Simple hearty almond flour pancakes with cardamom (gluten-free, grain-free, low-carb)

Good morning everyone. I’m very excited to be writing my first blog post ever (Thanks, Jodie, for the invitation)! For those of you doing the 12-Day or 30-Day Cleaning Eating Challenge, this recipe is for you!

Since we added back nuts and eggs back in a few days ago, I decided to share with you my go-to breakfast food. Pancakes are (were) one of my favorite foods. But, unfortunately, 6 years ago I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. (Quick tutorial for those not familiar with Crohn’s. It’s an autoimmune disease that wreaks havoc on your whole digestive tract.). There is very little “hard science” nutrition guidance for folks with Crohn’s. I did (and continue to do) a lot of trial-and-error with my diet. I have had the most success with SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet—essentially a grain-free, low-lactose diet). I was inspired to create this recipe from the many SCD recipes I had tried.

Putting on my clinical dietitian hat, I wanted to let you know that this pancake recipe will meet the nutritional needs of someone following SCD or someone with pre-diabetes/diabetes (low-carb, the whole recipe has 6 grams of carb) or someone with Celiac disease (gluten-free). Whether you (or the loved ones you are cooking for) have Crohn’s, Celiac, Diabetes, or none of the above, this pancake will delight your taste buds. Enjoy!

Recipe makes 2 pancakes (or one LARGE pancake). It is easily doubled.

Ingredients:
¼ cup almond flour
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp cardamom (or cinnamon)
1 TBS poppy seeds (optional)
1 egg
juice from ½ lemon (approximately 2 TBS)
olive oil for pan—just enough to lightly coat bottom of the pan (I’ve also used coconut oil which adds a subtle but noticeable flavor)

Directions:
1) Add oil and heat pan on medium.

2) In a bowl, add almond flour, baking soda, cardamom, and egg. Squeeze in lemon juice.

3) Mix. The batter will be lumpy at first, then will start to froth/rise (baking soda/lemon juice reaction). When batter is evenly mixed, stir in poppy seeds if desired.

4) Pour batter into heated pan. When batter starts to bubble, it’s time to flip (Be sure to work around the edges and flip gently. The batter is delicate).

5) When cooked through, remove from pan. Top with whatever your heart desires and enjoy!

I have mine topped with homemade plain yogurt (it’s actually filebunke–a Scandinavian yogurt-like product–but I’ll leave that for a future blog post) and drizzled with honey. Try berries or bananas.

Be creative with your spices. Sometimes I will grate some fresh ginger and add cinnamon and nutmeg rather than the cardamom.

I’ve even used this “pancake” as a savory side dish/piece of “bread” by adding black pepper and Italian herb blend (obviously, omit the cardamom!)

If you are looking for another easy pancake version check out this amazing pancake recipe!  2 Ingredient Pancakes -3 ingredients if you feel fancy!