The 30 day paleo challenge is over.

But really it’s just beginning. A lot of people were curious if at the end of the 30 days if we were going to continue following a paleo lifestyle or reintroduce particular types of food that do not fall under the “guidelines” of proper paleo eating.

The answer is yes to both.

There is no denying that eating strictly paleo for the last 30 days has brought some pretty significant changes for both of us. Leaner and down in weight. Sleeping better (except when the 17 year old cat decides to get lost in the hallway) and for Tara the reduction in foot pain has been the most eye opening (inflammation and aggravated plantar faciitis caused by grains and sugars).

For us eating paleo makes sense.

But we also crave those nights where we don’t have to give any thought to what we eat. A nice evening out sitting next to each other sharing a dessert that is everything but paleo friendly. A hot bowl of spicy Pho. A burger with a bun AND some fries…

It’s all about compromise. It’s about knowing what to eat that makes your body feel good, your spirit feel good and sometimes more importantly your heart feel good. It’s about leaving the emotional bullshit behind and not getting caught up in the “I can’ts” but rather “I choose”. We eat what we eat because we choose to eat them, not because we’re trying to fill a void or placate an emotion. We break our sweats and eat our sweets because we work hard to love the bodies we’re in and the bodies we’re in love us back.

Now how all this ties into the following breakfast recipes we have no idea but the bottom line is we will continue to eat Paleo and when we choose to eat something else we will without guilt or feeling of failure. We will also continue to find delicious paleo “replacements” like the coconut flour pancakes and sweet potato latkes below.

We are big breakfast people. On most weekdays we eat pretty much the same thing everyday: Meegan likes two hard boiled eggs and a banana with homemade almond butter) while Tara usually eats the leftovers from the night before with an egg thrown on top. The weekends is when we take a little extra time to try out something that tickles our fancy…

The Coconut Flour Pancake recipe was found over at Paleo Pals and the Potato Latke recipe was found over at Everyday Paleo. Very little was changed in the recipes (the vanilla was left out on the coconut pancakes because we didn’t have any and the cinnamon was left out on the latkes because it doesn’t agree with one of us) otherwise we followed each step by step.

Paleo! It really can be for breakfast!

Enjoy.

Coconut Flour Pancakes.

Ingredients:

• 2 Bananas (ripe)
• 6 Eggs
• 1/3 Coconut Flour
• 1/4 Cup Coconut Milk
• FoC (Fat of choice) – we used left over fat drippings from bacon/sausage.

In a bowl, smash bananas until smooth. If you have a magic bullet you could just use that too but the smashing is kind of fun!

Once smooth, add coconut flour, coconut milk and eggs. Whisk together until well blended.

Grease skillet / griddle with FoC on medium heat and get to cooking those pancakes. General rule is about 1/4 c of mix per pancake. Cook about 1-2 minutes each side (or if your a pancake pro until all the bubbles pop).

(Flip!)

– Side note: These won’t stick together like wheat flour so the likelihood for them to “fall apart” may happen. Do not be discouraged. After a first few you’ll get the hang of it…

Oh yhea that blueberry goodness on top? A cup of frozen blueberries heated in a little coconut milk makes a tasty reduction!!

Sweet Potato Latkes

The ingredients:

• 5 Cups Shredded Sweet Potatoes
• 2 Eggs
• 1/4 Onion (minced)
• FoC (Fat of Choice)

We got to pull out “BabyDoll” for this one and shredded up the sweet potatoes in no time!

2 large potatoes = approx 5 cups

In large bowl mix shredded potatoes with eggs and minced onions.

 

Heat FoC in skillet / griddle over medium heat and take a small handful of the mixture, press together and then “drop” onto skillet / griddle. Press down gently and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side until cooked through and crispy to your desire.

(Flip!)

How you decide to serve them is up to you…We cooked up a little sausage and then topped them off with an egg!

Mmmmmm Breakfast!

~ Now that’s good eatin’ folks!