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Sweet Potato Spice Waffles and Pancakes

10/12/2016 *Sara-Marie* 3 Comments


Fall - a time for light sweaters, boots, leaves, apples, and everything pumpkin spiced. Am I right? I love this time of year because the fall has brought so many beautiful moments in to my life. 6 years ago, Mark proposed to me at an apple orchard in late September and almost 3 years ago, we welcomed our beautiful baby girl into the world in late October.

A couple of weeks ago, we took Isabelle for our now annual trip to the Roba's Family Farm where we got to ride a pony, feed goats, pick out pumpkins, and Isabelle got to try a cider donut for the first time. SHOCKING I KNOW. I let Isabelle eat a cider donut and it wasn't even gluten free!



Because we eat so well every day, I do not have any problem with the occasional treat. If my kid eats a cider donut once a year, I'm still calling that a success!

A few days passed and Isabelle and I had the following conversation:

Isabelle: I want to go back to the farm.
Mama: Oh yea? Do you want to ride the pony again?
Isabelle: No, I need donuts.

Oh Lord, I created a monster!

So these Sweet Potato Spice Waffles/Pancakes were born. I wanted to create something that tasted like a cider donut but was nutrient dense so I felt comfortable feeding it to Isabelle on a regular basis.

The kid loves the paleo waffle recipe from Every Last Crumb so I used that recipe as a base for this one. My first attempt was OK, but adding the sweet potato threw off the texture of the waffle. I kept playing around with flour ratios and the end result was delicious! It's crispy on the outside but soft on the inside, filled with the nutrients of a sweet potato, spiced with pumpkin pie spice, satiating from the healthy fats, and just sweet enough to get your daughter to forget about cider donuts from the farm and devour these "waffle donuts" as Isabelle called them instead.

You can also use this batter to make Sweet Potato Spice Pancakes! They were delicious with some coconut butter smeared over them.

Both the pancakes and waffles freeze really well, so I would absolutely double this recipe and save some for a busy morning or quick snack. I actually prefer the waffles after they've been toasted for about 2-3 minutes in the toaster. Also, feel free to try pumpkin instead of the sweet potato! The batter might be a little wetter (haven't tested it myself), but should still work.

SWEET POTATO SPICE WAFFLES AND PANCAKES RECIPE

 Recipe Ingredients

Dry Ingredients:
1 cup almond flour
3/4 cup tapioca flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp coconut sugar
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 cup sweet potato puree 
1 egg
1/2 cup coconut milk, light 
1/4 cup avocado oil (plus more for oiling your waffle iron or skillet)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla

Recipe Directions

 1. Plug in your waffle iron to warm up or warm up a skillet over medium low heat for making pancakes.
2. In a medium/large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients until well combined.
3. Make a well in your dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients to your bowl. Mix everything together until a batter is formed.
4. Let batter sit for 5 minutes. You should notice a few bubbles form in the batter during this time.
5. COOKING THE WAFFLES: Lightly brush on some avocado oil to your warm waffle iron. Add a scoop of batter to your waffle iron, leaving about an inch from the edges all around. Close the top and cook according to your waffle iron's instructions. My waffle iron takes about 5 minutes per waffle.
6. COOKING THE PANCAKES: Lightly brush on some avocado oil to your warm skillet. Add about 1/4 cup of batter and cook like a traditional pancake, waiting for a few bubbles to surface before flipping. Cook for one more minute after flipping.
7. Serve with maple syrup and a dusting of pumpkin pie spice. Enjoy!

Try these and let me know what you think!

XOXO,
SMP
*Some product links throughout this blog are affiliate links. If through these links, you end up purchasing an item I recommend, I may receive a small commission. Please know that I would never personally recommend any product or service that I do not currently use or would consider using on my own family. I simply want you to know exactly what I use, so you can have the same results when making my recipes. Thank you for your support!*

3 comments:

Nourished Beginnings Baby Food - Nutrient Dense Recipes for Infants, Toddlers, and Beyond - Book Review

10/10/2016 *Sara-Marie* 1 Comments



I thank God that we embraced the Whole30/Paleo lifestyle a year or so before I got pregnant with Isabelle, because it became the foundation for how we decided to feed our daughter. After we knew what our bodies were meant to thrive on, I was convinced that nutrient dense, nourishing foods were the only things I wanted Isabelle to eat. I got a lot of negative feedback from family and friends for turning down things like rice cereal and those puffs that every kid seemed to love, but no one could take away my conviction that I wanted every bite that Isabelle ate to count. I wanted every single bit of food to be setting herself up for a healthy relationship with food - food that would nourish her growing brain and support her digestive and immune system. So I kept on walking down my own path with a couple of avocados in my purse at all times.

I started looking for like minded people through blogs and social media accounts and one day came across Renee Kohley's Instagram account from Raising Generation Nourished. I immediately gravitated to her posts and her blog, seeing that she was successfully raising her three daughters on a real-food based diet.

"See Mom - I'm not the only one!" is what I wanted to shout. Over the years, I've learned many tips and tricks from Renee and she was the one to introduce me to the concept of using soups as a cost-effective but nutrient dense way to nourish my family.

It seems simple, but soups are such a great way to get kids (and picky adult eaters!) to get accustomed to different tastes and sneak in an array of different fruits and vegetables in their diets, not to mention the many benefits of consuming homemade bone broth on the regular.

So when Renee started to hint that she was writing a book, I got excited. Really excited! If just seeing her IG and reading her blog posts were helping me take my family's nutrition to the next level, a book would just be the icing on the cake (gluten free, of course!).

And let me tell you, this book does not disappoint. Nourished Beginnings Baby Food is so much more than baby food - it inspires you to nourish your entire family.

 Not only does it include simple how-to's for nourishing staples like homemade bone broth and coconut butter, but it shows you how to cook once for the entire family but adapt that meal to fit your growing baby. No need to buy separate baby food or make something completely different for your child - from the time they start eating real food, give them exactly that! REAL FOOD.

Even if your children are a little older now, over half of the book focuses on family meals that anyone will enjoy. Plus - my daughter still loves purees and they are a delicious side dish to a roast chicken or served under some ground beef. I mean - don't we all still like mashed potatoes as adults? No reason we shouldn't be mashing up other nutrient dense foods like squash or beets!

In addition to all of the vegetable purees, nutrient dense soups, and well-rounded family dinners, I really love the section on drinks in Nourished Beginnings. Friends - we need to be thinking beyond those juice boxes. Again, every bite or sip that our kids take can and should be nourishing. 
Renee even includes multiple tea recipes that are safe to use for kiddos 6 months + that can help calm an upset tummy or a colicky baby and even aid a fever. SO helpful, especially when there's not much out there that is safe to use with little ones. I love having these alternatives in my pocket now. 

So all of that to say, you need this book. Nourished Beginnings Baby Food officially released last week and you don't want to miss out. I have seen with my own eyes how a real, nutrient-dense diet is so critical for overall health and wellness - for adults and children alike. While I still have control over what my daughter eats and doesn't eat, I want to be sure I am providing her the absolute best and now I have another tool in my wheelhouse to help nourish our next generation.

Thanks Renee for pouring your heart into this book!

XOXO,
SMP

*Some product links throughout this blog are affiliate links. If through these links, you end up purchasing an item I recommend, I may receive a small commission. Please know that I would never personally recommend any product or service that I do not currently use or would consider using on my own family. I simply want you to know exactly what I use, so you can have the same results when making my recipes. Thank you for your support!*

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