We make our own bread instead of purchasing gluten-free bread so we can control the ingredients. “Gluten-free” foods are often made with rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca starch, or potato starch. These powdered starches are among the few foods that increase blood sugar higher than even whole wheat. It means these foods trigger weight gain in the abdomen (“gluten-free belly”), increase blood sugars, insulin resistance and diabetes, cataracts, and arthritis. They are not healthy replacements for wheat.

1. Sandwich Bread — this recipe is part of my French Toast Stick recipe

2. French Toast Sticks — these are made from the sandwich bread

3. Pancakes

4. Nut-Free Pancakes

5. Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

6. Naan

7. Mini Corn Dog Muffins

8. Buffalo Chicken Egg Muffins

9. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

10. Coconut Banana Bread

11. Lasagna with Zucchini Noodles

12. Chocolate Chip Cookies

13. Pie Crust

14. Blueberry Banana Muffins

15. Brownies & Cacao Brownies

To receive daily health tips and gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free and sugar-free meal/snack ideas, like us at www.facebook.com/wholefoodrealfood.

“When you know better, you do better.”

These are not going to be your traditional fluffy pancakes, they are more dense. However, they have incredible flavor from the banana and are very satisfying. When we first started out with alternative flours such as almond and coconut, we quickly realized that we needed to change our mindset about how the food would taste. Pancakes made from these alternative flours will not taste like your IHOP pancakes, however we got used to them over the first few weeks and enjoy them very much. We re-programmed our body and taste buds, the craving for the IHOP pancakes is no longer there.

We served the pancakes with maple syrup. When using syrup, maple syrup is a good choice because it is natural and pure. Maple syrup is an excellent source of manganese and a good source of zinc. The trace mineral manganese is an essential for energy production and antioxidant defenses. Zinc and manganese are also important allies in the immune system. Most traditional pancake syrups contain added salt, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup and sodium benzoate. Both corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup are potential GM (genetically modified) ingredients.

I use Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips. These chips are certified gluten free, contain no wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg or soy. They are also made without casein, potato, sesame or sulfites and contain no trans fat or cholesterol. They are certified kosher, vegan – no preservatives, all natural. I replaced our Toll House chips with these chips without telling my kids and no one knew the difference.

Here is a visual breakdown of the difference between our pancakes and the Eggo pancakes I used to feed my kids:

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes vs. Eggo Chocolate Chip Pancakes 

Organic Bananas, Organic Eggs, Coconut Flour, Organic Almond Butter, Chocolate Chips (Evaporated Cane Juice, Natural Chocolate Liquor (Non-Alcoholic), Non-Dairy Cocoa Butter), Ghee, Sea Salt vs. Flour Enriched (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron Reduced, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid (Vitamin aB)) , Water, Sugar, Vegetable(s) Oil (Soybean(s) Oil, Palm Oil and Palm Kernel Oil with TBHQ and Citric Acid) , Chocolate Semisweet (Sugar, Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Dextrose, Chocolate Processed With Alkali, Soy Lecithin, and Flavor(s) Artificial) Egg(s), Leavening (Baking Soda, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate), Contains 2% or less of the Following: Flavor(s) Artificial, Soy Lecithin, Whey, Corn Starch, Confectioner’s Glaze, Vitamin A Palmitate, Niacinamide (Vitamin aB), Iron Reduced, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (HCL) (Vitamin B6) , Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2),Vitamin B12

The items bolded in red are potential GMO ingredients. To read the risks (other than being genetically modified) of the ingredients in red, see my Label Library.

Why is “Enriched Flour” not good for you? A wheat grain contains three parts, the bran, germ, and the endosperm. The bran is the outer hard shell of the grain. It’s the part of the grain that provides the most fiber and most of the B vitamins and minerals. The germ is the next layer and is packed with nutrients including essential fatty acids and vitamin E. The endosperm is the soft starchy part in the center of the grain.

White flour (including enriched wheat flour) is a refined grain, meaning the germ and bran are removed and all that remains is the starch. In the United States, we enrich or add some vitamins and one mineral back into refined grains. About 11 vitamins and minerals are removed with the elimination of the germ and bran, and only five are added back.

All white flours (unless otherwise stated) use bleaching agents such as chlorines, bromates, and peroxides. Use of chlorine, bromates, and peroxides is not allowed in many countries due to health concerns. Chlorine bleaching agents have been linked to a chemical reaction in the body that has been shown to destroy beta cells in the pancreas, which in turn promotes diabetes.

Bromate rapidly breaks down to form innocuous bromide. Bromate has been shown to cause cancer in animals. The tiny amounts of bromate that may remain in bread pose a small risk to us, however, Bromate has been banned virtually worldwide except in Japan and the United States. It is rarely used in California because a cancer warning might be required on the label.

Benzoyl Peroxide is a bleaching agent used in refined flours, cheese, milk, rice, starch. It’s also used as an acne medication, an antiseptic in many cough medications and an anti fungal in ointments. There is concern that ingredients treated with benzoyl peroxide leave trace amounts of benzene, a known carcinogenic when baked. Although the amounts of benzene that form are small, leading to only a very small risk of cancer, there is no need to expose you or your family to this risk. – Information Provided By: American Diabetes Association

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Grain-Free Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

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Ingredients

• 2 bananas
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp coconut flour
• 1 tbsp almond butter
• blueberries or Enjoy Life chocolate chips
• coconut oil or ghee
• dash of Himalayan pink salt (optional)

Instructions

1. Mash bananas in a bowl.
2. Add the eggs, coconut flour, almond butter, blueberries or chocolate chips, and salt, and whisk until well blended.
3. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat along with a small pat of coconut oil.
4. Use a tablespoon to pour small discs of batter onto the hot pan (around 3-4" around). They'll be easier to flip if you keep them from the edges of the pan.
5. Flip when batter loses its "tackiness" around the edges.
6. Cook other side slowly over medium heat until fully cooked.
7. Reapply oil to the pan after each round of pancakes

Notes:

This recipe is easily doubled so you can freeze for future use.

Grain-Free Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes