Cereals, Pilafs, Breads, Waffles, and Pancakes (Gluten-Free)
Cinnamon Buckwheat Cereal
Servings: 4 (make adjustments for number of people)
This makes a deliciously sweet breakfast that can be paired with a morning vegetable soup or smoothie. (Be sure to soak the cream of buckwheat or raw buckwheat groats the night before–see instructions on soaking grains, nuts, seeds, and beans at the beginning of this chapter.)
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups soaked cream of buckwheat cereal or raw buckwheat groats
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. sea salt
1 Tbsp. ghee or raw butter
If you want this sweetened, add stevia, honey, or maple syrup to taste
INSTRUCTIONS:
Bring water to a boil. Add soaked cream of buckwheat or raw buckwheat groats; as this comes to a boil, reduce the heat to simmer.
Add cinnamon and sea salt and mix in grains. Simmer on low for approximately 10 minutes (15 minutes for groats) or until the water is soaked in. If the grains need more water, simply add another ¼–½ cup as needed until they’re done. Add ghee or raw butter.
Add stevia, honey, or maple syrup to taste (optional)—each person can add their own when served, depending on taste.
| Preparation time: 8–10 hours to soak buckwheat (or soak overnight; see instructions at | the beginning of this chapter) and 15 minutes to prepare. |
This is a savory version of cream of buckwheat that makes a satisfying, comfort-food meal any time of day.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups soaked cream of buckwheat cereal
½ Tbsp. turmeric powder
¼ tsp. coriander seeds
1 tsp. cumin powder
½ Tbsp. coconut oil
½ Tbsp. ghee or raw butter
1 tsp. Celtic sea salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
After the cream of buckwheat has been soaked, drained, and rinsed, follow package directions to cook it. Add in all of the spices. Just prior to all of the water being absorbed, add the ghee and coconut oil.
Serve with cooked greens and vegetables or place over a salad. Add Celtic sea salt or Herbamare to taste.
Delicate Quinoa with Chayote Squash
Servings: 4–6
Chayote, technically a fruit, is a green pear-shaped member of the gourd family and tastes like a cross between a potato and a cucumber. It’s a lovely, delicate taste. You can substitute any winter or summer squash if you cannot find it in your local store.
Note that you may want to start soaking the quinoa the night before you want to make this dish (soak for 8–12 hours and see instructions at the beginning of this chapter). The recipe itself takes about 10 minutes to prepare and 15–20 minutes to simmer on the stovetop.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups presoaked quinoa
2 chayotes (if they’re not available in your local store, use delicata squash, pattypan squash, or acorn squash instead)
2 cups water
1 Tbsp. thyme
1 Tbsp. basil
2 tsp. ground fennel
1 tsp. ground coriander
2 tsp. Herbamare or Celtic sea salt
¼ cup ghee
½ cup red onion
INSTRUCTIONS:
Put 1 Tbsp. ghee into a saucepan and add all spices (except sea salt or Herbamare) and onions. Sauté and stir until onion is translucent.
Add water and bring to a boil. Add presoaked quinoa and allow to boil, then turn down the heat to simmer. Add chayotes; simmer until quinoa is translucent, adding sea salt or Herbamare just before it’s done. Turn off heat when quinoa is translucent, and add remaining ghee.
Serving suggestions: This dish is delicious with a side dish of vegetables and sea vegetables (seaweed). For one of our favorite serving suggestions, place the quinoa over a bed of romaine lettuce, with additional avocado chunks and a little extra-virgin olive oil drizzled over the whole thing for added flavor. Season to taste with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.
Quinoa, Broccoli, and Leek Pilaf
Servings: 4–6
This recipe tastes delicious warm or cold. We use it as a staple for long day trips or air travel because you don’t have to warm it up to enjoy it. On flights, when we can’t bring olive oil or some other oil easily, we add extra ghee for healthy fat and delicious flavor. While cold meals for a full day of travel are not always pleasant, this one is really quite delicious and something to look forward to!
Note that you may want to start soaking the quinoa the night before you want to make this dish (soak for 8–12 hours and see instructions at the beginning of this chapter). The recipe itself takes about 10 minutes to prepare and about 15 minutes to simmer on the stovetop.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups presoaked quinoa
1 Tbsp. ghee
½ cup leeks, sliced thin
1 cup broccoli florets, chopped small
2 tsp. curry powder
Sea salt to taste
INSTRUCTIONS:
Sauté ghee with leeks and curry powder for 3 minutes.
Bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Add quinoa, broccoli, leeks, and curry, and reduce heat to simmer until quinoa is cooked. This will take about 15 minutes–you’ll know the quinoa is done when it looks more translucent and no longer has bright white spots in the center of the grains.
Add ghee and sea salt to taste.
Serving suggestions: When traveling, you can put this quinoa over romaine lettuce (romaine is a very hearty lettuce and travels well in an insulated lunch bag, even if you don’t have ice to keep it cold due to being on a plane).
Servings: 4–6
This dish can be cooked as a millet pilaf or a loaf of “bread” that is nutty tasting and satisfying, especially during cool fall and winter months.
Note that you may want to start soaking the millet the night before you want to make this dish (soak for 8–12 hours and see instructions at the beginning of this chapter). The recipe itself takes about 10 minutes to prepare and 15–20 minutes to simmer on the stovetop.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups presoaked millet 2 cups water
2 Tbsp. dried burdock root (you can get organic dried burdock root from MountainRoseHerbs.com) or fresh burdock root, diced
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
2 tsp. thyme
2 tsp. basil
2 tsp. astragalus powder
1 tsp. sea salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
In a saucepan, bring water to a boil. Once it’s boiling, add soaked millet and reduce heat to simmer. Add spices, sea salt, astragalus powder, and burdock root; simmer until millet is completely cooked and the grains are translucent and fluffy. Add coconut oil and stir thoroughly.
If you’re eating this as a millet pilaf, it is now ready to serve with your favorite vegetable side dish.
If you’re making millet loaf, let the cooked millet pilaf sit for 15 minutes to cool. Once cooled, transfer into a greased bread-loaf pan and cook in a preheated oven at 350° F for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool. Slice like bread; spread on some coconut oil, raw butter, or ghee, if you like; and serve with salad and cultured vegetables or with a vegetable soup.
Millet Pilaf–Super Thyroid Booster
Servings: 6–8
Bladderwrack is a vitamin- and mineral-rich medicinal sea vegetable that has been known to help boost the thyroid and metabolism. Dr. Peter D’Adamo, a nutrition and blood-type expert, says that bladderwrack is especially good for weight loss for individuals with type O blood. If your energy is low or you have hypothyroid symptoms, this dish may give you the “get up and go” that you need, especially in the cold days of fall or winter!
While bladderwrack is known among the sea vegetable varieties to be strictly medicinal, rather than tasty, this dish actually brings the right blend of ingredients together to make it taste delicious. (You can find bladderwrack at: TheSeaweedMan.com.)
Note that you may want to start soaking the millet the night before you want to make this dish (soak for 8–12 hours and see instructions at the beginning of this chapter). The recipe itself takes about 10 minutes to prepare and 15–20 minutes to simmer on the stovetop.
Follow the instructions for the “Lovely Millet Loaf” recipe on the previous page, but prepare it as a pilaf (that is, do not cook in a bread-loaf pan). Then add the rest of the ingredients below.
INGREDIENTS:
6 cups pea-shoot sprouts (green sprouts–if you can’t find these in the store, you can use 6 cups snow peas or snap peas)
6 carrots, washed and sliced (in rounds)
1 onion, diced
1 Tbsp. curry powder
½ Tbsp. coconut oil
½ tsp. bladderwrack seaweed per serving, ground up in a coffee grinder (this will give the dish a salty taste, so taste your meal before adding salt!)
Put 1" water into a saucepan; add carrots, onions, and curry powder; and simmer until the carrots are soft.
If you’re using snap peas or snow peas instead of pea-shoot sprouts, add them in after 5 minutes of simmering the carrots and onions.
Add a pinch of sea salt and coconut oil. Add nutty millet loaf and simmer until warmed and set aside.
Serving suggestion: Put 2 cups of pea-shoot sprouts on each plate with some spring-mix salad and drizzle with hemp-seed oil. Add the millet pilaf over the fresh vegetables. Sprinkle ½ tsp. bladderwrack over the millet for each plate served.
Enjoy!
| Preparation time: 2 hours total—30 minutes to prepare, 1½ hours to cook | Servings: Makes 2 generous-sized loaves |
This is a very flexible, fast, and easy bread recipe with wonderful results! If going grain-free has made you miss bread, you now have a great substitute.
You can do a lot with this basic bread recipe: You could remove all the herbs and spices (rosemary, thyme, fennel powder, and pepper) and have a plain bread for sandwiches. Or you could make it sweet with cinnamon, cardamom, and a little more honey. Once you have experience baking this bread, let your creativity flow and create the tastes you love!
INGREDIENTS:
3 cups coconut flour
¾ cup almond flour
½ cup flax meal
¼ cup coconut oil
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
6 eggs
1 Tbsp. rosemary
1½ tsp. thyme
1 tsp. fennel powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. fresh ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Grind up the dried rosemary leaves. Add all dry ingredients–including herbs, fennel powder, salt, and pepper–into a food processor with the S-blade and process until fully mixed. If you don’t have a food processor, you can put all dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well with a spoon.
Now add wet ingredients–coconut oil, honey, apple cider vinegar, and eggs–to the dry ingredients and mix well. If you want, you can taste the batter and see what you think, as the baked bread will have a very similar taste. If you’re an experienced cook or baker, you may want to tweak the herbs, salt, or pepper to your taste.
Put into a bread-loaf pan and bake for 15–30 minutes, making sure to check it at 15 minutes. As soon as you start to smell that baked-bread smell, it’s time to check–so open the oven and see if the bread is starting to look browned on the top and edges. This bread can get quite brown before burning, but if you want a more moist loaf, you’ll want to take it out when it’s just starting to get golden brown or you see a little brown on the edges. Insert a clean knife in the middle and see if it comes out clean. If so, it’s ready. You can also gently touch the top of the bread to see if it’s firm with a little bounce. That is another indicator that your bread is done. Don’t be afraid to make a cut in the bread and take a peek if this is your first time baking and you want to see if it’s done! You can always pop it back in the oven if it needs a few more minutes.
Serving suggestions: Serve with raw butter, coconut oil, or your favorite all-fruit spread!
Grain-Free “Rye” Bread (Vegan)
| Preparation time: 8–12 hours to soak the almonds and flaxseeds, 3 extra hours if you want to make your own almond flour (omit if you use store-bought almond flour), 15 minutes to make the bread, and 20 minutes to bake it | Servings: 6–8 |
This fast and easy recipe is a take on traditional rye bread, but without the gluten or grains! This bread is hearty and can be a meal in and of itself. Or you can slice it small and use it to dip into your favorite dip or pâté. You can even make small sandwiches with it–just don’t overfill the sandwich.
Invent your favorite ways to serve this bread! It is grain-free, and if you soak the almonds and flax seeds first, the bread will be easier to digest.
We made this recipe without eggs, which are in typical Paleo, GAPS, and SCD baked goods, because we wanted to provide an option for people who have trouble digesting these foods or those who are vegan. We think that if you have trouble digesting typical Paleo, GAPS, and SCD baked goods with eggs, it’s either because the nuts and seeds were not soaked first or because you may have issues digesting some high FODMAPS foods. It’s worth exploring to see if one of these shifts makes it easier for you to enjoy baked foods!
What are high FODMAPS Foods? FODMAP stands for “Fermentable Oligo-Di-Monosaccharides and Polyols” and includes fructose, lactose, fructans, galactans, and polyols. For people sensitive to FODMAPS, foods like these (the list is longer) can create digestive symptoms: wheat, onions, garlic, honey, dairy, xylitol, erythritol, avocado, and even coconut milk and coconut flour. People with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) are thought to be FODMAPS sensitive.
1 cup flax meal–you can purchase organic flax meal or use a mix of dark and golden flaxseeds, soaked and dehydrated, then ground into meal
⅔ cup almond flour
⅔ cup coconut flour
¾ cup water
4 Tbsp. caraway seeds
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. blackstrap molasses
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1½ tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. baking soda
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Add all ingredients into a food processor with the S-blade and process until fully mixed. If you don’t have a food processor, you can put all dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well with a spoon.
Put into a bread-loaf pan and bake for 15–30 minutes. Keep in mind that this bread does not rise the way breads with gluten do (even if you use eggs, it won’t really rise much). So fill your pan up higher if you want a taller loaf that looks like sandwich bread when you slice it.
Make sure to check the bread at 15 minutes. As soon as you start to smell that baked-bread smell, it’s time to check–so open the oven and see if the bread is starting to look browned on the top and edges. This bread can get quite brown before burning, but if you want a more moist bread, you’ll want to take it out when it’s just starting to get golden brown or you see a little brown on the edges. Insert a clean knife in the middle and see if it comes out clean. If so, it’s ready. You can also gently touch the top of the bread to see if it’s firm with a little bounce. That is another indicator that your bread is done. Don’t be afraid to make a cut in the bread and take a peek if this is your first time baking and you want to see if it’s done! You can always pop it back in the oven if it needs a few more minutes.
Serving suggestions: Serve with raw butter, coconut oil, or your favorite all-fruit spread (with no added sugar)! You can also serve this as an appetizer in small slices for pâté or even make little sandwiches with it. In addition, you can bake this bread recipe in little heart-shaped silicone baking cups for a wonderful snack on the go!
Easy Grain-Free Waffles or Pancakes
| Preparation time: 10 minutes | Servings: 6–10 pancakes or waffles, depending on size |
Who doesn’t love pancakes and waffles? If you’ve gone gluten-free or Paleo, or you’re jumping into healing diets like GAPS and SCD, don’t despair–you can still eat this favorite breakfast and brunch dish! (If you are following FODMAPS and are sensitive to coconut flour, substitute with almond flour.)
These pancakes/waffles are delicious and will delight your taste buds. They will likely be loved by kids and adults alike. While not as fluffy as traditional pancakes/waffles, they come pretty close. The spices added help balance the recipe so that your body will feel more satisfied after just 2 or 3.
INGREDIENTS:
3 eggs
3 Tbsp. coconut oil (can also use butter or ghee)
3 Tbsp. coconut milk (see recipe for easy instructions to make your own coconut milk)
2 Tbsp. coconut flour (you can use almond flour instead, if you like)
2 tsp. cinnamon powder
2 tsp. cardamom powder
1 tsp. honey, or 3 dates
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. sea salt
You can make these pancakes or waffles on the stovetop or in the oven. If you make them in the oven, preheat to 350° F.
If you’re using dates instead of honey, you can blend all of these ingredients in your food processor with the S-blade. Add the dates, coconut milk, coconut oil, and eggs in first, and blend them up well. You can then transfer to a bowl and whisk in the rest of the ingredients, or just add the rest of the ingredients to your food processor and blend well.
If you don’t have a food processor, honey will be easier to work with. Melt your honey and coconut oil in a saucepan on low so that they are liquid and easier to work with.
In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, coconut milk, honey and coconut oil, whisking together well. Add in the rest of the ingredients, and whisk everything up.
Now you have a choice: pancakes or waffles? Pancakes are easy and just need to be ladled onto a warm saucepan (with butter, ghee, or coconut oil melted in the pan first to keep them from sticking) or on a greased cookie sheet to go into your oven. For waffles, Heather likes to use silicone waffle pans you can get at Amazon.com. She takes a couple of stainless-steel cookie sheets, puts the waffle pans on top of them (because the silicone is flexible and bendy), and pops them in the oven for 5–10 minutes.
Your pancakes or waffles are done when they’re golden brown.
Pancake tip: If you make them on the stovetop, the time to flip them is when you either see little bubbles in the batter or they come up easily when you slide a spatula under them. A thin stainless-steel spatula works best for flipping your pancakes.
Waffle-maker tip: Most waffle makers have toxic nonstick coatings to make them easy to use. While waffle makers are fun and make a slightly more perfect waffle, you may opt for the silicone waffle pans instead if you’re focusing on reducing toxic exposure.
Serving suggestions: These pancakes and waffles are delicious with maple syrup, if you are eating it. If not, you could use honey, plain butter, coconut oil, or fruit as a topping. Puree strawberries in your food processor as a replacement for maple syrup (add a couple dates if you want it really sweet). These are also delicious drizzled with Cinnamon Orange Coconut Butter (see recipe in the Gingerbread recipe that follows).
Grain-Free Gingerbread with Cinnamon Orange Coconut Butter
| Preparation time: 20 minutes | Servings: 8–10 slices |
This is a slightly sweet quick bread that is easy to make and makes a wonderful alternative to those standard breakfast standbys, muffins and doughnuts. Full of protein and mood- and digestion-boosting spices, this is a healthy, tasty treat for any time of day!
The bread can be enjoyed alone–or for a really wonderful fall or winter treat, add the Cinnamon Orange Coconut Butter topping, and you’ll have a delicious dessert that will remind you of gingerbread.
INGREDIENTS FOR THE GINGERBREAD:
6 dates (about ¼ cup)—or use ¼ cup honey or 2 mashed bananas
¾ cup organic coconut flour
6 eggs
6 Tbsp. coconut oil
⅓ cup water
2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. ground fenugreek
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. cardamom
¼ tsp. cloves
¼ tsp. ginger powder
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Grease a bread-loaf pan (preferably glass or silicone) with coconut oil or raw, grass-fed butter.
Combine all ingredients for the bread and blend until thoroughly mixed and the coconut flour has absorbed all of the liquids. If you don’t have a food processor or immersion blender, avoid using dates and instead use honey or mashed bananas for your sweetener. If you do have a food processor, put all ingredients in it with the S-blade.
Pour batter into your greased bread-loaf pan and bake for 30–45 minutes. You may want to check periodically with a toothpick or fork inserted into the middle of the bread. When the toothpick or fork tines come out clean, your bread is done baking. The bread will dry out if you leave it in too long; if you like it to be more moist, you can take it out earlier, at the 25–30 minute mark. Press the top of the loaf with your finger; if it’s pretty firm, it’s done. You can also take out the bread and slice it with a sharp knife to see if it is done to your liking.
When your bread is done, take it out of the oven and let it cool before removing it from the pan. Once it’s cooled, slice and eat plain or add your favorite topping, like coconut oil, raw pasture-fed butter, or apple butter.
INGREDIENTS FOR THE CINNAMON ORANGE COCONUT BUTTER:
½ cup coconut oil (organic, unrefined/virgin)
¼ cup dates
2 Tbsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. juice from a fresh orange
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. sea salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
Put all ingredients into a food processor with an S-blade and process until completely blended.
Serving suggestions: Drizzle this over the top of the bread and enjoy! It’s even better if you warm up the bread slightly before serving: Just put the slices you’re serving into your oven on the lowest temperature for about 5 minutes, then remove and drizzle with the topping. Garnish with orange slices and mint leaves.
Servings: 8–10 slices
This is a delicious, breadlike dessert. It is lightly sweet and satisfying and has received the stamp of approval from kids transitioning to a healthy diet.
Note that you may want to start soaking the buckwheat the night before you want to make this dish (soak for 8–12 hours and see instructions at the beginning of this chapter). Once soaked, it only takes 15 minutes to prepare and about 15 minutes to cook.
INGREDIENTS:
3 cups presoaked cream of buckwheat cereal
About 1 cup water (add more if needed)
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. sea salt
2 Tbsp. organic cinnamon (add more if you really like it–it has antifungal properties and is great for people who love cinnamon tastes in their desserts)
1 Tbsp. organic ghee, coconut oil, or raw butter
Sweetener options: The recipe tastes the same warm or cold, so add the amount of sweetener that works for you. You can taste the cooked mixture before baking, to make sure it’s to your liking and add more sweetener if you want. Choose either 35 drops liquid stevia extract (or you can customize to taste; if you like the taste, stop adding stevia) or ¼ cup raw honey.
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Grease a bread-loaf pan with ghee, coconut oil, or raw butter.
Prepare cream of buckwheat cereal just as if you were making the “oatmeal-type” version of them–in a saucepan on the oven, following package instructions. (When you soak the buckwheat, there will still be water left over after draining the excess out. This is okay; the recipe takes that into account with a reduction in water to make the cream of buckwheat cereal.)
Add all ingredients and simmer until grains are cooked. Add the cooked buckwheat into the bread-loaf pan–make sure it’s about 1" thick because it doesn’t rise. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove and serve warm or cold. Refrigerate leftovers.
The longer you cook this bread, the drier it becomes. It you want a drier recipe, lower the temperature of the oven and leave it in longer. You can also take out the pan, cut up the squares, and put them in a food dehydrator to dry them out.
This recipe can be prepared as a flatbread by removing the cinnamon and sweetener and adding your favorite herbs and spices and more sea salt or Herbamare. It also makes a great flatbread sandwich or “toast” with butter or ghee.
Servings: 8–10 slices
This is a delicious, breadlike dessert. It is lightly sweet and satisfying.
Note that you may want to start soaking the quinoa the night before you want to make this dish (soak for 8–12 hours and see instructions at the beginning of this chapter). The recipe itself takes about 15 minutes to prepare and 15–20 minutes to simmer on the stovetop.
INGREDIENTS:
3 cups presoaked quinoa flakes cereal
About 1 cup water (add more if needed)
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. sea salt
2 Tbsp. organic cinnamon (add more if you really like it–it has antifungal properties and is great for people who love cinnamon tastes in their desserts)
1 Tbsp. organic ghee
Sweetener options: The recipe tastes the same warm or cold, so add the amount of sweetener that works for you. You can taste the quinoa flakes before transferring them into the bread-loaf pan, so you can add more sweetener if you like. Choose either 35 drops liquid stevia extract (or you can customize to taste; if you like the taste, stop adding stevia) or ¼ cup raw honey.
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Grease a bread loaf pan with ghee.
Prepare quinoa flakes just as if you were making the “oatmeal-type” version of them–in a saucepan on the oven, following package instructions. (When you soak the quinoa flakes, there will still be water left over after draining the excess out. This is okay; the recipe takes that into account with a reduction in water to make the quinoa flakes.)
Add all ingredients and simmer until grains are cooked.
To make quinoa flakes pilaf instead of bread: Once the grains are cooked (it only takes a couple of minutes), they are ready to serve! To make the bread: Add the cooked quinoa flakes into the bread-loaf pan–make sure it’s about 1" thick because it doesn’t rise. Cook for 15 minutes; remove and serve warm or cold. Refrigerate leftovers.
The longer you cook this bread, the drier it becomes. It you want a drier recipe, lower the temperature of the oven and leave it in longer. You can also take out the pan, cut up the squares, and put them in a food dehydrator to dry them out.
This recipe can be prepared as a savory flatbread by removing the cinnamon and sweetener and adding your favorite herbs and spices and more sea salt or Herbamare. It makes a great flatbread sandwich or “toast” with butter or ghee.