresh strawberries with a crunch of cinnamon pecans. It does NOT taste like sugary strawberries nor candied pecans! While this is preferable to me, I like to let the natural flavors shine, I realize this is not the goal of most people making fresh strawberry pie. This is a light, very fresh summery dessert that you can enjoy while on the Paleo diet. I hope you enjoy it!

Paleo Fresh Strawberry Pie

Paleo and low-carb (only 12 carbs per serving!), this gluten-free, dairy-free dessert is the perfect addition to your summer get togethers!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Paleo

Prep Time 20 minutes

Chilling Time 6 hours

Servings 8

Calories 202 kcal

Author Emily Stauch

Ingredients

Pie Crust

1 Tbsp ground flax seed
1-1/2 Tbsp water
1-1/2 cups chopped, raw pecans
1 Tbsp coconut oil melted
1 Tbsp coconut flour
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Pie Filling

2-1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin 1 packet
3/4 tsp powdered stevia
6-8 cups fresh strawberries hulled and halved
1-3/4 cups water divided

Instructions

Prepare Gelatin

Mix stevia and unflavored gelatin in a small mixing bowl. Shake gelatin and stevia mixture over 1 cup of cold water and allow a few minutes to bloom.
Meanwhile bring 3/4 cup of water to a boil. Pour boiling water over bloomed gelatin water and mix thoroughly.
Place gelatin in the refrigerator until the consistency of thick water, about 1 hour.

Pie Crust

In a small bowl, mix 1 Tbsp of ground flax seed with 1.5 Tbsp of water, allow to sit and thicken (about 5 minutes) while the rest of the crust is prepared.
Preheat oven to 350°.
If starting from whole pecans, then use a blender or food processor to chop raw pecans into a coarse meal. 1.5 cups of chopped pecans are needed for the pie crust. Pour pecans into a mixing bowl.
Add coconut oil, coconut flour, salt, cinnamon, and flax seed egg. Mix well then press into a glass pie plate.
Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until the crust smells nutty and slightly browned. Allow to cool completely.

Pie Filling

Place halved strawberries in a large mixing bowl. Pour the chilled, thickened gelatin over the strawberries. Gently stir to coat.
Using a spoon, gently spoon the coated strawberries into the cooled crust. Arrange the strawberries as desired. Then pour any remaining gelatin over the strawberries.
Cool in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or until completely set. Slice and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

12g carb per 1/8th slice of pie.

Chicken Broccoli Salad | Paleo Lunch Recipe

So I like to cook, and I cook a lot. However, not everyone is like me (weird, right?). Lately I’ve been talking with people who want or need to change their diet, but the thought of spending all day in the kitchen prohibits them from moving forward. I totally get that. Not everyone has the luxury of being home most of the day to prepare meals, and even if they are home, the kitchen might not be their favorite place. With that in mind, my recipe posts are going to be heading down the quick and easy route for a while. From college student to working parents with kids, you can eat healthier food! A delicious and healthy dinner or lunch can be on the table in under 30 minutes. Today, let’s make Paleo Chicken Broccoli Salad!

This meal is very simple and quick to put together if you have cooked chicken on hand. I plan Paleo Chicken Broccoli Salad into my menu plan for a lunch or dinner after I roast a whole chicken or make skillet chicken thighs. I double the meat we need for that meal, planning to use the leftover meat to make chicken broccoli salad the next day.

Prep Tip: Don’t have leftover chicken on hand? Pick up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store on your way home!

Chop all the vegetables, meat, and grapes into bite sizes that you like. If you prefer smaller pieces, cut them small! If you like big bites, just give them a rough chop! Meals like this are very easily adapted to your own preferences. Don’t feel like you have to do it my way exactly, do you!

Mix up the vegetables, fruit, and chicken with plain almond yogurt (I used this kind), lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Don’t skip the lemon juice! Almond yogurt has less tang than dairy yogurt. The salad really needs the citrus zip that lemon juice provides. I used 1 cup of almond yogurt but adjust to your creaminess preferences.

Chop, mix, serve. That’s it! I serve mine with fresh fruit and veggies on the side. Sometimes I use almond crackers (My favorites here!) or pork rinds to scoop up the salad other times, I just use a spoon!

Paleo food doesn’t have to be time-consuming. With a little planning, this delicious lunch can be on the table in under 30 minutes (I’m being very generous with the time. Thirty minutes gives plenty of time for chopping fresh fruit and veggies for the sides!)! Enjoy this diary-free, gluten-free Paleo chicken broccoli salad today!

Does the kitchen-time of Paleo and Autoimmune Protocol diets scare you too? Would easy recipes give you more confidence to change your diet? What are you favorite dishes that you’d hate to give up if you changed the way you eat?

Paleo Chicken Broccoli Salad

A Paleo spin on classic Chicken Salad. Almond yogurt and a bit of lemon are the key to this creamy, cold lunch that is dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free, and egg-free!

Course Lunch, Salad

Cuisine Low-Carb, Paleo

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 6

Calories 244 kcal

Author Emily Stauch

Ingredients

4 cups cooked chicken chopped
1 cup raw broccoli florets small chop
1 cup red onion fine chop
3/4 cup grapes halved
1/2 cup raw pecans chopped
1 tsp sea salt to taste
fresh ground pepper to taste
2 tsp lemon juice
1 cup almond milk yogurt plain

Instructions

Chop chicken, broccoli, red onion, grapes, and pecans. Place in large bowl.
Mix in salt, pepper, lemon juice, and almond yogurt. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
Serve with fresh vegetables, fruit, and gluten-free crackers. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

7 carbs per serving

Quick Skillet Chicken Thighs | AIP Paleo Recipe

I don’t talk about my home life much on the blog so let me give you a little background. I am a homeschooling, stay-at-home mom to two boys ages 3 and 4. I’ve been married to Dan for almost 12 years, and we love food. However, life is busy just like any family, so as much as I love to cook and cook complex meals, I need easy meals too! Quick skillet chicken thighs were born out of a desperate rush for dinner time one night. Change up the spices to your liking to create your own simple entree for dinner. Add a couple vegetable sides, and you’ll have a complete meal, full of nutrients, in under 30 minutes flat.

To begin, you must have thawed, bone-in chicken thighs. If you freeze your meat, take it out of the freezer the day before and let it thaw in the refrigerator. Rushed on time? Take the meat out of the freezer several hours before dinner and submerge in a bowl of room temperature water until thawed. This works best if the package stays completely under water. Place a bowl filled with water on top of the package of chicken to hold it down.

Rinse the chicken thighs under cold water then pat dry and lay on a clean plate. Here’s a time saver: skip mixing a spice blend in a separate bowl. Drizzle the olive oil over all the thighs then sprinkle each spice somewhat evenly over the thighs. Remember, we’re saving time here, no need to be too perfect!

Then pick up each thigh and rub the oil and seasoning on all sides of the skin and meat. Pick up as much seasoning that has fallen to the plate as you can. Don’t want to lose any of that delicious flavor!

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering but not smoking, place the chicken thighs in the pan, skin down. Cook uncovered for about 7 minutes or until skin is very brown and crispy.

Turn the thighs over and cook uncovered until the internal temperature reaches 165°. (Don’t have a meat thermometer? I love and use this one on a daily basis. Yes, it’s an investment, but I’ve had this one for over 5 years. Worth it!)

For my dinners, I try to serve two vegetables and a meat dish. While the chicken was cooking, I roasted some asparagus and sauteed Chayote squash on the stove top. What is a Chayote squash, you ask? I had no idea either! It’s one of my son’s findings/requests on a recent shopping trip. I loosely followed this recipe using lime juice instead of red wine vinegar and omitting the crushed red pepper. Plate up your crispy thighs and vegetables and enjoy!

Roasting vegetables takes time. Here are a couple easy vegetable sides that are quick to make:

Frozen green beans – Costco sells a giant bag of organic green beans for about $6. Place in a sauce pan with 1/4″ of water in the bottom. Boil and stir occasionally for a couple minutes until heated through. Drain and season with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Bagged salad mix – Grab a bag of pre-mixed greens from the grocery store, pour in a bowl and top with oil and vinegar. If you have extra time, chop any fresh veggies you have on hand and toss on top.
Raw carrots – Wash thoroughly then slice into sticks.
Pickles and olives – This is our go-to combination at lunch time. Quick as opening a jar and scooping out!

A quick dinner doesn’t mean sacrificing nutrition and quality! With very little planning (just thawing the chicken!), you can get a couple vegetables and these quick skillet chicken thighs on the table in less than 30 minutes. Enjoy!

What are your go-to quick meals? Have you tried any unusual vegetables lately?

Quick Skillet Chicken Thighs

An AIP, Paleo, low-carb entrée that will please the whole family. Crispy chicken skin, does it get any better than that?

Course Dinner

Cuisine AIP, Gluten-free, Low-Carb, Paleo

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 239 kcal

Author Emily Stauch

Ingredients

4 bone-in chicken thighs with skin on
1 tsp. sea salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
2 tsp. dried rosemary
1 tsp. thyme
2 Tbsp. olive oil, plus more for cooking

Instructions

Rinse chicken thighs under cold water. Pat dry with paper towel. Set on plate.
Sprinkle with seasoning and olive oil. Rub spices on all sides of the chicken.
Heat a cast iron pan over medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil in pan.
When pan is hot and oil is shimmering, lay chicken in pan, skin side down. Cook for 7 minutes or so. Turn over when skin is very brown and crispy. Cook on other side for 6-8 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165°.

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