IBS-Friendly Cinnamon Pancakes with Ghee

Imagine pancakes that give your morning an energy boost and are worry-free. This recipe is a Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) version of a morning favorite that everyone in the family can enjoy.

Credit: ©Chelnok 2005

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Yield: 4 servings of 4 pancakes each

1 cup whole organic cashews

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3 eggs

1 tablespoon Kendall's SCD Dairy Yogurt

Splash of vanilla

Pinch of salt

2 tablespoons of honey

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1. Using a food processor, grind the cashews into a paste.

2. Add the baking soda, eggs, yogurt, vanilla, salt, honey, and cinnamon and blend well.

3. Turn the oven burner to medium-low heat and melt the coconut oil in a frying pan.

4. Pour the batter into the pan in 1/4-cup pools.

5. Flip when golden.

If you're in a hurry (or just don't want to make your own yogurt), you can substitute plain organic cow or goat yogurt.

Drizzle extra honey and melted butter or ghee over pancakes.

Per serving: Calories 292; Fat 21.4 g (Saturated 6.5 g); Cholesterol 160 mg; Sodium 232 mg; Carbohydrate 18.7 g (Fiber 1.4 g); Protein 11.2 g; Sugar 9.2 g.

Gratifying Ghee

Ghee is a type of butter from which all the milk solids have been removed, which makes it safer for people who have both lactose intolerance and casein (milk protein) allergies. (Butter has no lactose but does contain casein.) Ghee has been used for centuries in India; it's prized by practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine.

Making ghee is a fairly simple procedure to heat the butter and separate the fat and the solids. The results are magical. Ghee looks semisolid at room temperature. You don't need to refrigerate it, and it can keep for several months. Always use a clean utensil in the ghee bottle.

Tools: 4 sheets of cheesecloth

Preparation time: 2 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Yield: About 1 pound

1 pound unsalted butter (organic if available)

1. Melt the butter gradually over low heat in a deep pot with a thick bottom. Do not stir.

2. Continue cooking over low heat until the melted butter is a clear golden liquid. It will bubble and may foam but won't boil over if you have a deep enough pot. The milk solids will turn golden or light brown and may settle at bottom. You can skim off and discard the thick foam.

3. Remove from heat while the liquid is a clear gold. A darker color means overdone ghee.

4. Line a sieve with the 4 sheets of cheesecloth and place the sieve over a clean pot. Strain the still-hot ghee through the sieve.

5. Transfer the strained ghee into a clean jar and screw the lid on securely.

Per serving: Calories 102; Fat 11.5 g (Saturated 7.3 g); Cholesterol 31 mg; Sodium 2 mg; Carbohydrate 0 g (Fiber 0 g); Protein 0.1 g; Sugar 0 g.

Kendall's SCD Dairy Yogurt

Thanks to Kendall Conrad for this 32-hour yogurt that makes a half-gallon of fresh, rich, Greek-style yogurt.

You need a yogurt machine. You also need Yogourmet (pronounced yo-gourmet), a freeze-dried yogurt starter containing L. Bulgaricus, S. thermophilus, and L. acidophilus bacteria. One box of starter has three 10-gram packs (each pack makes 2 fresh quarts of yogurt).

Tools: Yogurt maker

Preparation time: 45 minutes (including cooling time)

Incubation time: 32 hours

Yield: Sixteen 1/2-cup servings (1/2 gallon total)

1 quart organic whole milk

1 quart organic half and half (no careegenan)

One 10-gram package of Yogourmet starter

1. Bring milk and half and half to a simmer. Remove from stove and cover. Place in the fridge until lukewarm, about 25 to 30 minutes. When lukewarm, pour a cup of the liquid through a strainer into the inner bucket of the yogurt maker.

2. Add the contents of the starter packets and whisk 20 times in each direction. Strain the remaining milk mixture into the bucket and whisk 10 more times each way. Put the top on the bucket and place in the outer container of the yogurt maker with 1-1/2 cups of water.

3. Plug in the machine and leave it for 24 hours. After the 24 hours has passed, leave the lid on the inner container and place it in the fridge for 8 hours more.

4. Spoon into a bowl, add honey and vanilla, and eat!

Per serving: Calories 179; Fat 8.4 g (Saturated 0.9 g); Cholesterol 49 mg; Sodium 92 mg; Carbohydrate 7.3 g (Fiber 0 g); Protein 46 g; Sugar 7.3 g.