I’ve been doing my best to try out the whole paleo/low carb diet, and honestly I’m losing my mind slightly trying to find things to eat that aren’t incredibly boring. Meat and salad can only last a girl so long -although I am cheating quite a bit more than I should be. After hearing enough about alternatives to white flour and how they can be a great substitute on a low carb diet, I decided to try it out for myself in the form of almond flour pancakes with homemade nutella.
There is a vast array out there of recipes using some sort of alternative to white flour: coconut flour, soy flour, spelt flour… too many to name really. I decided to try almond flour, which seems like it would be nutty and delicious (spoiler: it is). Almond flour has 6 grams of carbs per 1/4 cup, versus the almost 24 grams in white flour. While this is fantastic for a low carb diet, do be aware that almonds contain a lot of fat (the healthy mono saturated fat) and therefor a lot of calories. But since my diet is low carb and not low fat, I think of fat as the one super delicous and decadent thing I can actually have . And while these almond flour pancakes may pack on the fat (again, the healthy kind!), they are surprisingly low in carbs. One of my almond flour pancakes contains about 8 grams of carbs; my serving size is 2-3 pancakes. Plus, I use coconut milk instead of regular whole milk, which is lower carb than whole milk and adds a great coconut flavor.
Ok, so we have the almond flour pancakes down, now what are we gonna top them with? While pure maple syrup is a better alternative to sugar, it still contains 13 grams of carbs per tablespoon-and you know you’re gonna use more and one tablespoon. My alternative was a homemade version of chocolate hazelnut spread, without all the added sugar that store bought alternatives pack in. According to my calculations, this nutella comes out to about 5 grams of carbs per tablespoon. Plus, you can use it in a million other super delicious ways.
I spread a bit of the nutella between each pancake, and topped with fresh blueberries, chopped hazelnuts, and a drizzle of honey. I served my almond flour pancakes with a side of some extra nutella, and crispy pan-fried bacon (because really, this recipe was getting all too healthy).
Almond flour pancakes sizzling in the pan
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1 cup coconut milk (or regular milk)
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 3 tablespoons seltzer
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- dash of salt
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk until well combined. Grease pan or griddle over medium heat with butter or coconut oil, and pour batter into pan in ¼ cup increments (I used an ice cream scoop to measure out my batter). Flip pancakes when bubbles begin to form in batter, 2-3 minutes. Brown for another 2 minutes.
- 2 cups roasted hazelnuts
- 1-2 oz dark chocolate (I used 1.6 oz of 72% cocoa)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- Chop chocolate into chunks (if not using chocolate chips). Melt over a double boiler, stirring constantly. Stir in coconut oil. Allow mixture to cool slightly.
- Add the hazelnuts to the bowl of a food processor. Pulverize nuts on high, streaming in melted chocolate. Keep food processor running until the spread reaches your desired creaminess (I like mine with a bit of texture) about 3-5 minutes.
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