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Sweet Potato Spice Waffles and Pancakes


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!*
dairy free, gluten free, grain free,
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Gluten Free Baked Chicken Nuggets


Now that Isabelle is in preschool full-time, I have to be more and more creative with packing her snacks and lunch. A few weeks ago, I found some organic ground chicken and thought I would give making chicken nuggets a try! I wanted to make these gluten free, but simple enough to make on a regular basis, if they were a hit with the Little Lady.


Which, they clearly were.

This recipe can easily be scaled down or up depending on your chicken nugget needs. I like making this amount because we can eat once and also store some in the fridge or freezer for later consumption.

Now, let's talk texture. Since these chicken nuggets are baked and not fried, the coating is not super crunchy like fried chicken nuggets from a drive-thru. They are soft, flavorful, a little flaky, and a big hit with both my almost 3 year old and my 32 year old husband.


Try these out and let me know what you think!

GLUTEN FREE BAKED CHICKEN NUGGETS RECIPE

 Recipe Ingredients
2 lbs ground chicken
2 tsp Adobo seasoning (Click here for my easy homemade blend)

Coating:
1 1/4 cup almond flour
1 1/4 tsp Adobo seasoning
1/4 cup tapioca flour
2 eggs
1 tbsp water
Olive Oil Cooking Spray (or use a Misto, if you have one)

Recipe Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and lightly oil a baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, combine the 2 lbs of ground chicken with 2 tsp of Adobo seasoning.
3. Spray some oil on your hands to prevent sticking and start forming the nuggets by rolling the ground chicken into small golf ball sized balls and then flattening to about 1/4 inch thick and placing on a separate plate. Form all chicken nuggets (or at least half the batch) before proceeding to the next steps.
4. Line up 3 small bowls: one bowl with just the tapioca flour, one bowl with the 2 eggs mixed with the tbsp of water, and one bowl with the almond flour and Adobo seasoning combined.
5. Take each chicken nugget and coat first with tapioca flour, then drop into the egg wash, then coat with the seasoned almond flour, and lastly place on the oiled baking sheet.
6. Once all chicken nuggets are prepared, spray the tops of each nugget with the olive oil spray.
7. Bake for a total of 10 minutes, making sure to flip the nuggets at the halfway point.

Enjoy!

XOXO,
SMP
chicken nuggets, eat real food, gluten free,
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What Does Isabelle Eat? 2/14/15



I have a lot of ideas on where to take these "What Does Isabelle Eat?" posts, but haven't had the time to put those thoughts to paper. So for this week, I will just do another recap of the meals Isabelle has enjoyed this week in hopes of giving you some healthy meal ideas that you can try in your home too.

Isabelle tried two new foods this week: wild caught salmon and red beet and cabbage sauerkraut. 

Just last week I decided to start including high quality fish into her diet. First, we tried wild caught tuna and that was a success. Based on some research I did, my plan is to feed her about one ounce, once a week, alternating between types of fish. And even though she has really enjoyed the tuna and salmon, too much in a sitting or in a given week could potentially be a lot of mercury exposure for a little body. The benefits of the healthy and brain boosting omega 3s outweighs the risk though and if we do it once a week, Isabelle should be just fine! However, we are avoiding shellfish since I have an allergy and I don't want to test that out any time soon!

Now in terms of the red beet and cabbage sauerkraut, she wasn't exactly sure if she liked it or not. Isabelle would suck and chew on the pieces and then spit them out. (Check out the video on my Instagram or Facebook page - it's hilarious!) I decided to experiment with this food since healthy bacteria that can be found in high quality fermented foods like sauerkraut can be great for your gut. Yay probiotics! This would be another once every week or two thing. Hopefully she actually eats it next time! 

SOME OF THIS WEEK'S MEALS IN PICTURES

Scrambled eggs, orange slices and avocado

Peaches, pears, and scrambled eggs

Zoodles with a creamy ground beef meat sauce

She doesn't mess around when it comes to chicken drumsticks!

Olives, avocado, chicken, and orange slices. Isabelle loves the little compartments in this repurposed muffin pan!

Beef stew, avocado, and raspberries. She LOVED those beef stew chunks!

Wild caught salmon with a little homemade mayo and cut up grapes. This was a little messy but she housed the salmon. Actually left most of the grapes.

More scrambled eggs, sweet potato rounds, and strawberries with coconut cream

Roasted vegetable soup! Made with butternut squash, carrots, sweet potato, onions, coconut milk, and bone broth.She insisted on feeding herself.

Strawberries, avocado, butternut squash, and red beet and cabbage sauerkraut.

Below is a summary of the different foods she's consumed in the last week:

Fruits: Raspberries, Bananas, Strawberries, Oranges, Apples, Grapes, Peaches, Pears  
Vegetables: Sweet Potatoes, Butternut Squash, Zucchini, Carrots, Onions, Broccoli (Does the beet and cabbage count?!)
Protein: Eggs, Chicken, Beef, Bison, Salmon   
Fats: Avocado, Coconut, Ghee
Liquids: Breast Milk, Bone Broth, Coconut Milk, Water 


What new food did your child try this week? What was their reaction? Share in the comments below! 

XOXO,
SMP
healthy kids, meal ideas, paleo,
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What Does Isabelle Eat? 2/2/15

 
About 6 weeks ago, I started a new series on my Instagram account (@considertheleafturned) called What Does Isabelle Eat? (#WhatDoesIsabelleEat). I get questions all of the time about how we are choosing to feed our daughter and I thought it would be helpful to share some of her everyday meals. 

I did write a post (Paleo Baby: Teaching My Daughter the Love of Real Food) back in the fall about our approach to feeding Isabelle real, whole foods and none of the traditional processed baby foods, but thought it may also be helpful to do a recap of what Isabelle is enjoying these days for my blog readers. If you're a parent, you already know that what your child may enjoy one day, she may hate the next, so I'd like to keep a journal of sorts here as we progress through Isabelle's eating habits. My plan is to also share a little more of the why behind our meal choices and provide a weekly round up of Whole30/Paleo meal ideas for toddlers and kids that my fellow mamas and dadas can apply in their every day lives.

For the most part, Isabelle eats whatever we are eating. Since we eat a Whole30/Paleo based diet, it's all nutrient dense food. I try to give Isabelle a fruit/veggie, protein, and fat at every meal. At 15 months old, her current favorites are raspberries and scrambled eggs - she never turns those down! 

Here's a recap of some meals she has enjoyed over the last week or so:
 
Roasted spaghetti squash with a veggie filled organic ground beef sauce

 
Scrambled eggs cooked in ghee (clarified butter) and an apple 

 
Here's another repeat of spaghetti squash and veggie meat sauce. As you can tell, she likes this meal!

 
Sweet potato rounds and mini burgers. Also homemade ranch to dip. 

 
Raspberries, sweet potato rounds, and almond flour crusted chicken thighs that I cut into little cubes

 
Avocado, baked chicken wings, and orange slices 

 
Strawberries and coconut cream 
 
Strawberries and avocado pictured. Not pictured: chicken, coconut butter, and bone broth


 They say you're supposed to analyze a toddler's diet by week, instead of by day. While she has her favorites and staples almost daily, I try to vary the foods she's exposed to throughout the week. Based on my memory, below is a summary of the different foods she's consumed in the last week:

Fruits: Raspberries, Bananas, Strawberries, Oranges, Apples
Vegetables: Sweet Potatoes, Spaghetti Squash, Peppers, Onions, Zucchini, Cauliflower, Carrots
Protein: Eggs, Chicken, Beef, Bison, Tuna 
Fats: Avocado, Coconut, Ghee, Almond Flour
Liquids: Breast Milk, Bone Broth, Coconut Milk, Water 

I think my little Paleo Baby is doing pretty well! 

Hope these toddler meal ideas are helpful to other mamas and dadas looking for healthy food choices for their little ones.

Questions? Thoughts? Leave a comment below!



healthy kids, meal ideas, paleo,
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