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Pancake Recipes!

11/22/2017

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Yum Pancakes!

Pancakes make everything better!
Basic Pancake Recipe
For people who do not make pancakes from scratch, the idea can feel a little ambitious. I am writing this to let you all know it is not! The mess is no greater for pancakes made from scratch then it is from making pancakes from a mix. I make pancakes so often, I know longer need to look at the recipe or measure and this statement is insurance to you that it is easy and very hard to mess up.

​There is a basic pancake recipe in this blog, plus a few modified recipes. If you make food in your kitchen or bake at all, you will probably have all the ingredients on hand to make these delicious flapjacks and making them puts you up high on the likable scale in your home.

Basic Pancake Recipe

Basic Recipe (I only dirty one bowl, because I do not like doing dishes.)

1 ½ cups of all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of baking soda  
2 tbsp of brown sugar
2 eggs
¼ oil (olive, coconut, butter, basically any healthy oil you have)
1 ½ cups of milk (cow, or milk alternative)

Directions

Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix with a whisk. Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture and crack the two eggs into it. Now place oil and 1 cup of milk into the well and mix thoroughly with the whisk, add the remaining milk. (if you like a flatter pancake, add a little more milk and you light a thicker pancake, don’t add all the milk)

On a lightly greased griddle pour ¼ cup portions of batter and wait for bubbles to form on the top, flip and wait for the second side to brown. Serve hot with maple syrup or other topping you like on your pancakes.

Read on to see three variations of this recipe.

Banana Coconut Pancakes
Chocolate Avocado Pancakes
Pumpkin Cinnamon Pancakes

Banana Coconut Pancakes

Make the basic pancake recipe.

​Mix 1 or 2 mashed bananas
Mix in 2 or 3 tbsp of shredded coconut.
You might need a little bit more milk, so you could add a tbsp or two extra.

Pour ¼ cup portions onto a lightly greased and hot griddle or frying pan and wait for bubbles to form on the top, flip and wait for the second side to brown.
Banana Coconut Pancakes
Banana Coconut Pancakes

Chocolate Avocado Pancakes

Chocolate Avocado Pancakes
Chocolate Avocado Pancakes
Avocados have become very trendy in the past few years for uses not just guacamole. I replace the oil in the basic pancake recipe for half an avocado puree and add 1 tbsp of real unsweetened cocoa powder.
So here is the modified recipe in list form:
1 ½ cups of all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of baking soda 
1 tbsp of real unsweetened cocoa powder 
2 tbsp of brown sugar
2 eggs
½ an avocado (pureed)
1 ½ cups or maybe a bit more due to the cocoa powder, of milk (cow, or milk alternative)
Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix with a whisk. Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture and crack the two eggs into it. Now place avocado puree and 1 cup of milk into the well and mix thoroughly with the whisk, add the remaining milk. (if you like a flatter pancake, add a little more milk and you light a thicker pancake, don’t add all the milk)
Pour ¼ cup portions onto a lightly greased and hot griddle or frying pan and wait for bubbles to form on the top, flip and wait for the second side to brown. Serve with a bit of plain or with whipped cream and maple syrup.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Pancakes

This is an easy way to sneak a vegetable serving into breakfast. In my recipe I use one of our Loco Bebé Caribbean Pumpkin pouches, however, you could use ½ cup of pumpkin purée and cinnamon.

Ingredients
1 ½ cups of all purpose flour

1 ½ tsp of baking powder

1 tsp of baking soda

2 tbsp of brown sugar

2 eggs

1 Caribbean Pumpkin Pouch

2 tbsp of Olive Oil

1 ½ cups of milk (cow, or milk alternative)

Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix with a whisk. Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture and crack the two eggs into it. Now squeeze in the Caribbean Pumpkin Pouch, add the 2 tbsp of oil and 1 cup of milk into the well and mix thoroughly with the whisk, add the remaining milk. (if you like a flatter pancake, add a little more milk and you light a thicker pancake, don’t add all the milk)


On a lightly greased griddle pour ¼ cup portions of batter and wait for bubbles to form on the top, flip and wait for the second side to brown. Serve hot with maple syrup or whatever you like to top your pancakes with.



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Banana Chicken Curry Anyone?

11/14/2017

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Banana Chicken Curry

Banana Chicken Curry Recipe
​

This was a huge hit at our table! I usually make curry once a week and on my search to find a way to prepare a savory banana dish I came across a chicken curry recipe. Try it out, it was delicious and was a very easy recipe.

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Chocolate Smoothie Bowl

11/10/2017

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Banana for the Chocolate Smoothie-Funny Photo #1
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Organic Unsweetened Cocao Powder-Funny Photo #2
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Blending the Smoothie-Funny Photo #3

Chocolate Smoothie Recipe

Smoothie
2 Bananas
1 Cup Coconut Milk
1 Tbsp of Nut Butter
1 scoop of Vanilla Protein Powder
1 Tbsp of unsweetened cocoa
Ice (about 10 cubes)

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until smooth.

In a bowl place a scoop of Natural Greek Yogurt (the really thick kind if you can find it, I use The Honey Company’s Organic Greek Yogurt)
Pour Smoothie over the Greek Yogurt
Sprinkle with Chia Seeds, Nuts, Granola, Chopped Fruit, whatever you have on hand another scoop of nut butter can be really delicious too!

​
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Organic Chocolate Banana Smoothie Bowl with Chia seeds and Vanilla Protein
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Smoothie Bowl with Homemade Granola
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Banana Bread

11/10/2017

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Banana Bread French Toast


Back in Canada we have a restaurant chain called Milestones and for a few years they had an incredible brunch item… Banana Bread French Toast. I’ve never been able to fully recreate their recipe, however, it’s still scrumptious, here’s my recipe.


French Toast Recipe
2 eggs scrambled
¾ cup of Milk (cows or alternative milk like coconut milk or almond)
1 tsp of Cinnamon
1 tbsp of brown cane sugar (optional)
Sliced Banana Bread
Real Maple Syrup (because I’m Canadian and there is no substitute!)

Combine first 4 ingredients well.
Heat butter on a griddle or frying pan.
Dip one slice of banana bread into the egg and milk mixture carefully and quickly. One side and then the other side place carefully on the griddle and allow to brown, flip and brown the other side.
Remove from griddle once both sides are cooked, place on a plate and serve with whipping cream and Real Maple Syrup.


Here is my Banana Bread Recipe

Mix together:
4 Ripe Mashed Bananas
1/3 Cup of Coconut Oil
​1 Cup of Sugar or Fruit Purée

1 egg beaten
1 tsp of vanilla

After above is mixed:
Sprinkle 1 tsp of bakin soda
1 pinch of salt and mix

Sift 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour and mix.

Pre-Heat oven at 300 degrees 
Bake for about 35 minutes in a large greased bread pan

​
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Going Banana's for Banana Recipes

11/10/2017

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Three Unusual Recipes that use Bananas

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Banana Chicken Curry
​
​Banana’s are great for babies. They are easy on their tummies, soft, a bit sweet, you can be mashed and mixed with a lot of other fruits and vegetables. High in nutrients, B6, B12, magnesium and potassium they are a wonderful whole food.

Knowing this, you go to the grocery store and buy some bananas for your little one and quickly realize, she’s not going to eat the 5 or 6 bananas you just bought before they turn brown.


So what can you make with bananas? ​

Of course your immediate answer might be something sweet such as Banana Bread which is delicious, but what other meals can you make with Bananas? 

Read on to see three different ways to use those bananas beyond the classic banana bread for Breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes to help you use up those extra bananas!

Click on the Links below to get the recipes!

Banana Bread French Toast
Chocolate Banana Smoothie Bowl
​Banana Chicken Curry
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Avocado Recipes

10/26/2017

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Fish Tacos with Avocado
One of my biggest daily struggles is the daunting question of, “What’s for Dinner?” It’s not my kids who are asking, it’s me! I love cooking, however, when it comes to deciding what to cook, my brain goes to mush most days. What am I going to put on the table that will satisfy everyone and fill their bellies. I have two boys ages 6 and 4 and a little girl who is just starting on solids, so I really need to put some thought into my nightly menus to make sure everyone eats and eats healthy. So I came up with the idea of deconstructing meals and then doing the reverse, building meals from one ingredient.

Today I am building from one ingredient, the lovely, wonderful and in season Avocado!

I am building because, even though I make Organic Purees for little ones, I love the idea of Avocado being her first food. The flavor is not too strong the texture is soft and the nutrient list long. It is the perfect first food when you are sitting at the table, in my opinion and the meals for the bigger people in the family are delicious with avocado!

Here are a few ideas of meals using avocado, for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

For the little one smashed avocado.

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Papaya Recipes

10/19/2017

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Green Papaya Salad

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Green Papaya Salad

Green Papaya Salad Ingredients

Raw 
1 small underripe (green) papaya

​3 whole large carrots (~180 g), peeled
1 cup (90 g) green cabbage, chopped into bite-size thin pieces
2 plum tomatoes (120 g), halved and cut into thin bite-size pieces

SAUCE
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped (1 Tbsp or 6 g)
2 Tbsp (20 g) dry-roasted salted peanuts, plus more for serving
2 fresh or dried bird's eye chilies (or 1 serrano pepper), thinly sliced (reduce for less heat)
1 heaping Tbsp (15 g) coconut sugar or cane sugar
1 heaping 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup (60 ml) lime juice
3-4 Tbsp (45-60 ml) fish sauce
I modified this recipe from a VEGAN recipe I found on The Minimalist Baker website. It's a great website with a lot of information and many delicious recipes. 

Instructions


  1. Peel your carrots and green papaya. Deseed the papaya and cut the carrot into to halves to make it easier to work with. Julienne both the carrot and papaya. Place into a mixing bowl.
  2. Slice cabbage and tomatoes and add to mixing bowl as well. 
  3. In a small food processor, pulse the garlic, peanuts, chilies, sugar and salt together until it is a fine paste.
  4. Transfer the paste to a small mixing bowl and add lime juice and fish sauce. Whisk to combine, then sample and adjust seasonings as needed.
  5. Add sauce to vegetables and toss to combine. Lay the salad on a small serving dish and garnish with crushed peanuts and lime wedges. 

Mango Papaya Salsa

,The title alone makes you think of the tropics! For us, these are commonly found ingredients, for those in North America I appreciate, they can be difficult to find. However, if you do walk into a store and find Mangos, Papayas and Avocados in the same day... you have to try this recipe found on www.allrecipes.com

Ingredients

1 mango (I would use one of the larger varieties)- peeled, seeded and diced
1 papaya - peeled, seeded and diced
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 avocado - peeled, pitted and diced
1/2 sweet onion, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Gently mix all ingredients together in a bowl and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving. Best Served with something grilled for a true summer flavor experience!

Papaya "Mushie"

I actually tried this one just today! It was delicious, however, don't be shy on the papaya if it is a really nice tasting one. I think I might try the recipe again with double the amount of papaya then the recipe calls for. 
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Papaya Mushie

Ingredients

1 cup almond milk or any type of milk you have on hand
1/2 cup fresh papaya
1 scoop vanilla protein powder I used "Less NAKED WHEY"
1 inch piece peeled and chopped fresh turmeric root or a tsp of ground turmeric

1/2 inch piece fresh ginger root, peeled

3 cubes ice, or as desired

Instructions

Place all ingredients in order into a blender and blend until smooth! It makes 1 large glass full.
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Lunch Preparation and Safety

8/22/2017

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Lunch Time Food Safety
Back to School Lunch Food Safety

Back to School Time!

​It's that time of year again …… back to school!! As a Canadian family living in the Dominican Republic our school year starts early, August 21st to be exact and for those of you in North America you will be following shortly behind us …...sorry, but it's true, the summer is almost over. 
As my wife is the mother of three, one newborn, two boys under the age of six and recently inherited teenager (my niece) living with us for an exchange semester, the creator and driving force behind a new start up business manufacturing Certified Organic Baby Food ……. She is often asked, how do you DO it? Besides having an amazing husband (me) to help, it’s a well oiled and balanced machine. Keeping the family fed, healthy, dropping the kids off at school on time, delivering them to their respective after school activities and preparing snacks and lunches. Running a new business while the kids are at school and in the evening, allowing an opportunity to focus on homework and preparing a healthy dinner, without sacrificing quality family time. Making this happen on a daily basis takes focus and attention, a little luck and some advanced planning.

​Advanced Planning

​To keep our household running as efficiently as possible, she shops to have 3 days of fresh vegetables and fruit cleaned cut and prepped in the fridge. Most of the work is cleaning and cutting the vegetables so the more of that we can do in advance, the faster it goes in the morning. If serving a pasta or rice from a leftover dinner its pre packed and put in the fridge for the morning. Ice pack portion of food container put in the freezer over night with drinkable yogurt or small water bottle.

​The Morning Of

​In the morning, she packs each child a soft-sided and lightly insulate lunch bag with a self contained cold storage unit (CoolGear) cold sandwich, cold fresh cut vegetable, any other non-perishable sides and either a frozen water bottle or a frozen drinkable yogurt so there are  two cold sources that keep the contents out of the "Danger Zone" (temperatures between 40°F and 140°F or 4.4ºC and 60ºC, the temperature bacteria grow most rapidly) until lunch time. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has great resources on safe food handling, particularly for bag lunches.

​After Lunch

​We’ve taught our boys to throw out their leftovers and not eat anything from their lunches later in the day. When they arrive home from school, they promptly discard anything that didn’t make it into the trash can in the cafeteria. I wipe out their lunch boxes with a cloth and some diluted bleach (200 ppm )and leave to air dry overnight. 
By prepping a few days of homemade snacks ahead, she saves quite a bit of time. Mornings run smoother because there’s no shuffling and rummaging for something to eat. Knowing that the food was safely prepared, stored and packed in their lunch boxes gives us the peace of mind that we reduced the risk of foodborne illness in our kids while carving out a little more quality time to spend with them in the evenings.
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Fun Fact Friday-Apple Bananas

2/3/2017

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The delicious Apple Banana
Apple Banana's from Villa Organica
This past week I came across these beautiful berry's known as "Apple Banana's" here in the Dominican Republic, their flavor was complex and delightful. 

I love bananas, for their many health benefits. High in potassium and low in sodium, bananas are easy on stomachs and a perfect snack. They help control Diahhrea and aid in constipation. 

Upset tummies can easily digest bananas. In fact, bananas are one of the 4 foods doctors recommend to eat when your tummy is upset.

B.R.A.T-Banana, Rice, Apple Sauce and Toast.

Need a quick energy burst? According to www.well-beingsecretes.com 100g of banana contains 90Kcal of energy. 

Feeling a little down? The tryptophan in the red banana is converted into serotonin and increased serotonin levels make you feel happier. www.stylecraze.com


The red banana has a sweet taste and a slightly firmer texture. I cannot wait to include these in a new flavor for Loco Bebe!
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Fun Fact Friday-Bug in your Belly?

1/20/2017

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Fun Fact Friday-Bug in your Belly?

Belly a bit off?
Natural Remedy for an upset tummy
I've been asked a few times, what I do when I have stomach problems. Like many people, I don't like taking antibiotics, so I always start by upping my probiotic intake with homemade sauerkraut and Organic Apple Cider Vinegar and water on an empty stomach. I might go a little overboard with the sauerkraut intake, the last time I had a stomach bug, I believe I ate an entire large jar in a three day period. However, it did the job and I didn't have to take any unnecessary antibiotics. 

Why Apple Cider Vinegar?

Apple Cider Vinegar is said to kill many types of bacteria and also helps balance your internal pH. We use Bragg the brand is trusted, USDA Organic and has the "mother" in it. 

Why Sauerkraut?

Sauerkraut has billions of probiotics in each bite and is being ranked as one of the highest forms of probiotics you can eat, including out-ranking over the counter probiotic pills. It is also, super easy to make and way cheaper. 

Sauerkraut Recipe

  1. chop up a medium organic head of cabbage as fine as possible. The finer it is chopped, the faster it ferments.
  2. Add 2 tablespoons of mineral salt and stir. At this point you can let the mixture sit and after a while the cabbage will be limp and liquid will have been released from it. An alternative is to "muddle" your cabbage and salt so the cabbage becoming limpefaster and the liquid is released quicker.
  3. Pack the cabbage into mason jars, packing it tightly so there are no air pockets. Be sure the top of the cabbage is covered by the liquid.
  4. Leave one inch of head space between the top of the cabbage mixture and the lid. 
  5. The anaerobic ferment takes 4-7 tays, but we usually leave our for 14 days. After the 14 days we place it in the fridge to slow the fermentation down.
This recipe was taken from the website Nourishing Plot 
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  • Home
  • The Beginning
    • Our Story
  • Keeping It Loco Blog
    • Keeping It Loco Blog
  • Flavors
    • Buy me Online!
    • Mucho Mango
    • Banana & Mango
    • Caribbean Pumpkin
    • Passion Fusion
    • Pina Passion
    • Totally Tropical
  • Our Farms
    • Giving Back
  • Find Us
  • Totally Tropical