Time Tested healthy gluten-free 'white flour' blend - our exclusive formula now being released!

Kitchen Cheetah's Healthy 4-Flour Blend (GLUTEN-FREE)

A WHITE FLOUR SUBSTITUTE

This is a special formula we are releasing to you. The ingredients are simple but the results in gluten-free baking are remarkable. It will work in just about any GF application, replacing other GF flour blends out there - plus it tastes great!  The starch content is much less than typical gluten-free flour blends. The protein content is much higher in our blend and it is more nutritious. It is a formula easy to remember. So you can make more easily from memory.

Have you ever noticed how gritty baked goods are that use rice flour?

Or how 'beany' and weird tasting foods are that contain bean flour?

What do you think about the heaviness of coconut flour and almond flour?

And then there is the dry, crumbly, stale, tasteless starch-filled GF baked goods.

We are really sick of all that.

This formula came about with much lab-testing over a period of years by professional food formulators. We have found this to be the best combination, having the best texture, taste, and nutrition.

There are more secrets to gluten-free baking that we will teach you. Like how to use psyllium, soluble fiber blends, and eggs to make superior GF baked goods. So hold tight.

I am sure more gluten-free advancements will come, as more unique healthy ingredients are made available. We already do have more advanced formulas, but they contain too many ingredients available only to large food manufacturers. Remember, we deal only with healthful ingredients when we formulate, that is important to us.

Use our 4-Flour Blend in place of the other gluten-free flour blends used in GF baked goods.
We are also currently working on a whole  grain, whole wheat type flour, and will share that at a later date, so check back with our blog.

Make sure to measure everything by weight, not volume.
Ingredients at different times have different moisture levels and be more or less compacted, which will throw off your proportions. Gluten-free baking is touchy and the ingredients are generally more expensive, so measurements matter. I won't even give you volume measurements, so you won't be tempted.

See the notes below about the ingredients used here before you make the flour blend.

We will be adding specific recipe how-to's using this flour blend plus other ingredient combos for the best GF baked goods ever. Stay tuned!


I know this post is a bit wordy - but this really is EASY.



GLUTEN-FREE 4-FLOUR BLEND Recipe

25 % Sorghum flour, whole or white
25 % White Bean flour or garbanzo bean flour
25 % Extra-fine Sweet Rice flour (AKA glutenous rice flour) (no substitutions)
25 % Cassava flour (not the same as tapioca starch)


Method:

Mix and sift the flours together a few times to make sure all of the flours are evenly distributed.
Store air-tight.



Tip: The more finely ground your gluten-free flours are, the better results you will have.



Notes About The Cassava Flour:

This is a food formulator's secret we are giving you here. The Cassava Flour used in this gluten-free flour blend is made by one company only. They own a patent on this product. We like this product a lot in the Cheetah Test Kitchens! Their cassava flour contains 7 % naturally occurring cassava fiber. Regular cassava starch is all starch (also known as tapioca starch or tapioca flour). It can get confusing because people mistakenly call tapioca starch 'tapioca flour', when it really isn't.

The manufacturer of the cassava flour is AKFP (American Key Food Products). I do not know if they sell to the public. Check it out and see. Let us know if it is, because that would be cool.


If you can't locate this product, use one of  the substitutions below to make a kasava-type flour:

a.   90 % tapioca starch plus 10 % very finely ground oat bran flour.

b.   93 % tapioca starch plus 7 % very finely ground rice bran flour (or organic corn bran flour).

First grind the bran as finely as you can in a seed mill. Regrind if it's not really fine.
In a VitaMix, regrind the bran with the tapioca starch to make it extra-fine textured.
Use this in place of the 25 % cassava flour called for in the 4-Flour Blend recipe above.
Store the leftovers in an air-tight container.


Tip: If the bran mixture gets hot but still isn't ultra-fine textured, pour it out onto a baking tray to cool down and let the moisture evaporate for a few minutes. You can do this 4 times if desired.
We will do this in our test kitchen and we label the amount of times something is ground and cooled, then reground. Like I said, texture is everything when it comes to gluten-free baking.

For example:
1X   - Means it was ground once.
2X   - Means it was ground twice.
3X   - Means it was ground three times.
4X   - Means it was ground four times.



Notes about any type of bran:

Taste your bran before you mix it into any of your food. The fats naturally found in bran quickly go rancid, causing a bitter taste. If it's bitter, it's rancid. Throw it out or take it back to the store you purchased it from. Usually bran is now stabilized for a shelf-life of 1 year, but you don't know how long it has been sitting around before you bought it. It is a good idea to store your bran in the freezer.



Notes about the Bean Flour:

We use a special bean flour that does not taste weird or 'beany'. We have a professional food manufacturer's source for a specific kind of bean flour. It is made by ADM (Archer Daniel Midlands). The specific product we use is called VEGEFUL. They manufacture several types of bean flours: white bean, pinto bean, garbanzo bean, etc. They really tastes good! Now you know.



If you share our recipe, please credit the creator's of it and our blog - Thank you.



Have fun baking!

Leila & Nancy

The Kitchen Cheetahs

Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins using a new Gluten-Free Grain called Canahua (Recipe with Variations)

Canahua (Kaniwa), a little known powerhouse of a grain... 

And a recipe for Glazed Lemon Canahua Muffins

Canahua from Bolivia is a little known gluten-free grain that is related to quinoa. It is high in protein (15 to 19%) and has a complete amino acid profile. This grain is claimed to be allergen-free as well.

Unlike quinoa, canahua does not have a protective saponin layer. That's the bitter, soapy-tasting saponins that can give off-flavors to your gluten free baked goods. This means you do not need to prewash canahua to remove the bitterness. You do need to prewash quinoa to remove the saponins, in case you didn't know that already.

Often canahua is first toasted (creating a desirable and tasty Maillard Reaction - think of caramelization...yum) and then ground into a flour. Canahua is a very useful, protein-packed nutritional additive. Use it to enhance the nutrition of baked goods, hot cereals, soups, desserts, smoothies, yogurts, energy bars and other neutraceuticals.

PREPARATION - The most common preparation is to clean, lightly roast the beans and then grind the beans to give a kind of flour commonly called "Pito". Is consumed by mixing with cold or hot drinks, over 15 different ways to prepare whole grain and the "Pito" are known. 
In the same way in baking excellent results have been obtained mixtures incorporating 20% "WHISTLE ".  (Source: http://ccbolgroup.com/amaranto.html)

Cañahua / Cañihua

Relationship of quinoa and other grains Cañahua

Pra 100% Cañahua Wheat Quinoa Rice Barley Proteins 16.2 11.5 13.8 8.7 10.6 Lipids 8.04 2.0 5.0 2.2 2.1 Carbohydrates 58.6 59.4 59.7 74.6 57.7 Calcium mg. 157.0 41.0 85.0 39.6 26.0 Magnesium mg. 210.0 91.0 204.0 119.6 57.0 Iron 13.6 3.3 7.0 2.0 2.0

(Source: http://ccbolgroup.com/amaranto.html)

Below are instructions for cooking the canahua. You can even cook it with quinoa, since they are so similar. For the muffin recipe below, use just cooked canahua.

The following muffin recipe is gluten-free, sugar-free, and vegan. I have yet to remake the recipe into a lower carb gluten-free formula, but I wanted to give you an example of how you could incorporate this new grain. I want to try this muffin recipe with our "kitchen Cheetahs healthy 4-Flour Blend" (recipe found on this blog). If you beat me to it, message me and let me know how it worked for you.

To Cook Canahua:

Cook 1 part canahua in 2 parts boiling water.

The cooking method is the same as for cooking quinoa. add canahua to the boiling water, cover and turn heat down to a simmer until all the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

Glazed Lemon Canahua Muffins: 

• 1 1/4 cup superfine brown rice flour
• 1/4 cup  sweet white rice flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca starch
• 1/4 c. potato starch (not potato flour)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon BioSalt or sea salt (recipe on this blog)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 c. erythritol plus 1/4 c. xylitol (equivalent of 3/4 cup granulated sugar) *
• 3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 2 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk or almond milk
• 1/2 cup warmed coconut oil
• 1/4 cup cream cheese, neufchatel, or vegan cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon liquid stevia glycerite (recipe on our blog) or NOW brand stevia glycerite, or more to taste
• 1 tablespoon fresh organic lemon zest
• 3/4 cup cooked canahua

Method: 

Preheat oven to 350 °F, with a rack  positioned in the middle of the oven. Line 12 cupcake tins with paper liners.

Whisk together the dry ingredients, including the granular sweetener and salt, in a large mixing bowl.

In small bowl, Mix together the lime juice and milk and set aside until curdled.

In a separate medium bowl, cream the cream cheese until fluffy with a hand mixer.

Add the curdled milk to the cream cheese and mix together well.

Add the liquid coconut oil and stevia glycerite to the cream cheese mixture and mix well.

Taste for sweetness and adjust as desired, adding more stevia glycerite if needed.

Stir in the flour mixture along with the lime zest, then fold in the cooked canahua.

Divide the batter evenly among the 12 lined cupcake compartments and let rest 30 minutes before baking.

Bake 32 to 35 minutes, or until slightly golden on top and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. 

Let muffins cool completely and then cover with glaze.

* Note: You may use 1/2 c. Lakanto's zero-cal sweetener instead of the 1/2 c. plain erythritol.

Muffin Variations:

You can add 1 T. poppy seeds and 1-2 t. almond extract for a lemon poppy seed variation.

You can replace the lemon juice and zest for lime juice and zest, and add 1 -2 t. almond or vanilla extract.

Smooth Sugar-Free Glaze:

• 1/2 to 3/4 cup powdered erythritol or Lakanto's white zero-cal sweetener, finely powdered.
• 3 teaspoons egg white protein powder (plain)
• 1 teaspoon Cal/Mag (calcium magnesium powder, to make glaze whiter and more nutritious)
• 2 teaspoons vegetable glycerine
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, to taste
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, to taste
• water, coconut milk, or almond milk to thin to desired consistency

Glaze Variations:

Add 2 T. marmalade along with 1 t. fresh lemon juice (omit vanilla extract).

Add 2 T. sour cherry preserves along with 1 t. almond extract and 1 t. lime juice (use lime juice in the muffins).

Add 2 T. sour cherry preserves along with 1 t. lemon juice, omit vanilla extract. 

Add 2 T. lime juice in place of the lemon juice (also use lime juice in the muffins), flavor both with almond ext.

Method:

To make the glaze, mix all the powders together and stir into the 2 T. glycerine. Whisk together until smooth. 

Add lemon or lime juice and vanilla or almond extract to taste. Thin with desired liquid, if needed.

Enjoy experimenting,

Leila.

Crazy Good Low-Carb Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes (with variations) - Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free, Guilt-Free!

First we nailed making delicious low-carb pancakes. Exciting. But, what we really love are Buttermilk Pancakes!

It took a little more experimenting until we nailed a fabulous buttermilk pancake recipe too.

Our buttermilk pancake recipe is similar to our regular low-carb pancake recipe. The gluten-free "flour" blend is the same, for example. The leavening system is different to allow for the acidity of the buttermilk. We were aiming for the ultimate fluffy pancake...and we got it! We are very excited to share this recipe with you. we are still in pancake recipe creation mode. We are experimenting with using different liquids in the pancake mix, like almond milk, soy milk, yak milk (just kidding).

We have even created cinnamon roll pancakes! Seriously, topped with our sugar-free Cream Cheese Frosting... You could be arrested for eating one of these in public, if you don't have enough to share! These are so over-the-top. You won't believe they are healthy. A recipe for these will be made available soon, I promise.

Benefits of this Buttermilk pancake recipe:

Tastes amazing!
Low carb
High fiber
Sugar free
Gluten free
High protein
Curbs cravings
Aids in weight loss
Helps blood sugar levels stay even
Good for athletic training
Can make dry pancake mix in advance
Can make pancakes in advance and freeze them


First get out all your ingredients first and pre-weigh them (weighing is best for consistency).

Putting together this dry pancake mix is SO worth the effort. You can easily make a bulk batch of this pancake mix. Just make sure you weigh everything accurately. When you are ready to make some pancakes, all you do is add some fresh buttermilk and egg. They are easy to mix up, easier to cook, and the easiest to e-a-t.

Your kitchen will smell wonderful as these cook. You and your family will feel satisfied for a long time after you eat these pancakes. They are high in fiber and high in protein too. These are also helpful for those who are aiming to slim down. They even taste great with just butter and no syrup. Most fake pancakes have to be drowned in syrup to be at all palatable.

These pancakes taste even better the next day. Just refrigerated or freeze them and when you want a quick breakfast, microwave a couple pancakes a few seconds to reheat them.

We hope you enjoy this recipe for years to come!

To see the original post on our Low-Carb Pancakes, click HERE.

See a sugar-free pancake syrup HERE.

See an improved clear pancake syrup HERE. (coming soon!)



Low-Carb Buttermilk Pancakes Recipe:

Makes 4 medium sized pancakes (serves 2).

Dry Mix Ingredients:

13.0 grams (2 T.)  stirred coconut flour
11.0 grams (2 T.)  oat bran flour (finely ground)
11.0 grams (2 T.)  white almond flour (lightly packed)
8.0 grams (1 T.)  Hi-Maize brand resistant starch from National Starch **
4.0 grams (1 T.)  whey protein isolate
3.0 grams (1 T.)  psyllium husks (flakes, not powdered) ***
3.5 grams (1 t.)  gelatin powder (like Knoxx brand plain gelatin)
4.0 grams (1 t.)  Table Top Sugar Blend (or 1 1/2 t. of a 50:50 mix of erythritol and xylitol) ****
0.9 grams (1/4 t.)  BioSalt or sea salt
0.9 grams (1/4 t.)  baking powder
0.9 grams (1/4 t.)  baking soda
0.9 grams (1/4 t.)  konjac powder
0.9 grams (1/4 t.)  Wheat Bread Flavor Powder, optional (a proprietary flavoring for GF breads *)


Wet Ingredients:

1 medium egg
1/2 c. fresh buttermilk


Method:

In a small mixing bowl, sift all the dry ingredients together very well and set aside.

Preheat a 12-inch or larger non-stick skillet to 350 degrees (medium heat). Oil pan with coconut oil.

Whisk the egg until emulsified.

Add the buttermilk to the egg and mix together well.

Add the egg mixture to the dry mix in the mixing bowl and blend together until there are no lumps.

Immediately pour all 4 pancakes into the prepared skillet. Let them cook without shaking the pan.

The pancake batter quickly becomes thick, so they will not bubble like thinner pancakes do to indicate when to flip them over. You'll need to peek at the bottoms, and flip them when they turn nicely brown.

Cook the other side until they are golden brown and spring back in the center when lightly touched.

If you did not cook all the pancakes at once, do not stir the batter down. Just portion it with a food portioning scoop (an ice cream scoop) onto the oiled skillet. You may gently pat down the batter a bit with wet fingers. Again, do not shake the pan to settle the pancakes or they will be misshapen.

Enjoy with butter and a good sugar-free syrup or preserves.


Buttermilk Pancake Variations:

These pancakes are the ultimate when fresh buttermilk is used. However, that being said, all the rest of these variations taste terrific. I like to have a lot of versatility in my recipes, so that you can use what you have on hand. There are other variations too, like using unsweetened soy or almond milk.

1. With reconstituted buttermilk powder

Instead of fresh buttermilk use:
4 t. powdered buttermilk
1/8 t. guar gum
1/2 c. water

Mix together the powdered buttermilk and guar gum. Mix with the water to form a buttermilk. add to the medium sized egg and beat until foamy. mix into the dry pancake mix above.

2. With Powdered milk

Instead of fresh buttermilk use:
4 t. Non-Instant powdered milk
1/8 t. guar gum
1/2 c. minus 1/2 t. water
1/2 t. apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice

Make your own sour milk by first mixing the powdered milk with the guar gum. Then mix the dry milk mixture into the water and vinegar. Let this sit about 5 minutes. Proceed to mix it with the beaten egg and add this to the dry pancake mix.


3. With fresh milk

Instead of fresh buttermilk use:
1/2 c. minus 1/2 t. fresh organic milk
1/2 t. apple cider vinegar
1/8 t. guar gum (mix with the dry ingredients)

Mix the milk and vinegar together and let it sit while you whisk your egg and get the pan ready. Proceed with the recipe above.



Tips: 

You may double the recipe and use only 1 extra-large egg.  It works fine if you use a 2-burner sized skillet to cook all 8 pancakes at once. 



Notes: 

*  "Wheat Bread Flavor Powder" is a proprietary flavor my mother created for all gluten free bread-type products. It is not available to the public (unless we get a large amount of requests for it...). You may add a touch of real butter flavoring instead,,,

** Honeyville grain carries the HiMaize Resistant starch. This ingredient is not absorbed like regular starch and is a wonderful ingredient for low carb, gluten free baking. You can use up to 25% HiMaize in your flour blends to cut carbs.

*** If you do not have the 1 T. psyllium husk flakes, substitute with 1 teaspoon psyllium husk powder. The texture will not be quite as bread-like, but it is still good.

**** You may substitute Lakanto white sugar substitute for the tabletop sugar blend called for.

Looking for bubbles in these cooking pancakes is not an indicator of pancakes being ready to flip. Check the bottoms for doneness.

Lower heat is needed for cooking these pancakes, compared to regular starch-filled pancakes. Too high a temperature will burn the outsides before the insides are cooked through.

Grind the oat bran until very fine, unless you want more texture to your pancakes.

Making these pancake with just liquid egg whites is not a good idea. They won't act like, look like, or taste like pancakes at all.

Mixing in an additional t. dry egg white protein powder resulted in rubbery, eggy pancakes. Don't do it.

Using less oat bran flour results in a pancake with compromised texture. We do not recommend less than 2 T. oat bran flour for this recipe.

The added gelatin makes a nice, flexible pancake, nearer to a wheat-like texture.

Whey protein isolate is higher in protein and has mush less lactose in it than whey protein concentrate, and usually the lactose-intolerant can eat it in this recipe.

Shaking the pancake batter in the skillet will result in flattened pancakes that may also run together. Just pour them, or portion them with a food portioning scoop (ice cream scoop). If the batter has thickened a lot, gently pat the pancake batter down a tiny bit with wet fingers.


Pictures of the process:

Preheat the griddle with coconut oil.

Mixing the wet ingredients into the dry pancake mix.

Stir until there are no lumps.

Use the pancake batter immediately after mixing.

Portion pancakes with an ice cream scoop.

Flip when the pancakes are golden brown underneath.

Cook until the second side is golden brown. Pretty, aren't they?

Butter the fluffy pancakes.

Top with home made sugar-free syrup.

Dig in!

YUM

YUM..

Enjoy! 

Leila & Nancy.

Amazing Meatless Moussaka - You won't believe how good this is!

This beautiful main dish has 3 delicious layers of flavor and texture. 

This is one of my all-time favorite main dishes.The topping is so rich, creamy and wonderful, and perfectly compliments the robust tomato-based sauce underneath. The eggplant doesn't know what hit it. You will be shocked at how good the eggplant tastes here.

Eggplant seems to be the new darling in the low-carb world. Although the flour in this recipe negates that a bit...but it's SO worth it! I have not yet tried a gluten-free flour, but I see no reason why it wouldn't work.

This is a classic recipe of my mothers. I remember her serving this Meatless Moussaka to guests and it always got rave reviews. Many people swooned over this very recipe, telling her that she really must open up a restaurant. This impressed me as a child. I knew I liked her food but this is about the time that I figured out that she was a really amazing cook. I enjoyed seeing people make such a fuss over my mom. She may have had a marriage proposal or two over this recipe, I know she did over her tender buttery scrambled eggs!

If you so desire a marriage proposal, I suggest you invite your suitor over for a nice romantic dinner featuring this main dish! Even if you are already married, they may propose again!


Mom's Meatless Moussaka Recipe:

RED SAUCE:
5 c. tomato juice
3/4 t. cinnamon (you may cut to 1/2 t., if desired)
1 T. honey
1 pound minced mushrooms, browned well in 1/4 c. real butter
2 onions, chopped and sauteed until clear in 2 T. olive oil
2 t. sweet paprika
1 t. oregano
1 t. salt, to taste
1/4 t. fresh ground black pepper

MORNAY SAUCE:
2/3 c. white flour
1/2 c. real butter
4 1/2 c. milk
4 T. sherry
1 t. onion salt
1 T. Romano cheese
1 T. Parmesan cheese

EGGPLANT:
2 large eggplants, sliced in 1/2" thick rounds
beaten egg to dip eggplant slices in
oil (olive or deodorized coconut) to brown the eggplant
1/3 c. Parmesan cheese


Method:

RED SAUCE:
Combine ingredients in a sauce pan and gently simmer until thickened and flavorful.

MORNAY SAUCE:
Make a roux of the butter and flour. Cook on low 5 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients and cook gently until thick.

EGGPLANT:
Take the 1/2" round slices of eggplant and dip into the beaten egg and brown in oil on both sides.
Pat the eggplant briefly with paper towels.
Overlap eggplant slices in a 9 X 13-inch pan.
Sprinkle 1/3 c. Parmesan cheese over eggplant.

Assembly:

Pour prepared red sauce over top the eggplant in the pan and shake gently to settle the sauce.
Bake eggplant at 350 degrees, for 30 minutes.
Take out of oven and pour prepared Mornay sauce over-top.
Bake at 425 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.
Serve hot.


ENJOY!

Leila.

Comforting Ham & Potato Casserole

This "Meat and Potatoes" casserole is

traditional American comfort food. 

Our family is having company over for dinner tonight. They are young missionaries with hearty appetites, who have been away from home for a while, which means they have been missing out on home-cooked meals. So, I'm cooking homey food that I hope will fill them up.

The rest of my menu is steamed butter & chive carrots seasoned with onion salt and fresh ground pepper and a green jello salad (a corny Utah tradition) with crushed pineapple. For dessert, I'm serving banana pie pudding which is vanilla pudding with lots of fresh bananas and sweetened whipped cream, poured over a graham cracker crust. We usually don't eat this way. But I don't have an issue with it every now and then.

This casserole is a good way to use up leftover ham. It is hearty and delicious. I hope you enjoy it.





Ham & Potato Casserole Recipe:

Serves: 3 

4 T. organic butter
1 small onion, diced
2 1/2 T. flour (or gluten-free flour)
2 c. organic milk
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. onion salt
1/2 t. BioSalt or sea salt, totaste
30 grinds fresh black pepper, to taste
3 c. chopped ham
3 c. boiled diced potatoes
1 cup grated cheese, divided


Method:

Brown the onion in the butter.
Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir and saute until it starts to brown.
Slowly stir in milk and gently simmer, with stirring until thickened. Do not boil hard or it may curdle.
Season with garlic, onion salt, salt and pepper, to taste.
Add the ham and potatoes and gently stir to combine.
Add 3/4 c. of the shredded cheese and stir to blend in.
Transfer the mixture to a small baking casserole and sprinkle the top with remaining 1/4 c. cheese.
Cover casserole with a lid or foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until hot.
If you want to bake the casserole later, cover and refrigerate. Bake for 45 minutes, since it is cold.


Tip: This casserole doubles well and will fit into a large casserole dish (I always double the recipe).



Photos of the process:

Prep the the casserole ingredients.

Saute onions in butter.

Add flour to the cooking onions.

Cook the flour and onion mixture to brown and develop more flavor.

Add milk.

Add seasonings.

Cook gently until sauce thickens.

Add the ham.

Blend in the ham.

Add the potatoes and mix in.

Add most of the cheese.

Mix well.

Transfer to a baking casserole.

Top with the rest of the cheese.

Bake in a 350 oven.

The finished casserole along with the sides.

Dinner is served.

Banana Pudding dessert.

The dessert plate.

So dinner was served and the Missionaries were happy. We really enjoy having them over. I sent them home with all of the banana pudding dessert. Like we need to eat more of that!

Enjoy,

Leila.

Crazy Good Low Carb Pancake Recipe - Gluten free, Sugar Free & FLUFFY!

We nailed it! We now offer you the recipe for the best wheat-free pancakes on the planet. I kid you not my pretties.

Amazing 'healthified" light & fluffy Low-Carb Pancakes!

My mom and I had a lot of fun working together on this one. We are very synergistic when we collaborate together. We mind meld and stuff, it's great.

She teaches me, and she tells me I teach her too. But personally, I think I only teach her stuff that's a variation of the stuff she first taught me. She may disagree on that point, however, I ask you this:

What came first, the chicken or the egg?

I can answer that one, "The Chicken".   Not that my mom is a chicken.

My point is, I am very grateful for how my mother has raised me and for what she has taught me. I feel she is woven into my very fabric. She still teaches me the most amazing things (like what makes the best flour substitutes, or how to make a heart-calming herbal tincture, or insights on the power of personal prayer). Happy Mother's Day again mom!

Anyway, the chicken came first. Because of my mom, you can now make the best healthy pancakes ever.

The ingredient list is a very creative one. We use several types of "flours" to get the flavor and texture of these pancakes right. Remember, we are professional food formulating maniacs, along with being gluten-free specialists and sugar-free specialists. I say this because I want you to know that we have done more than our fair share of formulating this kind of thing. You get to benefit from our years of trials, and years of learning about the properties of the newest healthy raw materials. Cool, huh?

For you, we wanted to create variations that use ingredients that are readily available to the consumer. This narrows our list of cool (and healthy) ingredients substantially. We have tried many variations and proportions with several different ingredients, and this is where we arrived.

We are excited to share this recipe with you because the recipes we found "out there" were not what we were hoping for. (See my Pancake Bedtime Story post) They were rubbery, way too eggy, soggy, spongy, slimy, gritty, heavy, mushy, bitter, fell apart, contained sugar, Were starch-laden, tasted like yucky protein powder, or otherwise weird tasting and weird textured. I'll skip breakfast, thanks!

But now, we can all enjoy light and fluffy guilt-free pancakes, and our family won't pull faces and run away hungry.

It is worth the effort to acquire all the ingredients we list here. If you have already been cooking with gluten-free, low-carb, paleo, or sugar-free recipes, you will already have most, if not all the ingredients for this recipe. You can even make this mix in bulk. We will post a bulk pancake mix recipe later, so please check back soon.

Benefits of this pancake recipe:

Tastes amazing!
Low carb
High fiber
Sugar free
Gluten free
High protein
Curbs cravings
Aids in weight loss
Helps blood sugar levels stay even
Good for athletic training
Can make dry pancake mix in advance
Can make pancakes in advance and freeze them


First get out all your ingredients first and pre-weigh them (weighing is best for consistency), or you can just measure them until you get yourself some good kitchen scales.

Again, putting together this dry pancake mix is SO worth the effort. When you are ready to make some pancakes, all you do is add some water and egg. They are easy to mix up, easier to cook, and the easiest to e-a-t.

Your kitchen will smell wonderful as these cook. You and your family will feel satisfied for a long time after you eat these pancakes. They are high in fiber and high in protein too. These are also helpful for those who are aiming to slim down. They even taste great with just butter and no syrup. Most fake pancakes have to be drowned in syrup to be at all palatable.

See the next version of pancakes we created, Buttermilk Pancakes, HERE. 

We hope you enjoy this recipe for years to come!



Low Carb Pancake Recipe:

Makes 4 medium sized pancakes (serves 2).

Dry Mix Ingredients:

13.0 grams (2 T.)  stirred coconut flour
11.0 grams (2 T.)  oat bran flour (finely ground)
11.0 grams (2 T.)  white almond flour (lightly packed)
8.0 grams (1 T.)  Hi-Maize brand resistant starch from National Starch **
4.0 grams (1 T.)  whey protein isolate
3.0 grams (1 T.)  psyllium husks (flakes, not powdered) ***
3.5 grams (1 t.)  gelatin powder (like Knoxx brand plain gelatin)
4.0 grams (1 t.)  Table Top Sugar Blend (or 1 1/2 t. of a 50:50 mix of erythritol and xylitol) ****
1.2 grams (1/4 t.)  BioSalt or sea salt
2.8 grams (1/2 t.)  baking powder
0.9 grams (1/4 t.)  konjac powder
0.9 grams (1/4 t.)  Wheat Bread Flavor Powder, optional (a proprietary flavoring for GF breads *)


Wet Ingredients:

1 medium egg
1/2 c. cool purified water


Method:

In a small mixing bowl, sift all the dry ingredients together very well and set aside.

Preheat a 12-inch or larger non-stick skillet to 350 degrees (medium heat). Oil pan with coconut oil.

Whisk the egg until emulsified.

Add the water to the egg and mix together.

Add the egg mixture to the dry mix in the mixing bowl and blend together until there are no lumps.

Immediately pour all 4 pancakes into the prepared skillet. Let them cook without shaking the pan.

The pancake batter quickly becomes thick, so they will not bubble like thinner pancakes do to indicate when to flip them over. You'll need to peek at the bottoms, and flip them when they turn nicely brown.

Cook the other side until they are golden brown and spring back in the center when lightly touched.

If you did not cook all the pancakes at once, do not stir the batter down. Just portion it with a food portioning scoop (an ice cream scoop)

onto the oiled skillet. You may gently pat down the batter a bit with wet fingers. Again, do not shake the pan to settle the pancakes or they will be misshapen.

Enjoy with butter and a good sugar-free syrup or preserves.



Notes: 

*  "Wheat Bread Flavor Powder" is a proprietary flavor my mother created for all gluten free bread-type products. It is not available to the public (unless we get a large amount of requests for it...).

** Honeyville grain carries the HiMaize Resistant starch. This ingredient is not absorbed like regular starch and is a wonderful ingredient for low carb, gluten free baking. You can use up to 25% HiMaize in your flour blends to cut carbs.

*** If you do not have the 1 T. psyllium husk flakes, substitute with 1 teaspoon psyllium husk powder. The texture will not be quite as bread-like, but it is still good.

**** You may substitute Lakanto white sugar substitute for the tabletop sugar blend called for.

Looking for bubbles in these cooking pancakes is not an indicator of pancakes being ready to flip. Check the bottoms for doneness.

Lower heat is needed for cooking these pancakes, compared to regular starch-filled pancakes. Too high a temperature will burn the outsides before the insides are cooked through.

Grind the oat bran until very fine, unless you want more texture to your pancakes.

Making these pancake with just liquid egg whites is not a good idea. They won't act like, look like, or taste like pancakes at all.

Mixing in an additional t. dry egg white protein powder resulted in rubbery, eggy pancakes. Don't do it.

Using less oat bran flour results in a pancake with compromised texture. We do not recommend less than 2 T. oat bran flour for this recipe.

The added gelatin makes a nice, flexible pancake, nearer to a wheat-like texture.

Whey protein isolate is higher in protein and has mush less lactose in it than whey protein concentrate, and usually the lactose-intolerant can eat it in this recipe.

Shaking the pancake batter in the skillet will result in flattened pancakes that may also run together. Just pour them, or portion them with a food portioning scoop (ice cream scoop). If the batter has thickened a lot, gently pat the pancake batter down a tiny bit with wet fingers.


Tip: 

I doubled the recipe because all I had were extra-large eggs. I used 1 extra-large egg.  It worked fine, although the 2nd batch of pancakes were more ragged looking because the batter had thickened up and I did not pat the batter down with wet fingers. Not the end of the world, they still turned out great!


Photos of the process:

Mix the dry ingredients together first.

Whisk the egg then add in the water.

Add the egg mixture to the dry pancake mix.

Mix until no lumps remain.

Using a food portioning scoop to measure out each pancake, without deflating the batter.

I flipped the pancakes with an unusual amount of grace... Not.

A nice fluffy stack of pancakes.

That was so good! :)

Enjoy!

Leila & Nancy.