Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Pancakes

Pancakes are a frequent dinner treat on Sundays for us. There is nothing better than some warm, fluffy pancakes to end a great weekend. These don't have a bad ingredient in them - they're gluten free, refined sugar free, and full of tasty, healthy ingredients. I decided to add a little seasonal twist to these this time, with the addition of pumpkin and some fall spices. Not to be basic, but god I love a good pumpkin recipe. Who doesn't!? 

For once, I am not using my coconut or almond flours (I actually ran out of the almond, and it's hard to find almond flour that isn't almond meal). This recipe calls for oat flour, which you can buy, or is super simple to make in a food processor. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you guys don't have a food processor, get one!!! I use it in most of my recipes - it's so worth it!

These make enough pancakes for Nick and I. Sometimes we have some left over, sometimes we don't... oops! Oh and by the way, these only take 10 minutes to make!!! Enjoy.

Recipe:

• 1 1/3 cups oat flour
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 heaping tbsp raw honey
• 1 cup nut milk (I've used almond and cashew)
• 2 tbsp greek yogurt (organic, full fat)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (optional - just do 2 tsp cinnamon if you don't have it)

Directions:

1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
2. Add all the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk until batter is smooth.
3. Let sit for a minute or two while the pan is heating up - the batter will thicken slightly.
4. Scoop batter into the pan to create pancakes!
5. Enjoy!!

Kale Pesto Quinoa with Spinach & Eggs

Three of my favorite things combined right here: pesto, quinoa, and eggs. This is one of my absolute favorite weeknight dinner choices, It's super simple and quick to make, and it's absolutely delicious and satisfying. It's full of protein and fiber and tons of other good for you yummy things. I've always been a fan of quinoa bowls because you can literally have them for any meal of the day and top them with anything you wish, but I really do have to say, this is my favorite quinoa bowl recipe so far. 

I almost always throw an egg on the top of my quinoa bowls, but this is totally optional. I like that it adds a bit of extra protein, plus, I just love eggs! You could also add some shrimp or chicken to the top, which would be delicious too! One other thing to note is that you do need a food processor if you are going to make homemade pesto. I make my own for this recipe, but can always buy pre-made pesto to use too. As for making this vegan, just omit the parmesan cheese (nutritional yeast is a great substitute).

i'm telling you guys... everyone you cook this for will love it. Even your boyfriends, husbands, etc. etc. will - I promise. Nick eats everything I cook for him (although this is really the only way I can seem to sneak kale into his diet). So... even the non-kale fans will enjoy this. You can also just tell them it's normal pesto. It'll be our little secret! Read on below for recipe details and directions!

Recipe:

• Pesto:
  • 2 cups kale (stems removed)
  • 1 cup basil
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • juice from 1/2 lemon 
  • 1 tsp himalayan salt
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 1/3 cup parmesan (or nutritional yeast if vegan)
• Quinoa bowl:
  • 2 cups uncooked quinoa
  • 6 cups (or 1 bag) baby spinach
  • 1/2 cup homemade pesto (or more depending on how you want it to taste)
  • 1/2 teaspoon himalayan salt
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese + more for topping (for vegan, omit completely or add some nutritional yeast)
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric (optional)
  • 2 organic eggs (optional)
  • Organic chicken broth (to cook quinoa)

Directions:

1. To make the pesto, all you need to do is throw all the ingredients into a food processor and mix well. Voila!! 
2. Cook the quinoa + chicken broth according to the instructions on the quinoa package. Again, if you're making this vegan, you can just use water.
3. When the quinoa is done cooking, turn the heat to medium, add the turmeric (this is optional - I add it as a little anti-inflammatory health boost), spinach, pesto, parmesan/nutritional yeast, and salt. Stir until the mixture is well mixed and the spinach is wilted.
4. Cook the eggs in a separate pan. You can cook however many you want depending on how many people you're serving. I usually do one egg per bowl.
5. Scoop the quinoa mixture into bowls and top with the fried egg. Serve immediately and top with parmesan cheese!

Collagen

Oh collagen... My go-to health secret. I'm addicted to this stuff, and have been for quite a while now. I take it religiously every day, and I've really begun to see the benefits, mostly in my skin, but it does a lot more than just improve your appearance. Collagen has become pretty big in the recent months and has really taken off due to all the health benefits it offers. To summarize it, collagen is the most abundant protein in your body, and is really important for healthy skin, hair and nails. It's pretty much the main ingredient in bone broth, a recent fad I'm sure you've all heard about lately. So just like bone broth, it also helps to heal your gut.

Collagen is full of amino acids, ones that are normally produced by your body, but when you're sick, stressed, or just exposed to outside toxins (like we all are), your body may not produce these amino acids completely by itself... Hence supplementing with collagen or bone broth. Below are the lengthly benefits of collagen. I was sold by the time I read the first, and I'm sure you guys will be too! Here's why you all should be adding collagen to your daily routine:

1. Strengthens and adds elasticity to skin, hair and nails, and can also actually reverse the signs of aging.
2. Decreases cellulite: weakened collagen can cause cellulite to be more apparent, so supplementing with this will help to eliminate it.
3. Boots your metabolism: it increases energy levels and helps with muscle development
4. Gut healing: helps with leaky gut by soothing and helping to heal and repair the intestinal lining.
5. Improves sleep: Gylcine (in gelatin), has a anti-stress action, which promotes natural sleep.
6. Balances hormones and thyroid function.
7. Lubricates and heals your joints, as well as builds stronger bones.

What I love about collagen powder though, is that it is entirely tasteless (you can even put it in tea and you won't notice it), odorless, and dissolves completely in both hot and cold liquids. So unlike a lot of other supplement powders and such, you can add it to a variety of drinks, tonics or recipes and you won't even notice it. I love this because it allows me to get it into my diet daily, no matter what. Whether I'm drinking a smoothie, coffee or tea for breakfast, a scoop of collagen powder is always added! You can add it to many recipes to maximize the nutritional value too, and you'll reap the benefits. Some of my favorite recipes are below.

1. Tulsi Tea Jello
2. Ginger Honey Gummies (another flavor here)
3. Matcha Latte
4. Cake Batter Protein Bars
5. Pumpkin Pie Protein Bars

So what's the difference between collagen peptides and gelatin powder? Not a lot, but collagen is not exactly the same thing as gelatin because of the way it's processed. They both have the same amino acids, but different chemical properties. Collagen peptides are processed so that it will not gel when you add it to liquids, so it's great to use in both cold and hot liquids (smoothies, juices, tea, etc.). Gelatin turns into a gel when added to liquids, so this is great to add to recipes like I listed above, especially the jello and gummies. I have added it to hot tea before and it did dissolve, but I prefer to drink the collagen peptides because of the consistency. 

There are a couple different good brands that make these powders, but I highly recommend Vital Proteins. I have gone through about 4 cases of their collagen peptides already, and am thinking about trying the beauty greens one next! They also make a marine collagen version, for those of you who don't eat meat (but still consume seafood of course). The other great brand that makes this is Great Lakes. I own their beef gelatin, and this is what I add to recipes to make gummies and jello (or the occasional hot tea). If you're trying this out for the first time, I do recommend going with the collagen peptides as it is more versatile.