Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Spinach Banana Smoothie Pancakes

YUMMY!



Another staple in my household, Spinach Banana Smoothie Pancakes. I'm always trying to find ways to get my kids to eat more veggies. I found this recipe online a few years ago when I was trying to get my son to eat green things, and have tweaked it here and there. I made a double batch of these over the weekend, so I could freeze them for the kids' breakfasts. I just placed them between wax paper, put them in a ziploc freezer bag, freeze, and voila! Easy breakfast. The great thing about spinach is that it's super healthy, and when blended, there's no taste to it, especially when you have ripe bananas in there too.


Single batch...makes about 22 pancakes, using scant 1/4 cup to pour batter.

1 C almond milk, unsweetened
1 very ripe banana
2 C fresh baby spinach
1 C flour (I did 1/2 wheat and 1/2 white)
1 TBSP sugar (I already reduced this from the original 2 TBSP)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
2 TBSP butter, melted  


Syrup and butter for topping, or whatever you'd like. My kids get a few chocolate chips on top.

In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a blender, add milk, banana and spinach and blend until there are no flecks of spinach seen in the mixture. Blend in the egg and butter.

Pour green mixture in with the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Preheat griddle on medium low. Using a 1/4 measuring cup, drop batter onto the griddle. Cook until the tops are bubbly and edges are dry (darker green). Flip and cook another minute or so.
 

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Benefits of Using Coconut Oil


I am by no means a nutritionist at all, but I do try to be educated about some topics.  Of course, if you ever have any questions about whether something is healthy for YOUR particular diet/health, always check with a medical professional.  Here's what I found about cooking with coconut oil.

1) Digestion

Cooking with coconut oil can benefit your digestive system because it contains saturated fats with anti-microbial properties, which help eliminate parasites, bacteria and other causes of indigestion.  What does all that mean?  It means it may help prevent stomach-related problems because it is easy to digest.  Coconut oil is also healthy because it helps your body absorb nutrients, vitamins, minerals and amino acids.


2) Weight loss

Cooking with coconut oil can be helpful if you are trying to lose weight.  Woot woot!  According to www.organicfacts.net, coconut oil naturally increases your metabolism.  Coconut oil also has short -- and medium -- chain fatty acids, which can help you keep weight off.  Easy to digest, you will also find that coconut oil helps keep your thyroid healthy, too.


3)  Heart Disease  

Cooking with coconut oil is also now considered to be good for your heart. The oil contains 50 percent lauric acid, which is known to help control conditions like high cholesterol and high blood pressure. The saturated fat in coconut oil, unlike other vegetable oils, is not harmful and won't increase your LDL levels.

Now these are just a few of the benefits.  I've only used coconut oil so far with baking but will be thinking about using it more often now.