One Fit Ramadan

Today I made a couple of dishes that are usually heavy in starch, carbs, sugar, and everything else that leaves you with a stomach ache. For the most part, it’s as simple as swapping out the grain for almond flour! I made pancakes for Sahoor and enchiladas for Iftar. The recipes below are examples of how you can still enjoy everyday food without feeling guilty or fat.

For Sahoor

This is a recipe for about 2 servings of Paleo Pancakes with syrup. Huh? Syrup? Just read on..

• 1 1/2 cups of Almond Flour
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 3/4 cup almond or coconut milk
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• coconut oil
• Kerrygold butter – from grass-fed cows that are free of growth hormones
• 1/2 banana (optional)
• 16 ounces of pure cranberry or pomegranate juice

For the Syrup:

1. Pour the juice into a sauce pan and and heat over high. Bring it to a slight broil.
2. Once it starts to broil, lower the heat to medium and let it reduce. This takes about 10 minutes but in my experience, once it starts to reduce, it goes fast and becomes thick. You want it to thicken up a bit but too much is annoying.
3. Once it’s at syrup thickness, take it off the stove and let it cool for a little bit before pouring it on your pancakes.

For the Pancakes:

1. In a bowl, mix the almond flour, baking powder, sea salt, and cinnamon.
2. In a seprate bowl, mix the milk and eggs. Mash in a banana if you want to.
3. Combine into a cup that you will use to pour the mixture into the pan. I use a measuring cup that has a spout. Mix it all up.
4. Heat up a skillet and add a little bit of coconut oil to it
5. Pour less than 1/4 cup of the mixture into the skillet at a time.
6. Cook on medium heat for a couple of minutes or until the sides start to brown up
7. Flip and cook the other side for only a minute or so. Be careful while flipping, these are very fragile and take one or two rounds to get the feel of it before you can flip them without breaking them. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Once everything was done, I placed the pancakes on to a plate, put a little bit of the Kerrygold butter on top and then drizzled syrup on it. Tasted better than packaged pancake batter and kept me full in a healthy way throughout the day.

For Iftar

I love Mexican food. Mexican food does not like human bodies or else it wouldn’t be so evil. It helped Mexico beat America in becoming the fattest country in the world! I’m here to tell you it doesn’t have to be that way. Today with the assistance of my sister, I made open enchiladas. This dish is a little more time consuming to make so plan ahead and have a partner. It serves 2-3 people.

For Enchiladas:

• 1 lb of chicken, diced (you can actually use whatever meat you want)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 1/2 cups of tomato puree
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2-3 tsp of chili powder
• 1 tsp of cumin
• 1 tsp of dried oregano
• 1 tsp of sea salt
• coconut oil

For Tortillas

• 4 tablespoons of Almond Flour
• 1/4 tsp of baking powder
• 4 egg whites
• 2 table spoons of almond or coconut milk
• 1 tsp coconut oil per tortilla

1. Preheat your oven to 370 degrees
2. Place the meat onto a baking dish and bake it for about 15 minutes
3. Heat up a pan and saute the onions on medium heat until they become soft.
4. Add in the tomato puree, garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and salt. Stir it up while it simmers on low heat for about 15-20 minutes
5. Pour the mixture into a food processor and blend until it’s a smooth sauce.
6. Place the tortillas in the baking dish and place the almost cooked chicken on top of them.
7. Pour the enchilada sauce on top.
8. Cover the enchiladas with aluminum foil and place back into the over for about 10 minutes.
9. Cut up an avocado and some lime to enjoy with the dish.

Making the tortillas is pretty simple. Adjust the amount of ingredients to make how many you want. I would make these during step 4 above.

1. In a bowl or cup that has a spout, mix in the almond flour, baking powder, eggs, and milk. Mix until all of the lumps are gone.
2. Heat up a pan and add in coconut oil.
3. Pour the batter into the pan. Move the pan around to thin it out. You can make the tortillas small if you want to make open enchiladas like I did or make them large if you plan on wrapping them closed.
4. Cook for about 1 minute and flip them. Cook for another 30 seconds or so and they are done.

So there you have it. Delicious meals that normally would have you feeling guilty for a week done in a healthy way. I hope you enjoy them!