Paleo Sweet Potato Pancakes on the Griddle

Since going Paleo, I have to say that breakfast has become a whole different animal for me. I’ve always been a breakfast person, but for years, breakfast consisted of a glass of skim milk, a banana, and a cereal bar. Holy glycemic spike, Batman! I’d feel great for about 45 minutes, and then I’d be starving and dragging within a couple of hours… it was all I could do to make it to lunch.

These days, I get some pretty awesome sideways looks from my coworkers when I pull out leftover ribeye and salad to have for breakfast.  I’ll admit, it took some getting used to, but I feel so much more satisfied having some good protein and fat in the morning… I’m no longer starving by lunch, and my energy levels stay much more constant throughout the day. That said, every once in a while I’ll get a craving for some traditional breakfast food… e.g. pancakes.  Given that I love sweet potatoes, I figured I’d give some Paleo sweet potato pancakes a try for me and the hubby over the weekend.  There are tons of great recipes out there, and here’s my custom version, topped with sauteed cinnamon apples.

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Decadent Flourless Chocolate Cake with Banana-Cinnamon Sauce

At my core, I am a baker. I LOVE baked goods… cupcakes, cakes, cookies, caramels, etc. I loved baking so much that I had my own cake design business for several years. One tiny little problem… everything I used to make was loaded with gluten and processed sugars. Sure, I used the highest quality ingredients out there – imported chocolate, European butter, Madagascar vanilla. But, at the end of the day, there was a lot of not-great stuff in those tasty treats, and that just doesn’t jive with my Paleo lifestyle these days.

That said, I’m still not willing to give up the OCCASIONAL baked treat, and figuring out how to make “healthier” versions of past favorites is going to be an ongoing goal. I am super excited about this recipe… my husband and I test-drove it this weekend, and it is stinking delicious. Seriously. I had to get it out of the house as quickly as possible. An extra bonus? It was ridiculously easy to make.

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Spicy Oven-Roasted Pecans with Cinnamon (These puppies are addictive!)

Years ago, there was a restaurant here in downtown Austin called Crimson… I think the restaurant was only open for about 8-10 months, sadly, but they were the wonderful folks who introduced me to spiced pecans. Rather than bread and butter, they would bring you bowls of these delicious, addictive spiced pecans to munch on while you picked out your meal for the evening – I loved it!

When I was thinking about what to make as an easy snack food for our friends this weekend (at our Paleo Dinner Party), the idea of spiced pecans came to mind.  Easy, delicious, and they’d pair really nicely with the very non-Paleo German beer we were having.  For inspiration, I looked to a variety of places, including the wonderful Elana’s Pantry. This recipe is my adaptation… I hope you enjoy it!

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The Table Setting: Fun Linens, Tealights, and White Hydrangea Blooms in Short Water Glasses

I LOVE a good dinner party.  Seriously.  I honestly can’t imagine what I enjoy more on a weekend night than having friends in our home, eating food we’ve prepared, drinking good wine, and having a great time. Pre-Paleo, this was a pretty regular occurrence: whether it was hors d’oeuvres for 30 for my husband’s birthday or an intimate multi-course meal, I reveled in cooking for others. (We’ll just ignore the fact that my typical menus included bread-and-cheese trays, fried risotto balls, Italian pasta with cream sauce, and loads of gluten-rich baked goods. No one needs to know… it’s our little secret.)

In fact, one of my original reasons for resisting the change to a Paleo lifestyle was that I wasn’t sure I could still create delicious, gourmet food that was both Paleo and appetizing to our guests.  I couldn’t have been more off-base!  The Paleo lifestyle has such an incredible range of possibilities for creating incredible food, and I’m beyond excited to keep experimenting.

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