Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Garbanzo bean flour pancakes

Allergy season has arrived full throttle in my area, and my poor dog, Kona, started suffering as much as the humans. In the photo above, she was wearing a "halo" to keep her from biting at her itchy places. Good news though. She only had to wear it for a week and then her itching subsided.

Intense itching was how she was reacting to the pollens that were bothering her. The only way to stop her from biting herself constantly until she drew blood was to put her in this halo. She also continues to take six allergy pills a day which was doing little to deter her when she was wearing her special bonnet. She was looking pretty sad in the photo and was doing a good job of making us feel sorry for her.
Garbanzo bean flour continues to be a favorite of mine while I'm on my restricted carb diet to rid my body of too much yeast or candida. It's really no longer bothering me that I cannot eat sugar and must restrict my carbs. The bad news is I probably will have to follow this diet pretty closely for a year. I try not to dwell on that but rather on how good I am feeling.
Yesterday, we had friends over for a Memorial Day barbecue and they could not believe all the fresh veggies I could eat. These friends had watched me in the past eat only well-cooked veggies and deny myself things like salad and other hard-t0-digest foods. I could sense their disbelief but also their pleasure in seeing me so much better.
Candida is definitely a missing diagnosis for many individuals. But it is no cakewalk to get rid of and requires a high level of commitment to follow the eating protocol. A friend mentioned to me that she had an acquaintance who thought she would be rid of her candida problem after just six weeks of following a low carb diet. Unfortunately, after improving, she quit after six weeks. Within a short time, her symptoms returned.
Not me, I'm in this for the long haul. And garbanzo bean flour will continue to be part of my arsenal of foods. I found out that garbanzo bean flour breads, crepes and pancakes are a staple in certain parts of Italy. This week, I tried garbanzo bean flour pancakes. Actually, I was trying to make crepes or tortillas but I'm still perfecting those.
Garbanzo Bean Flour Pancakes
Ingredients:
2 cups garbanzo bean flour
2 T. vegan rice protein powder
salt and pepper to taste
fresh or dried herbs to taste
2 T. olive oil
1 1/2 cups water (possibly more to get a pancake batter consistency)
Pan spray and more olive oil
Directions:
Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Then add olive oil and water. Add more water if needed to get a batter with the consistency of crepe or pancake batter. Allow the batter to set for a few minutes. The batter tends to thicken so you may need to add some more water.
Heat a large skillet or better yet a crepe pan until very hot. Add olive oil and heat until it smokes slightly. You want it very hot. Test with a bit of batter. Make one pancake at a time. Allow the dough to bubble up just like regular pancakes. Flip and cook on the other side. Add more oil before you start a new pancake.
These pancakes are best eaten while hot. They roll pretty easily so you could make some sort of breakfast wrap with them. I'm going to continue to experiment with them and will post more later.

4 comments:

Dan said...

Poor Kona! One of our mutts likes to chew on her legs & paws more than is healthy; but it's not nearly bad enough to merit an Elizabethan collar, thank goodness. Kate's convinced it's a food allergy but she can't narrow down the exact ingredient that's causing it. For the amount of money we spend on dog food, my bets would be on either platinum or diamond. :)

Sheree Welshimer said...

Yes, she was pretty pathetic. At times, we thought she had totally lost her brains. She was crashing into anything and everything including us. But now, at least, we have our old Kona back.

Have you tried cheap allergy pills for your allergic pup? Or have you ruled out seasonal allergies?

Dan said...

I haven't ruled out anything. Kate is completely in charge of the mutts' health care. It's her thing - she's the expert on food & stuff at work, on all sorts of internet lists about canine nutrition, seminars, books upon books, etc etc... I just try my best to carry out her orders. :)

Sheree Welshimer said...

Maybe you should try slipping a few allergy pills into your dog's food, kind of a covert operation and see if it makes any difference. But that's easy for me to suggest since I don't live at your house.