Katie Cooks Paleo: breakfast

We are banana eaters in my house. I usually buy between 8-10 pounds of bananas a week yet we always seem to be out of them. This last week I'm not sure what happened but we have a lot of leftover bananas. The only problem is, I won't touch them if they have spots. So it's time to figure out ways to utilize all these ripe bananas!

One great way is to dehydrate them to eat for snacks or use in my Homemade Larabars. Dehydrating usually takes about 3 hours to dehydrate 10-12 bananas. Another thing you can do is peel, chunk, and freeze the bananas for smoothies or banana ice cream. One trick we've learned is that they need to be flash frozen otherwise they all stick together.

Flash Freezing Fruit

1. Line a large baking sheet with tin foil.
2. Cut the fruit down to the desired size, if necessary. I chunk my strawberries, bananas, pineapple, and mango but leave my blackberries, raspberries, and marionberries whole.
3. Place the baking sheet in your freezer. If you have a check or upright freezer, use this for about 1 hour. If you only have your fridge-freezer it takes closer to 4-5 hours to get a solid freeze.
4. Remove the baking sheet from the freezer and immediately slide all the fruit off into freezer Ziploc bags and put back in the freezer. All your hard work will go to waste if you let the fruit defrost at all.

The easiest and most satisfying way to use up spotty bananas is to make pancakes! I've tried many different banana pancake recipes and finally figured out the easiest and yummiest one.

Easy Paleo Banana Pancakes
Serves: 3, 12-15 4" size pancakes

2 ripe bananas
4 eggs
4 TBLS coconut flour
2 TBLS coconut oil, divided

1. In a blender combine all ingredients. Whirl up until combines and smooth, about 1 minute.
2. Heat a non-stick skillet or grill pan over medium heat with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil.
3. Four the batter into the skillet to make 4 inch size pancakes.
4. Wait for the edges to cook completely and the pancake to look firm before flipping, about 3 minutes.
5. Flip and cook for an additional 1 minute.
6. Serve immediately.

These are great topped with fresh fruit, some seared banana bits, warm syrup or however else you prefer your pancakes!

Shredded sweet potato hash, sunny side up eggs & bacon

Today marks day 15 of my Whole30 and the half way point! I have to say, I'm not missing the sugar that I was eating so much of just 15 days ago. I have been thinking about baking something though. I really want to make another recipe from Brittany Angell's Every Last Crumb but I know if I start, I'll talk myself into the sweet treats soon enough. Until then I'll just dream about them.

I don't know how people can skip breakfast. Not only is it my favorite meal of the day but it also gives you the energy to make it through the tired parts of the morning. I was never one of those people that could just eat a granola bar and be fine until lunch. I remember in school eating a small breakfast and still catching my stomach growling in anticipation for lunch. I'm pretty sure this proves even more that eating more frequently is what my body demands. I've tried to go away from the traditional 3 meals a day by reducing the amount of food I eat at those meals and adding in a mid-morning and mid-afternoon large snack. My body responds better and I'm more alert throughout the day this way.

What I've found about breakfast is that you need to plan it out. If you have only 5 minutes every morning then make it ahead. If the reason you have only 5 minutes is because you don't get up early enough, get up earlier. My husband was that person that never had time for breakfast and was in such a rush in the mornings. When I was pregnant he started getting up with me (about 30 minutes earlier) and making us both breakfast. He's stuck to this new time schedule even when I sleep in a bit longer in the mornings giving himself enough time to make breakfast and enjoy it. He likes the fact that he can sit down before work to drink his coffee, enjoy his breakfast, and catch up on Reddit.

Over the years I've tried many different breakfast options. This past year most of the breakfast foods we make are pretty similar. Sweet potato hash, pancakes, or scrambled eggs are normally at the top of our list. Here's my process for deciding what to make each morning.

1. What meat do we have? I usually make sure the night before that I have bacon, breakfast sausage or a leftover shredded meat in the fridge. If not, I pull it from the freezer to defrost overnight.
2. Do I want eggs? If I don't want to eat eggs, my meal may turn out very differently. Sometimes I then go the route of Brittany Angell's Paleo Waffles or Sweet Potato Biscuits & Gravy from The Paleo Kitchen. If I do want eggs, how do I want them? I usually go wit scrambled or sunny side up, depending on what they are going with.
3. What veggies should I make with it? Although plantains aren't a veggie, if you have them, they are a delicious breakfast item. Sweet potatoes are my go-to veggie that I pair with whatever veggies I have in the fridge such as onion, zucchini, turnips, bell pepper, carrots, spinach, kale, or squash. What's great is you can shred or cube them giving different textures.

My meals almost always have these 3 components. This ensures I have a hearty breakfast to kick start my morning. Oh and have I mentioned my 1 year old eats the exact same meal as me? When you eat clean healthy foods it's easy to know what you eat is great for your child too.