Gluten-free German Pancakes (just as good as the wheat version!)

The deliciousness has landed!

Since my diagnosis with Celiac Disease a year ago, I have slowly been expanding my repertoire of gluten-free breakfasts. This has been one of the very easiest. I love to whip this up, put it in the oven, and let it bake while I make the kids' lunches and help them get ready for school. Even my not-a-morning-person daughter, who often tries to skip breakfast, will eat several helpings. In fact, she's the one who said, "These are just as good as the gluten version!"

I first got the idea for making German Pancakes gluten-free while staying with my sister-in-law. She made them with sorghum flour. They were a little heavy (similar to German pancakes made with whole wheat flour), but still quite tasty, and I realized that this recipe had potential. She recommended I try oat flour (lighter and less strong taste), which I did, and that's how I've been making them ever since. If you cannot tolerate oats, I recommend trying sorghum flour (for a heartier version) or experiment with brown/white rice flours, millet flour, and so on.

[For those without gluten issues, here is my delectable gluten version. I still miss them just a little.]

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Gluten-free Goodness: Whole Grain Pancakes for the Whole Family

Some for now, some for later (see double recipe below)

I am coming up on 6 months since I was diagnosed with Celiac and started eating gluten-free. And in that time I have found that some of my whole wheat favorites have easy and delicious gluten-free versions, and others don't. For example, bread. Gluten-free bread is a tough sell for me since I still remember well the deliciousness of my honey whole wheat bread and the airy crumb and crunchy crust of an artisan loaf.  But pancakes! My gluten-free pancakes are just delicious! If I do say so myself.

One thing I've quickly realized is that most recipes for gluten-free goods are decidedly not whole grain. But after spending years tweaking recipes to achieve deliciously healthy whole grain baked goods with wheat, I'm not willing to settle for the fiber-less not-hearty un-filling recipes full of starches and white rice flour that so often populate my search results.

After much searching and experimenting, I present to you this delicious recipe for whole grain gluten-free pancakes. If you hate weight measurements, I'm really sorry (and I did include a volume approximation just for you!), but I have already been thoroughly converted to baking by weight with gluten-free flours. I dug a decade-old IKEA digital scale out of my cabinet and have never looked back. I find it much easier to pour rather than scoop out when dealing with all these types of flour. Baking by weight makes doubling or tripling a recipe easy-peasy too.

Often gluten-free recipes will say, "use 1 cup or so many grams of gluten-free flours," and then provide a list of about 300 different gluten-free flours you might use. As a gluten-free newbie, I did not find this useful. I want a combination of flours that will work and taste delicious right now!  So this recipe prescribes specific flours in specific amounts, but of course you can and should substitute your favorite gluten-free flours (although the mysterious properties of buckwheat may be why this recipe needs no oil) or fudge the amounts and flours based on what you've got on hand, as I often do. But here is my favorite version so far. The one I keep coming back to.

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Easy-peasy DIY Taco Seasoning Recipe

Not so long ago I used Trader Joe's envelopes of taco seasoning to season my taco meat. But then I discovered that it contained sugar, which meant my sister, who does not eat sugar and then regularly ate with us, could not eat it. Of course I had to browse dozens of recipes before trying a few and then finding my own favorite version through trial-and-error. I'd say of all the recipes I browsed, mine bears the closest resemblance to Alton Brown's.

I mix and store mine in the little glass jars that came with my yogurt maker (they hold a little less than one cup). I always make my yogurt in quart jars, so I can use the little jars for other things. After getting tired of searching for my favorite version of the recipe every time I needed to make a new batch of seasoning, I had a stroke of genius and affixed the simple recipe to the lid using part of a blank label.

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Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Snack Bars

Here is another recipe that has made it into our homemade snack rotation. They started with the very popular recipe Playgroup Granola Bars on allrecipes.com. My friend Lys made them for me and my kids during a play date and they were a big hit. As always, I have made many modifications. I use chocolate chips instead of raisins, which was actually Lys' innovation. Of course, if I had used only raisins I could have called my recipe "refined sugar-free" or something. But oh well. Chocolate chips make them extra appealing.

I use white whole wheat flour (instead of white flour plus wheat germ). You could probably use whole wheat flour plus wheat germ, but I don't happen to stock wheat germ. I cut the brown sugar entirely, because they really are plenty sweet with just the honey. I also tried substituting applesauce for some of the oil and that works too. I make them both ways depending on whether I have an open jar of applesauce on hand or not. I also added some nuts. As with all my favorite healthy homemade snacks, these freeze extremely well and are perfect for lunch boxes, picnics, and on-the-go snacking.

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Easy-peasy DIY Trail Mix

A few months ago, my husband returned from a business trip with a  partially eaten bag of trail mix purchased in the airport. It was probably the healthiest option available in the airport convenience store. Snacking on the store-bought mix had given my husband a new appreciation for trail mix, and he told me he planned to stock up on bags of trail mix at the grocery store to keep with him at work for healthy snacking.

That I simply could not stomach. Making trail mix is far too easy to spend your money on the version at the grocery store. Plus the airport version included fake M&Ms and hydrogenated vegetable oil. Yuck. Even the mixes at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods often have added sugar and other unnecessary ingredients. I quickly whipped up a version using ingredients I already had on hand. If you make granola, or regularly purchase nuts and dried fruit, you already have everything you need to make your own trail mix.

DIY Trail Mix

2 parts nuts
1 part dried fruit
1 part chocolate chips

Measure and mix. Store in an air-tight container (I like to use a glass quart canning jar). Lasts for several weeks. 

Why should you bother making your own trail mix?

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100% Whole Grain Muffins with Applesauce

In my endless quest to amass a repertoire of healthy kid-friendly portable snacks, I stumbled upon this Healthy Applesauce Oat Muffin recipe on Mel's Kitchen Cafe. These muffins have turned into a huge hit at my house. They are perfect for a little breakfast snack or sweet snack any time of day. I now make the quadruple recipe because I am all about baking and freezing in bulk. Since they are whole grain they freeze and defrost very nicely.

I have modified the original recipe quite a bit. The first time I made it, I followed the recipe. They came out much too wet (little puddles under the cupcake liners) and excessively sweet, although still entirely edible. I imagine that what kind of applesauce you use, and how thick (versus watery) it is will affect how much applesauce it is appropriate to use. I use Trader Joe's organic unsweetened applesauce and found that decreasing it by a quarter worked well. I also cut the sugar by half (still plenty sweet!) and found that I could decrease the fat by a quarter. I also tend to be generous with the cinnamon and vanilla, with no ill effects. In addition, I let the batter sit for a bit after mixing to make sure the whole grains have plenty of time to absorb the liquid. I'm not sure this is strictly necessary, but I find this to be a good policy in general when dealing with whole grains (I do this with my whole grain pancakes).

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Winter Favorite: Hearty Lentil Soup with Bacon

Lentils are a poor meal planner's best friend. When there's no meat defrosting in the fridge, and no pinto beans or black beans soaking overnight, I turn to lentils. Here is one of my favorite soups to eat in winter (it's based on a recipe I saw on Everyday Food). I make it extra thick so it's almost like a stew but you can make it brothier if you prefer. This less meat-a-tarian or nearly-vegetarian soup can easily be made vegan: simply skip the bacon and parmesan cheese, and use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. Although I will say, just a touch of bacon makes it so delicious. This soup showcases one of my favorite ways to use meat: as a flavoring rather than as the star of the meal. I generally freeze my bacon, but it defrosts in just a few minutes submerged in water. Use the rest of the package of bacon for a special weekend breakfast.

I always make a huge batch of this soup. Then we have either leftovers for another dinner and several lunches, or I have enough to take a large container to a new mom or someone else who could use a delicious hot homemade meal. If you want to make a smaller batch, I've included ingredient amounts for that at the end of the post (the first version makes about 50 percent more than the smaller recipe). Homemade white rolls or wheat rolls make a fabulous addition to this tasty, filling, and comforting meal.

Hearty Lentil Soup with Bacon

Serves 6 to 10
3-5 strips bacon (3 to 6 ounces) cut into small pieces
2 medium onions, chopped
6 medium carrots peeled, halved lengthwise (if thick), and sliced
3 to 5 garlic cloves minced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 1/4 cups lentils picked over and rinsed
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
5 1/4 cups chicken broth plus 3 cups water*
1 to 2 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
3/4 teaspoon table salt (or more to taste)
Freshly ground pepper (1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon)
Chopped fresh parsley
Parmesan cheese

*I use 8 cups water total plus 2 T Better than Bullion. You can adjust the water slightly up or down depending on whether you want your soup to be more like a stew or brothy.

1. In a 5-quart pot with lid, brown bacon for 8 to 10 minutes. The original recipe instructs you to pour off all but 1-2 T of bacon fat at this point, but I never do. 
2. Add onion and carrots and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. 
3. Stir and garlic and cook 30 seconds. 
4. Stir in tomato paste and cook 1 minutes. 
5. Add lentils, thyme, broth and water. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. 
6. Cover and cook until lentils are tender, 30 to 45 minutes. Add an additional cup water if the soup becomes too thick during cooking. 
7. Stir in vinegar, salt, and pepper. Top with fresh parsley and freshly grated parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

I like mine topped with plenty of fresh parsley and freshly grated parmesan cheese. Yum!

Hearty Lentil Soup with Bacon

Serves 4 to 6

2-3 strips bacon (3 ounces) cut into small pieces (I use kitchen scissors)
1 large onion, chopped
4 medium carrots peeled, halved lengthwise (if thick), and sliced
2 to 3 garlic cloves minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 cups lentils picked over and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
3 1/2 cups chicken broth plus 2 cups water*
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon table salt (or more to taste)
Freshly ground pepper (1/4 teaspoon)
Chopped fresh parsley
Parmesan cheese
See directions above.

Related Posts

• How to Turn Your Bread Loaf Recipe into a Roll Recipe: 100% Whole Wheat Honey Rolls
• Lentil Cheese Loaf/ Vegetarian Meatloaf (Meatless Monday)
• Hummus from Dried Beans in 5 Minutes
• Almost Plastic-free Pizza
• Mumbai Meatballs with Yogurt-Chutney Dipping Sauce

Would you like more ideas and tips about Going Green Gradually? Sign up for my free email subscription to get each of my posts delivered to your inbox (I usually post one or two times a week). You can also follow me on Facebook, Google Plus, Pinterest, Twitter, or with your favorite RSS Reader. I hope to see you again soon!

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Vegan Whole Grain Waffle & Pancake Mix

Jeanette's Pumpkin Whole Grain Waffle recipe that I posted last week is actually a modification of Natalie's Vegan Whole Grain Waffle/ Pancake Mix. I've never made this recipe myself (I've been making the pumpkin version since we purchased our Teflon-free waffle maker), but I have eaten these waffles and pancakes dozens of times and I can attest that they are delicious. This recipe is awesome because you can mix up all the dry ingredients in advance and then use a cup (or more) of dry mix plus nothing but water and oil for an easy homemade breakfast anytime. My sister often takes this mix with her when she travels (so she can make her children a vegan breakfast) or even camping. Your own vegan homemade waffle/ pancake mix anywhere anytime.

Natalie's Vegan Waffle & Pancake Mix

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{Teflon-free} Pumpkin Whole Grain Waffles with Pumpkin Syrup

I Found a Teflon-free Waffle Maker!

Given my deep and abiding love for breakfast foods, some might find it surprising that homemade waffles were not in my regular breakfast rotation. After all, they freeze and toast up so well! Problem is, I ditched Teflon many years ago and I couldn't find a Teflon-free waffle maker anywhere. I had seen cast iron waffle makers, but they were unseasoned, and came with parrafin wax on them (to prevent rusting). In order to use it, you had to melt off the parrafin wax and season it yourself. Sorry, but that's a little too much effort for me. [Now a pre-seasoned cast iron waffle maker, that I would buy in a heartbeat. Are you listening, Lodge Logic???]

At any rate, I had resigned myself to living without waffles. That is, until recently, when my son's umpteenth request for waffles compelled me to half-heartedly google (again) "Teflon-free waffle maker." And, lo and behold, there it was: the Oster DuraCeramic Stainless Steel Flip Waffle Maker. Now, really, I should have done my due diligence and tried to find out more about what the nonstick coating of my waffle maker is made of before purchasing it, but I was just so excited to see a PTFE-free and PFOA-free ceramic-based coating on a waffle maker that I just went ahead and purchased it. (Read Debra Lynn Dodd's take on the coating here.)

Enjoy Superfood Pumpkin Year-round

Since then I have been keeping my freezer well-stocked with my sister Jeanette's Pumpkin Whole Grain Waffles. My 6yo son loves to have these for breakfast, and I love sending him to school with a tummy full of whole grains and pumpkin goodness. We most often eat these with maple syrup, but for even more pumpkin deliciousness, try with pumpkin syrup (recipe follows).

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Better than Cake: Homemade White Sandwich Bread (or Rolls)

We usually make and eat 100% whole wheat bread, but occasionally I make white bread for a special treat. We use it for French toast, for "buns" for black bean burgers, for grilled cheese and other sandwiches. Straight out of the oven with butter it is better than a slice of cake. I'm also including how to make rolls. Who knew it was so easy to make fresh rolls using a bread recipe? Probably everyone but me.

I got this recipe from a friend at church. She brought me dinner and a fresh loaf of bread after my third baby. I think it is just wonderful to bring new moms or anyone who needs a little extra TLC homemade bread. I have made a few alterations to her recipe (cut the sugar) and also filled in a few details (kneading time, etc.) by consulting my tried-and-true America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.

After making 100% whole wheat bread for years, I have to say, white bread is downright easy. So forgiving and no need to worry about getting a decent rise. If you find the thought of baking your own bread a little daunting, try making the rolls. They're quite forgiving.

White Sandwich Bread (or Rolls)

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How to Turn Your Bread Loaf Recipe into a Roll Recipe: 100% Whole Wheat Honey Rolls

I recently made an important discovery: it is super easy to turn a bread loaf recipe into a roll recipe. I volunteered to bring rolls to a friend's house for dinner, forgot to buy them, and not wanting to run to the store just for rolls, decided I'd just go ahead and try making some from my favorite recipe for white bread (which I'll post next week). They were super easy and a huge success. We had to ration them out to the hungry wolves children at dinner. Why are rolls so much more appealing than a slice of bread? Is it the texture of the exterior and interior, the just-the-right-size portion, the compact shape? I don't know, but I know kids and adults alike love them.

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Almost Plastic-free Pizza

I did it! I finally found a tomato sauce jarred in glass that works as a base for my sauce for our Friday night pizza!

Eden Organic's Crushed Tomatoes are thick and just barely chunky ("screen-finished" rather than pureed), and come in several varieties (roasted garlic and onion, sweet basil, plain). I think I like the garlic and onion one the best, but I've tried them all and they all work. I buy them in bulk at Whole Foods every couple of months. I should probably ask Whole Foods about getting the case discount. You can also purchase directly from Eden Organic. One 25 oz. jar costs about $4, but since the jar is almost double the size of a can, I get two weeks' worth of pizza out of it (the sauce lasts fine for at least a week stored in the fridge) and it ends up costing me about the same as the Muir Glen organic tomato sauce in BPA-free cans.

I bought a few other tomato products in glass (Bionaturae) and the less-preferred Tetrapak (Pomi) to try, but I sampled the Eden Organic product first and it worked well and wasn't more expensive so I'm sticking with it. But if I ever run out and use those other kinds, I'll let you know how it goes.

Now the only plastic in my pizza is from the mozzarella cheese. I suppose I could go the Barbara Kingsolver route and make my own mozzarella from the local milk we get in glass jars. But that's not going to happen anytime soon. My next pizza priority will be to make and can pizza sauce I make myself from local organic tomatoes purchased at the farmers market. And someday, in the hopefully not entirely imaginary future, I will make homemade pizza with our own homemade pizza sauce made from homegrown tomatoes. But in the meantime, I'm happy to have found some plastic-free tomatoes.

Friday Night Pizza

[Find my more detailed recipe for homemade pizza with additional photos and instructions in this post.]

Dough 
4.5 cups flour (I use 2 cups white whole wheat and 2.5 cups unbleached white )
2 t kosher salt
1 T yeast
2 cups water

Sauce 
1 can tomato sauce (I use half of a 25 oz. glass jar of Eden Organic's Crushed Tomatoes)
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t rosemary
1/2 to 1 t table salt (I use about 3/4 t salt with no salt added tomato sauce)
1/4 t pepper

Toppings 
16 oz. mozzarella cheese, grated
pepperoni
whatever else you like

Combine flour, salt and yeast, then pour in 2 cups warm water and combine. Knead in more flour until like pizza dough: smooth and not-too-sticky. Return to (dirty) bowl. Allow to rise until double.

Preheat oven to 415. Divide dough into 2 or 3 balls. Roll your pizza dough into a circle using a rolling pin and place on a greased pizza pan. Poke dough with fork all over. Put your dough in the oven for 10-15 minutes until it starts to get golden some places on top. Make the sauce by combining all ingredients.

Divide sauce evenly between crusts. Then add mozzarella, pepperoni, and other toppings. Bake for 5 to 10 more minutes until cheese is fully melted. For an extra crispy crust, use tongs to drag your pizza off the pan directly onto the oven rack and remove pan from the oven after cheese is mostly melted. Allow to bake directly on a lower rack for 2 to 4 minutes, then use tongs to pull off rack back onto pan and remove from oven. 

Allow pizza to cool and slice on wooden cutting board. Enjoy! 

How do you avoid eating plastic?

Related Posts

• Friday Night Pizza (detailed recipe)
• Eat Less Plastic: 33 Ways to Keep Plastic Chemicals Out of Your Family's Diet
• It's so hard to say goodbye to BPA
• Cooking without Teflon
• Plastic-free and BPA-free Feeding Gear for Babies and Kids

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How to Make a Beautifully Risen Loaf of 100% Whole Wheat Bread

I've been reading Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day. I've only made it through the first chapter ("Baking Basics"), but I've already picked up a few tips that have helped me with my bread baking.

1. Use the minimum amount of yeast possible.
Now I use 2T of yeast instead of 2T + 2 t for two loaves. I have been known to fudge up the amount of yeast to try to speed things along. Now I stick with 2 T.

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Healthy-ish Chocolate Chip Cookies

  

I really hesitate to use the word "healthy" in conjunction with these cookies. Mostly because they have a lot of sugar. But also because I believe I have not compromised one bit on taste. I mean, if you are going to have a chocolate chip cookie for dessert, have a real cookie. One delicious cookie is so much better than two cookies that taste healthy, if you know what I mean. Perhaps these cookies would be best described as "less unhealthy chocolate chip cookies," but I thought that a very poor post title.

My kids love a little treat now and then, and to avoid having to resort to store-bought packaged treats, even if they are from Trader Joe's/ Whole Foods, I often make these homemade cookies in bulk and freeze them. One little cookie is dessert enough for my little ones.

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Hummus from Dried Beans in 5 Minutes

I used to make hummus from canned beans.
Then I made hummus from garbanzo flour, but I didn't quite like the consistency.
Now I make hummus from dried beans in 5 minutes.

Here's how.

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Green Phone Booth: Sweet Potato Bisque

Temperatures are getting cooler and I'm seeing more and more squash at the farmers market and in my CSA bag. This easy soup (from a friend of my sister) is one of my favorite ways to use up sweet potatoes. This was a favorite baby food of my second child.

Click here to continue reading at The Green Phone Booth

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Friday Night Pizza

We have pizza every Friday night that the weather permits. (Without A/C, I won't bake during the day unless the temperature is under 80). 

Here is my simple recipe, based in large part on the recipe for the homemade pizza I enjoyed as a kid.

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100% Whole Wheat Honey Bread Recipe

This recipe is an update of a recipe first published here.

I've been making four loaves of whole wheat bread about twice a month for close to two years now. I even made it through the first trimester of my last pregnancy, a newborn baby, and a couple of hot summers (sans a/c) without missing a step. Here is an update to show you what I've learned and how I've tweaked the recipe over the last dozens of batches.

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Multi-grain Buttermilk Pancakes

Lately I've been making this pancake recipe with whole wheat, quick oats, cornmeal, and molasses instead of my usual whole wheat pancakes. It's my current breakfast favorite. This recipe comes from epicurious by way of my friend Megan. I've made a few changes from the original recipe. Instead of light molasses, I use blackstrap, because that's what I've got. And instead of white flour, I just use more whole wheat flour. I'm sure they would taste excellent with butter in the batter, but the lazier approach is to just use oil and butter the griddle.

Multi-grain Buttermilk Pancakes

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Lazy Homemade Ice Cream Cake

Ice cream cake: name is obscured because I'm a privacy nut

I never saw it officially announced, but it looks to me like the Green Phone Booth theme for May is Greener Parties!

If you are too lazy to make the ice cream cake posted earlier this week, here is the truly lazy method:

Continue reading at The Green Phone Booth

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