Coconut Lime Pancakes {Gluten Free}

As we go into the summer I thought it'd be fun to experiment with my grain free pancake recipe. I decided to liven up the ingredients with coconut and lime. The coconut lime combination make for such a deliciously sweet and bright pop of flavor! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!

my sweet little kitchen assistant.

 Coconut Lime Pancakes

{Gluten Free}

makes 12 to 14 pancakes

Pancake Ingredients 

4 pasture eggs

1 cup and 1 tablespoons canned {full fat} coconut milk

2 tablespoons pure local honey

1 1/2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup coconut flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

juice and zest of 4 limes

1/4 cup coconut flakes

coconut oil for frying

Pancake Instructions 

Whisk and combine the wet ingredients: eggs, milk, honey and vanilla and lime juice.

To the liquid mixture add: coconut flour, salt baking soda, lime zest and coconut flakes.

Stir well to combine

Let the batter sit for 3 to 4 minutes while you preheat your griddle.

Preheat griddle to about 325 degree or medium heat. 

Apply coconut oil to the griddle and allow to melt.

Pour 2/3 cup of batter onto griddle for each pancake. (The smaller size pancake makes for easier flipping)

When the pancakes start to have tiny bubbles all over the surface wait about 2 - 3 minutes and then flip.

Once flipped allow the pancake to cook another minute or so until both sides are golden brown.

Enjoy!

An Ode to My Son

This past Tuesday was my son's second birthday. They are correct when they say that time flies. I was looking through pictures of him from when he was a baby and it's hard to imagine how quickly it all came and went. But what a blessing it all has been.

 

This ode to my son was done upon a deep soulful reflection of the gratitude I have for him.

My Son

April 14, 2014

To my sweet son, my blessing from God. How can I accurately express the level of my love? The expansiveness of my gratitude that you decided to be mine. The honor of being the one who caresses your soft hair, gently rocks you to sleep and patiently guides you through life is both overwhelming and abundantly meaningful beyond measure. The twinkle in your eye leads me to know that your life, your journey will be full of adventure, wonder and excitement. The sweetness in your little hugs tells me that the love you have to give to the world is expansive and limitless. You are now two and as I sit here writing this, I'm overjoyed with the life and love you have gifted me with in these few short years. The lessons that God has had you taught me are humbling and a beautiful offering for my soul to expand to heights that it has for so long wanted to reach. You my dear one are a gift to my soul. You are a full time and permanent resident of my heart. My mind will never be the same. And neither will my body. But even that you have made more beautiful. You have forever changed and expanded me. My gratitude to you could fill and overflow the oceans. So today little darling, I say thank you.
Thank you for your presence. Thank you for your fiery nature. Thank you for your sweet embrace. Thank you for your twinkle. You are in fact a star. Thank you for the lessons and the way they expand me and mold me to be bigger, better and humbled. Thank you for teaching me about surrender and to have faith. Thank you for your light and shinning in on me and on everyone you touch. Thank you for your bounce. Thank you for your wit. Thank you for making me excited about the future. Thank you for inspiring me to want to sore to the heights my soul would have me reach. Thank you for expanding my capacity for love to a place that sometimes hurts because my heart is opening so much I feel it might burst. Thank you for the memories. Thank you for the wisdom of knowing there is so much love inside to give. Thank you for making me want to give that love to every child, everywhere because your sweet soul has opened my eyes to see and want to give my love abundantly and freely. I am inspired to pour out my love over the world, like a gentle yet steady rainfall in the spring. I feel compelled to hold and rock to sleep all the lonely, all the gentle, all the innocent and all the seeking souls of the world. Your presence has made me feel God's love and it has brought me to my knees. Yet has taken me to the highest mountain top and given me a glimpse of my purpose for this life. My soul pours out and rejoices in the immense and unwavering gratitude I have to God for you. For you. To you. My gift. My blessed shinning light. I lift you up and give God gratitude from the deepest place within my being. Love fills me deeply. Love envelopes me completely. Love is all that's left of me. And that's perfectly perfect, because love is all I ever want to be. 

Love,

Momma

Living in Purpose

We are all here for a reason. We were all chosen by God to have a life. And each one of us has a beautiful, meaningful and important beyond belief purpose for our life. When we are living in our purpose we feel enlivened and whole. The opposite feeling can be present when we are unaware of or are in desperate search for our purpose. No matter where on the path to your purpose you are there will always be an undeniable yearning and pull towards a deeper meaning to our lives. I think all too often we are searching for a label to the "life purpose". Something concrete to call it. Like my life purpose is to be a teacher, or my life purpose is to be a mother, a father, a writer, an artist, a doctor, actress, what have you. And if when we can't find the label to attach to the purpose or if something happens to seemingly prevent us from being the "athlete", "doctor", "artist", then we then feel lost. I think our life purpose is bigger than a label can hold. Labels are boxes they are small containers that are frankly too small to contain our immensely massive potential and divine life purpose. I like to instead think of our purpose as a fluid substance much like water that can flow and expand in many different directions throughout our lives. By allowing the essence of our purpose to be fluid we are opening ourselves up to fully receive all the aspects of our purpose as it presents itself to us throughout our lives. One way to begin to become familiar with your purpose is to ask yourself what it is that you've always done or always been able to do effortlessly but maybe never really thought of before. It is possible that you might have not acknowledged your purpose in the past because it is so imbedded in who you are. Take me for example, ever since I can remember I've always been the counselor to my friends and family. I've always had a yearning to help others and to help others find their happiness. So for me in regards to my life purpose I like to think of it in terms of a theme that I hold true in my heart. The initial theme I found for me is that "I am to help others heal, find purpose and joy". Through that initial theme if you surrender and allow yourself to stay open you can then begin to become aware of additional themes. For me I've been able to become aware of additional themes such as: "I am to spread love" and "to help others find deep meaning and happiness in their own lives". I find that by finding your "theme" you are then able to walk IN your life's purpose no matter what it is you are doing. And that as long as we are authentically living in our life's purpose in any given moment, (in line at the grocery store, with friends, family, business acquaintances and so on), we will be creating and opening up to the possibilities and opportunities to more fully day by day walk and live in our life's purpose. I also believe that the opportunities to experience and grow in our life's purpose will grow and expand with our life and that every moment is created for us to fully embody and walk in love and purpose.

- - -

Today I invite you to find a moment of stillness in your day. Close your eyes and take in a lovingly deep breath. Ask yourself what it is that you can contribute to this day. What can you contribute to the people or space around you. Ask yourself what is it that you've always sort of just done effortlessly that uplifts and benefits those around you. The answer to that question is naturally part of your purpose. A part of your theme. It's a chord to your beautifully unique melody that only you can offer to the world. Then continue to do this practice each day until you begin to become more open and aware to your divine reason for being and your divine gifts that you are to share with the world.

Do you have an idea of what the theme to your purpose is? I'd love this to become a place of sharing.


Sending you so much love from my heart to yours!
Christina

Berry Chia Parfait

This breakfast is light and refreshing and honestly it would even work as an afternoon snack or even a healthy dessert. I love starting my morning knowing I'm filling my belly with the healthy probiotics found in yogurt. It sets a healthy yet yummy tone for the rest of the day. 

 

Berry Chia Parfait

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened almond milk {I use almond milk for it's lightness but you can use cows milk or even coconut milk would be delicious}

1 cup plain whole milk yogurt {or 2% greek yogurt}

1 tablespoon pure local honey

1 1/2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chia seeds

1 1/2 cups of berries {if using strawberries dice them}

1/4 cup raw or toasted and sliced almonds

Instructions 

In a medium bowl gently mix together the milk, yogurt, honey, vanilla and salt until blended. Gently stir in the chia seeds. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for a minimum of one hour.

When ready to serve, in a medium bowl, mix the berries with the maple syrup.

Spoon the parfait mixture into 2 bowls or stemmed wine glasses and then top with the berries and sprinkle with the sliced almonds. 

Enjoy!

Love,

Christina 

Orange Almond Olive Oil Muffins {Grain Free}

I made these muffins this weekend and the whole family loved them. The combination of toasted almonds and fresh orange zest and juice made for a bright and exciting pop of flavor. A surprising bonus to baking these little guys was the delightful smell of orange that filled the entire house.

I adopted the idea for this recipe from a cook book my mom gave to me: 'Giada's Feel Good Food'. Since the original recipe utilized flour and my body doesn't seem to like flour I chose to change the recipe to accommodate the use of coconut flour instead. I felt like a happy scientist in the kitchen coming up with the proper ratios for everything. And I'm thrilled to say I love the way these muffins turned out!

Orange Almond Olive Oil Muffins {Made with Coconut Flour}

Makes 10 Muffins

Ingredients

6 eggs

4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp plain greek yogurt

6 Tbsp pure local honey

Grated zest of 1 medium orange

1/3 cup fresh orange juice at room temperature 

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/3 cup almond flour 

1/2 cup sliced almonds

Instructions 

Preheat oven to 350. Arrange almonds on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 5-6 minutes. 

Using a hand mixer on medium speed, in a bowl beat the eggs and honey together until the color is pale, about 1 minute. Beat in the orange zest and orange juice, almond extract, vanilla extract, greek yogurt and olive oil. 

In a small separate bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, almond flour, baking powder and salt until combined. 

In small batches using the hand mixer add the flour mixture to the egg mixture until fully blended. Then with a spoon gently fold in 1/3 cup of the toasted almonds. Lightly oil muffin liners with olive oil and pour the batter to just the top of the liners. Sprinkle the remaining toasted almonds on the top of the muffin batter. Bake from 15 to 18 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown and toothpick come out clean or with moist crumbs attached. 

Enjoy!

With Love,

Christina 

My Favorite Way to Eat Oatmeal

Oatmeal is my most visited breakfast staple. And while I've prepared it all sorts of ways from {honey and almond butter} to {blueberries, maple syrup and cinnamon}, my most favorite way to prepare it is with coconut oil, honey, salt, milk, cinnamon and vanilla. It makes for a clean tasting, simple, uncluttered, elegant start to the day.

Coconut oil is a healthy and delicious fat loaded with a whole slew of health benefits. 

My toddler eats what I eat in the morning and he loves this version of oatmeal. Of course he prefers his with raisins and his Elmo spoon. 

--  Elegant Vanilla Oatmeal  --

serves 2

Ingredients

1 Cup - Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

Small pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon pure local honey

1 tablespoon quality coconut oil

6-8 shakes of cinnamon 

Splash of milk {I like whole milk for it's creaminess but any milk will work nicely. Or since the coconut oil adds a creamy richness on it's own the milk may be omitted for a vegan friendly option}

Instructions

Cook the oats on the stovetop according to the package instruction. Add the salt to the water before placing in the oats. Once the oatmeal is cooked remove from heat and add in the remaining ingredients. Stir and serve.

Enjoy!

With Love,

Christina 

Blueberry Honey Vanilla Pancakes - Made with Coconut Flour

Do you ever find yourself in a breakfast rut? A few weeks ago I found myself in just that a seriouse breakfast rut. I was basically having oatmeal everyday. Don't get me wrong, I love me some oatmeal but I needed to do something to shake up my mornings and make them more exciting. So in efforts to pull myself from my boring breakfast routine I've committed myself to making new imaginative and exciting creations for the most important meal of the day. I've come up with and discovered some breakfast goodies that are easy to make, healthy and most importantly delicious. So I've decided to post and share recipes to my breakfast experiments every Monday for the next several Mondays. I hope you can find some of these recipes useful in spicing up your mornings too. Here's the first breakfast dish: It's grain free Blueberry Honey Vanilla Pancakes made with coconut flour.

Blueberry Honey Vanilla Pancakes

makes 12-14 pancakes 

Pancake Ingredients 

4 pasture eggs

1 cup milk (or milk substitute like almond or coconut milk)

2 full tablespoons of pure local honey or maple syrup

1 1/2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup coconut flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

1 rounded cup of blueberries (I like to use either fresh or the frozen wild organic blueberries)

coconut oil or butter for frying

Pancake Instructions

Whisk and combine the wet ingredients: eggs, milk, honey and vanilla.

To the liquid mixture add: coconut flour, salt and baking soda.

Stir well to combine

Gently fold in the blueberries

Let the batter sit for 3 to 4 minutes while you preheat your griddle.

Preheat griddle to about 300 degree or medium heat. 

Apply coconut oil to the griddle and allow to melt.

Pour 2/3 cup of batter onto griddle for each pancake. (The smaller size pancake makes for easier flipping)

When the pancakes start to have tiny bubbles all over the surface, it's then time to flip.

Once flipped allow the pancake to cook another minute or so until both sides are golden brown.

Serve with below pancake sauce recipe and fresh fruit if desired.

Enjoy!

- I like to make this special sauce for my pancakes. It makes me feel like I have a substantially moistly -topped pancake without all the excess sugar of a plate full of syrup.

------

Coconut Oil Maple Sauce

recipe quantity for 1 pancake

Pancake Sauce Ingredients

1 tablespoons coconut oil

1 tablespoons maple syrup

4 shakes of cinnamon

Pancake Topping Instructions

Melt the coconut oil and honey on the stove top or in the microwave. Add in the cinnamon. Stir to combine then pour over your pancakes. Enjoy!

Tip: I like to double the pancake recipe and freeze the extra pancakes. They are great heated in the toaster for a quick on the go meal.

I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think!

Love and Light,

Christina