Not a fan of traditional pancakes? See them everywhere today (even in your sleep)? Well we think that we have just the recipe for you, suitable for those on a 'caveman' or paleolithic (paleo) diet. Many thanks to Aoife over on aoiferr for allowing us to share it with you today. Be sure to read right to the end to find out how she is getting on with the diet. Enjoy!

Pancake Tuesday is one of my favourite days of the year. My mum makes amazing pancakes and we usually have them with lemon and golden syrup or bacon and maple syrup…but not this year! I am powering through the Whole30 and not going to let the temptation get to me. If you’re looking for a tasty alternative to white flour pancakes, you’ve come to the right place and after the pancake feast we had this morning, I am confident no one will feel deprived this Pancake Tuesday! These are also a good weekend or occasional breakfast for those times when you just can’t eat another plate of scrambled eggs and greens.

Banana Paleo Pancakes

I’ve been making these for about a year and a half, toying with the banana to egg ratio and I think I have it down. Boyfriend and I eat them even when we’re not going Paleo…that’s how good they are!

Recipe (for two people)

• 2 medium bananas
• 2 whole eggs
• 3 egg whites (for extra fluffiness and protein!)
• 1 tblsp almond butter
• 1 tsp of cinnamon
• Coconut oil

Directions

1. Blend all the ingredients in a food processor or with a hand blender.

2. Heat your coconut oil (approx 1.5 tsp for each round) in a flat non-stick pan on a medium heat. These pancakes burn a little easier than flour pancakes so make a little cooler than you would normally.

3. Pour batter on to make smaller American style pancakes. They are a little more delicate than flour pancakes and don’t flip as well if they are too big.

4. Cook for 2-3 mins on each side until golden.

5. Repeat with remaining batter. This recipe should make about 7-8 pancakes.

6. Serve and eat with any of the accompaniment options below!

Chocolate Blueberry Pancakes

For these, simply add 2-3 tsps of unsweetened cocoa (depending on how chocolatey you want them!) and a good handful of blueberries to the recipe above. The batter will be slightly thicker so don’t add more than 3 tsps of cocoa. Simply follow the same instructions as above.

Because I was avoiding cocoa, I asked my mum and dad to try these and they both gave them two thumbs up and swore it had nothing to do with the fact that I’m their daughter 

Now for those tasty accompaniments!

While the chocolate blueberry pancakes are probably best eaten alone, the banana pancakes are delicious with a little something extra such as some good quality crispy bacon (and organic maple if you’re not on Whole30!) or some meaty sausages such as the venison ones above! They are also delicious with fresh berries like blueberries, strawberries and raspberries. One of my favourite accompaniments however is fruit coulis and marscapone. Since I can’t eat sugar or dairy, I made this yummy coulis instead this morning. The apple and cinnamon make this super tasty and you don’t miss the sugar at all!

Recipe

• 1 red apple cored and chopped (I love a good pink lady!)
• A mug of frozen mixed berries
• 1tsp of cinnamon
• 2 tblsp of water

Directions

1. Heat all the ingredients in a pot over a medium heat.

2. When it becomes runny and starts to bubble, lower heat.

3. Gently simmer and allow to reduce. Total cooking time approx 20mins.

This was boyfriend's pre-biking brekkie this morning heaped with all the tasty accompaniments:

So there you have it. Now you can feel smug eating your yummy, healthy, inflammation-free pancakes while everyone else is heaping spoons of sugar onto white flour! Let me know how you get on and feel free to send me pics or ideas of your own accompaniments.

But before I go, a here’s a quick progress update.

Dear Paleo Diary,

Phew, I’m sure glad that first week is over! It’s been a bit of a roller-coaster! I’ve been rather tired and grumpy the last couple of days though I’m in better form today. I’ve noticed I really need to up my fluid intake as I am a lot thirstier than usual.

Yesterday (Day 7) was the first day I really craved chocolate and stodgy carbs. I wasn’t feeling great so I think I just wanted comfort food. But, I obviously still have that association between feeling rubbish and wanting to eat crap. One of the reasons for doing a Whole30 is to break that association and change how you relate to the food you eat. For this reason, I steered clear of one of the pancake options below this morning, even though the ingredients were technically Paleo and Whole30 approved. Chocolate is clearly a weak spot for me!

On a good note, I am already noticing a difference in how my body looks! My jeans are sitting a teeny bit looser and my tummy and legs are a little tighter. I think this is a combination of the Whole30 and kettlebells. I have also noticed the aches in my joints have been better. Cleansing my body of those inflammatory foods is obviously paying off!

Have an awesome weekend folks and a tasty Pancake Tuesday!