Y’all. I ate squash for breakfast. Who am I? What have I become? Enlightened, that’s what.

If you’ve been following me, you know that I have cut grains from my diet and stuck to a Paleo(ish) meal plan for the last few months. I do this on and off throughout the year. The main reason is due to my husband’s struggle with Ulcerative Colitis. When we adapt his nutrition plan, mine follows suite. We are not strict text-book Paleo. We eat cheese and yogurt very frequently. And lots of meat and eggs.

And I can’t take it anymore. Not only am I sick of eating meat, I’m also sick of handling it. I noticed within the last year that it was really starting to gross me out to handle meat, especially chicken. By the time we sat down to eat, I would sometimes lose my appetite.

Recently, my friend started experimenting with Whole Food Plant Based nutrition and really peaked my interest. The recipes she was posting were very intriguing and made eating vegetables look a lot more palatable for this non-loving veggie girl. So, we are doing an experiment here at our house to see how the husband does with cutting back on meat. I prepped a week of vegan dinners using a free meal plan from Clean Food Dirty Girl. We are also incorporating SOME whole grains, and eating legumes and beans. My thinking is that although the simplicity of Paleo has been good for him in that he eats the same things daily, he surely can’t be benefitting from trying to digest (and eliminate) all that meat. It’s probably just sitting in his gut in massive quantities.

So, let’s see how this goes! And, let’s eat squash for breakfast!

I’m thinking about my grandmother today, and often lately. My “Gram” is 94 years old and has been in a nursing home for the last few years. I went to visit her last weekend during a quick trip to my hometown in Maryland. It’s hard to see her in there. Her eyesight is gone, and she is no longer mobile. She lived a very vibrant life in her younger years, never missing a dance at the Moose Lodge and loving to stun her friends with raunchy gag gifts. I can’t imagine life without her in it, but I know the life she has now would never be her choice. During my visit, I asked her if she thought she’d live to be 100. She emphatically said, “No!” I said, “Well, how about 95?” She said, “Yeah, I think so.” I said, “How about 96?” She said, “I hope not.”  I said, “Once you hit 95, you’re officially out of gas?” She laughed and said she thought so.

I spent a lot of time at my Gram’s house growing up. There were things that she cooked that I loved, but she knew my favorite was “breakfast for dinner.” She made THE best pancakes I’ve ever had, and I’ve spent years trying to figure out how to get them to taste as good. Much of it has to do with the fact that she wasn’t afraid to cook those bad boys in hot oil. The edges were so crispy that it was almost like eating a funnel cake at the fair. I’m okay with the fact that my pancakes will never be as good. It is a memory that I will always hold dear and have no intention of replacing.

Now my own kids also love “breakfast for dinner,” along with our tradition of Pancake Sunday. Each time I make pancakes from scratch, I tweak the recipe a little more. Today I tried something new and it took my recipe to a new level. You know all that clear stuff that rises to the top of your homemade yogurt? It’s called “whey” and most people have no idea what to do with it after they strain it from their Greek Yogurt. Turns out you can trade out the liquid in your pancake recipe with whey for a healthy little kick. Not only did my pancakes turn out fluffy and tasty, I loved that I was using something that was essentially free in place of something I would otherwise have had to buy. Want not, waste not!

If you’ve found yourself pondering what to do with your leftover whey, give these pancakes a try. They aren’t as good as my Gram’s, but you’ll never know that!

Print Recipe

Whey Delicious Pancakes

Course

Breakfast

Cuisine

American

Servings

4" Pancakes

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 1.5 TBSP baking powder
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 cups whey
• 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

Course Breakfast Cuisine American Servings 4" Pancakes Ingredients 3 cups flour 1.5 TBSP baking powder 1/2 cup Sugar 1 tsp Salt 2 cups whey 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

Instructions

1. In a medium size bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.

   
2. Whisk eggs, and pour into dry ingredients.

   
3. Add whey to mixture.

   
4. Stir until completely blended, and make sure not to over-mix.

   
5. Stir in vanilla extract.

   
6. Using a quarter cup, pour batter onto hot greased griddle (375 degrees) to form 4" pancakes. If you wish, sprinkle in toppings like pecans or blueberries at this time.

   
7. Cook until bubble start to form, and then flip. Serve hot of the griddle!

   

Recipe Notes

This recipe can be cut in half, or doubled.

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You probably already know that I love my neighbor, Sharon, since I feature her on here frequently. She loves to cook just like I do and we have a blast texting each other recipes and swapping samples. Good neighbors make life so much more fun.

Sharon texted me the other night very excited about a steel cut oats recipe she saw on The Chew. Sharon never leaves a recipe the way she found it, and neither do I. So, I took Sharon’s recipe that she had adapted from The Chew, and I made my own changes based on the ingredients I had. Of course I also had to adapt it for the Instant Pot too!

What resulted was a breakfast dish that not only tasted good, but has incredible nutritional value. As Sharon said, “If I can get high fiber, anti-inflammatory antioxidants, and a proper glycemic index all in one bowl, I’m good!” Not to mention that steel cuts oats are very filling and help keep your bowels moving.

Print Recipe

Sharon's Dang Good Oats [Instant Pot]

Course

Breakfast

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

25 min including time to pressure and release

Servings

Ingredients

• 1 TBSP Tahini Butter
• 1 TBSP Butter
• 1 cup Steel Cut Oats
• 1 can Coconut Milk Lite or Full Fat
• 2 cups Water or fill your empty milk can
• 1 pinch Salt
• 3 TBSP Flax Meal
• 2 TBSP Maple Syrup or Honey Add more after cooking if you prefer sweeter oats
• 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp Cinnamon

Course Breakfast Prep Time 5 min Cook Time 25 min including time to pressure and release Servings Ingredients 1 TBSP Tahini Butter 1 TBSP Butter 1 cup Steel Cut Oats 1 can Coconut Milk Lite or Full Fat 2 cups Water or fill your empty milk can 1 pinch Salt 3 TBSP Flax Meal 2 TBSP Maple Syrup or Honey Add more after cooking if you prefer sweeter oats 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract 1 tsp Cinnamon

Instructions

1. Set Instant Pot to Saute. Melt tahini and butter. Add oats and toast for 2 minutes, stirring continuously. Add in remaining ingredients and stir well.
2. Turn off Pot and reset on Manual HP for 3 minutes. Allow pressure to release naturally. Stir and add additional sweetener to taste. Serve hot and enjoy!

   

Recipe Notes

This recipe was adapted from one seen on The Chew.

1 cup of dry steel cut oats should only be considered 2 servings, but this is an extremely filling recipe. I could have easily fed my family of 4 and still had leftovers.

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