Gluten Free Raw Apple Cinnamon Buckwheat Pancakes with Coconut Cream
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Raw or Cooked buckwheat pancakes smothered in caramel flavored cinnamon apple sauce topped with a coconut cream. A delicious warm breakfast fit for a Saturday morning after your morning workout or as a special Sunday treat. The apple cinnamon sauce is so delectable it can be eaten alone or would make an excellent topping to some banana ice cream.
As I have gone over my recipes I realize that I make a lot of desserts and main dishes but I have neglected breakfast. Generally I have a nice bowl of fruit topped with a sprinkling of buckwheat or a green smoothie in the morning so my personal breakfasts are quite boring and not really worthy of blogging about. However, I have discovered something about having a 'light' breakfast in the morning and I feel like it is important to share what I have noticed happening to me.
How to Combat Sugar Cravings and Night Snacking!
Okay, confession time..... I have become a raging sugaraholic! Most of my life I could eat one cookie and I would be completely satisfied, but lately I have been making simple desserts every single night and I can't get enough. My biggest question.....Why?
I have been pretty good at tracking my calorie intake, diet journals and my weight because I teach nutrition classes and I like to give people examples of healthy ways to eat and lose weight, especially for those who are 'slow losers' like me!
Well, I noticed a trend in my eating habits and weight! I started eating smaller and smaller breakfasts and lunches with less whole grains and legumes to 'save' calories. I wasn't doing this on purpose it was kind of falling back into old habits I guess.
- DO NOT skimp on calories at breakfast or lunch to 'Save' them for dinner! This does not work, your body needs X amount of calories every single day in order to function and if you skimp on breakfast and lunch your body will crave those calories at dinner and after dinner and you will end up feeling like you would eat everything in the kitchen including the paint of the walls!! You need a filling breakfast, it is called Break-Fast for a reason. Your body has been fasting for 12 hours or so since dinner last night and it needs to refuel in the morning. Despite some misguided nutrition guru's claims Protein does NOT give you energy! I don't know where this comes from, you need a good hearty meal like oatmeal, quinoa, ezekiel cereal or another whole grain for breakfast. Anyone who understands blood sugar realizes that we NEED blood sugar, without it YOU DIE! I don't know what all this craze about blood sugar is about, we need it! It is fuel for the cells..period. Yes, fats can be converted into fuel but I'm not interested in second class fuel that produces metabolic waste in the process of conversion, I'm interested in optimal fuel for the body! EAT a good breakfast!
What Does a healthy breakfast look like?
- A green smoothie- These are great as long as you consume enough and you add enough fruit to provide adequate calories for your body type. A 180 pound person obviously needs more than a 100 pound person... It is also easy to overdo calories with smoothies because you can get a lot more pureed fruit to fit in your stomach than whole fruit so make sure you calculate this out the first few times so you know what you are getting.
- Oatmeal- The breakfast of champions in my book! Old fashioned oatmeal should be topped with berries, banana or other powerful antioxidant fruits for a well balanced breakfast.
- Whole Grain Pancakes- I'm sure it is plainly obvious that refined flour is NOT a healthy option so whole grain pancakes whether gluten free or whole wheat is a great option paired with antioxidant rich fruits or berries.
- Quinoa- Cooked, topped with berries or other fruit and almond milk.
- Cracked Wheat- topped with fruit and almond milk
My rule of thumb for breakfast is any whole grain paired with fruit and for the more athletic or those needing higher calories walnuts, pecans, flax, chia or other nuts or seeds are also a great choice.
2. Do NOT avoid Whole grains! I know this can be fairly common among a lot of people but whole grains are the body's best fuel source, they are converted into fuel for the body in a steady state and during the process of breaking down and utilizing complex carbohydrates the only waste produced is carbon dioxide and water, protein and fat are a completely different story here.
Whole grains actually contain protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, fiber and all the nutrients the body needs They Are NOT just CARBS!!!
Why do I say they are not carbs? Because they are not, they have protein AND fat as well as carbohydrates therefore they are not just a carb! Sugar is a carbohydrate, whole grains are not!
Example:
1 cup Quinoa
Protein..........8.1g
Fat................3.6g
Iron...............15%
Zinc...............25%
Quinoa is MORE than just 'carbs'
1 c. Oatmeal
Protein.......5.5g
Fat..............2.7g
Omega 3's....4%
1 c. Buckwheat
Protein........22.5g
Fat...............5.8g
Omega 3's....12%
1 c. Brown Rice
Protein..........4.5g
Fat.................1.6g
Omega 3's......2%
If you are looking for a high protein breakfast that contains a balance of macronutrients buckwheat is the BEST you can get!!!
3. Do NOT skip meals- Aside from skimping on calories skipping meals is also a big no no. If you skip a meal you will struggle with cravings every single time. Skipping meals is NOT a successful weight loss strategy either.
If you eat balanced meals and snack if necessary you will find that the cravings will slowly decrease. When I say 'Balanced' I mean eating to obtain all the macro and micro nutrients the body needs without over eating.
Lots of leafy green vegetables!!!
Whole grains
Legumes
1/2- 1 oz. nuts or seeds
Fruit
Lots of other starchy and non-starchy veggies
Avoid refined sugars, [yes, this includes honey, maple syrup, turbinado, agave etc...], avoid refined oils, flours or processed foods!
If you are craving sweets banana ice cream or a really yummy sweet green smoothie is a better option!
Okay...on to today's recipe....
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