Coconut Pancakes with Strawberries

Posted by Stephanie Meyer on Oct 2, 2010 at 9:39am

Here’s a…thing. Due to health problems I’d been experiencing for the last couple of years (puffy eyes/hands, fatigue, joint pain), and given that I’m otherwise totally healthy (blood pressure and cholesterol-wise), I started experimenting with eliminating various foods from my diet.

I started with nuts, then eggs, then dairy.

I felt exactly the same.

And then…I eliminated gluten/wheat, about a month ago, and I haven’t looked back.

Puffy eyes – gone. Fatigue – gone. Joint pain – gone. I feel fantastic, I look like myself again, and so far at least, it’s been the easiest dietary change I’ve ever made. It helps that I’d developed a subconscious aversion to pasta, bread, and even beer, because it was making me feel like hell. I watch my son and stepdaughter tear into a baguette, and while they’re happy as clams, I feel sick to my stomach for them.

For those of you who feel not only fine but great eating wheat and other grains, don’t worry – I’m still going to include the same variety of foods here on Fresh Tart that I always have. The rest of my family eats plenty of grains without consequence, and it’s not hard for me to make them the dishes they still love and just adapt them for myself.

I’m personally coming to the conclusion that there is no one right way to eat, that diet is very individual. Some people thrive on grains, others feel awful (like me!). Some are sickly without meat in their diets, some can’t tolerate it at all. (Everyone likes fruit and veggies, right? Ha!) I think we should all skip daily doses of sugar, soda, and processed and junk foods, but I’ve always felt that way (therefore this blog!).

I’m alone in that thought in this household, by the way…

Bottom line: You’ll still find all varieties of fresh, real foods here.

In the meantime, if you’re a coconut lover like I am (obsessed!), check out these grain-free, gluten-free coconut pancakes that I found from the Mark’s Daily Apple website (a great resource for grain-free, gluten-free ideas). They have an almost macaroon-like texture, lightly sweet from the coconut itself, and are utterly heavenly with ripe berries. I layered in some cottage cheese because that’s always how I eat pancakes, but you could easily skip it and just go for the berries.

On another note, I was recently Twitterviewed (interviewed on Twitter!) by Joel E. Carlson, a local social media guru and consultant. I had coffee with him a couple of weeks ago and he is one of the nicest, easiest to chat with people in town. Follow him on Twitter @JoelECarlson.

And if you’re interested, check out the transcript of my interview on his site, Joel’s Views.

Grain-Free Coconut Pancakes
Adapted from a recipe by Adam Kayce on Mark’s Daily Apple
Serves 8

2 eggs
1 can coconut milk (not the light version; Taste of Thai brand is nice)
1 c. unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 c. almond meal
1/2 tsp. of almond extract (or cinnamon)

sliced berries
cottage cheese (optional)

In a medium bowl, lightly beat eggs with a fork. Add coconut milk, coconut, almond meal, and almond extract, and stir until evenly incorporated.

Cook pancakes on a greased nonstick griddle, keeping in mind that 1) it’s easier to handle smaller pancakes; I make them silver-dollar size, 2) the pancakes need to be cooked on the first side until they’re almost dry, with nicely browned egdes, before flipping them, and 3) the pancakes are very tender, so flip gently. After the first one or two, you’ll have the hang of them, they’re not difficult to handle, just a bit different than a typical pancake.

Serve hot with sliced berries, and cottage cheese (if using).

Note: If you don’t use all of the batter, it keeps nicely in the fridge for up to a week.

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Older Comments

  1. By Joel E Carlson on October 5, 2010 at 11:41AM

    Wow! Thanks so much for the complimentary comments at the end of your post. I feel honored and touched! :) It was great to make the connection with you and share all of the great food ideas and photos that you have on Twitter and maybe help you make some new connections. Carry on! :)

  2. By Reese@CapturingPenang on October 5, 2010 at 8:41AM

    Hi Stephanie,

    Another gorgeous pancake recipe! Thank goodness I just tried out the chickpea flour pancake tonight. So coconut pancake is next!

    My chickpea flour pancake turned out tasty with a Malaysian twist, but it was more dense & heavy. How did you make it fluffy & light? I posted the picture on my new post.

    And - thanks for sharing the benefits of gluten-free recipes. Good to learn that.

    Cheers,
    Reese

  3. By FreshTartSteph on October 5, 2010 at 7:14AM

    HI Pam - thanks for the note! I should say that the texture is not really fluffy, I'd say almost chewy given the shredded coconut (don't want to mislead you). Good luck!

  4. By Pam @ Best cookware on October 4, 2010 at 7:40PM

    Hi Stephanie,

    I love this gluten free pancakes, they look so delish and fluffy! I am not sure I have gluten issue (I have wheat and dairy issue somewhat) but I am going to make this for breakfast tomorrow. I have almost everything handy at home.

  5. By FreshTartSteph on October 4, 2010 at 6:39AM

    FinnLover - I'm very sorry to hear that, misery, it sucks completely. Interesting also, only in the sense that I hope you're able to nail down the cause. If it is indeed gluten, we'll be on this path together :) For what it's worth, I've found giving up gluten to be quite easy, since I love vegetables most of all anyhow, and a high carbohydrate diet does terrible things to my waistline. Anyhow, as always, I appreciate your kind comments and feedback, thank you!

  6. By FinnLover on October 3, 2010 at 11:41AM

    These look delicious! I will have to give them a try.
    I think I will have to eliminate gluten from my diet too. Puffy eyes, heartburns, fatigue,... Sounds like me! And it just keeps getting worse and worse.

  7. By FreshTartSteph on October 2, 2010 at 6:18PM

    Cool - let me know if you like them. If you love coconut, I predict that you'll love them. They smell coconut-fabulous while they cook, mmm. Good luck!

  8. By Misterbelly on October 2, 2010 at 3:17PM

    Those pancakes look AMAZING! I am going to try them this weekend! :)