SANTA MONICA FARMERS' MARKET

We have a very special correspondent today... our mom! And what does Mom love? Organic fruit and veggies! So she's taking us to the Santa Monica Farmers' Market. It's the largest grower-only Certified Farmers Market in Southern California and a favorite for local chefs.

Lets start with the berries. We're certainly lucky to have these fresh, vibrant, local berries.

Papayas grown in California! Have you ever heard of such a thing? Amazing!

Thank God for artichoke season!

You say 'tomato,' I say 'tomato.'

Lots of good greens for dinner.

The Santa Monica Farmers' Market is open every Wednesday from 8.30am - 1.30pm, and is located on Arizona Avenue at 2nd Street.

Grainless Pancakes

It's National Pancake Day! Instead of making a traditional wheat pancake, I thought I would share my recipe for Paleo protein pancakes. I make these pancakes for my family several times a week. Their base is banana and egg. No grains! No sugar! And lots of protein! The banana makes these cakes very sweet, so use maple syrup sparingly, if at all. 

Ingredients:

2 Ripe Bananas

4 Eggs

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1/2 tsp. Banking Soda

2 Pinches of Salt

3/4 cup Frozen Blueberries

Butter and/or Coconut Oil

Makes about 8 medium sized pancakes

Mash the bananas in a bowl.

Add eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Beat with a fork until completely combined. Then gently fold in blueberries.

Heat several tablespoons of grease in a pan or griddle (I like to use a combination of butter and coconut oil) on medium heat. Cook about 4 minutes per side - until golden brown. If the outside gets too dark and the inside is still raw, lower heat.

Enjoy! 

5-INGREDIENT, NO-SUGAR, NO-COOK DESSERT (OR BREAKFAST!)

Because I wasn't allowed to eat much sugar as a kid, a lot of our mid-week "desserts" were healthy cereals with fruit. I do like the idea of trying to stay away from sugar - at least during the week - so I carried on the tradition with this dessert that I make when my husband and I are trying to be "good" but still want a treat. He now says he prefers this to any real sugar dessert. I use raw cream (in addition to homemade coconut milk), which is pretty decadent (but I also believe has many healthy properties), but you can use any kind of milk/mylk of your choice. Whatever suits your diet will taste great - I've made it with only almond mylk and it's still really yummy. I keep the 5 ingredients in my house fairly regularly, so I can whip this up in a moment of dessert desperation. Hope this helps to kick off your week. Happy Monday Y'all!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Nature's Path Organic Qi'a Cereal (It only has 3 ingredients: Organic Chia Seeds, Organic Buckwheat Groats & Organic Hemp Seeds)

2 Organic Dates

1/2 Cup Organic Blueberries

2 Tablespoons Organic, Unsweetened Organic Coconut Shreds

1/2 or More Any Milk or Cream of Your Choice

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Here's how I like to put it together:

Place Qi'a Cereal at the bottom of the bowl. This cereal is very dense - a little goes a long way.

Slice two dates into pieces and add.

Add the blueberries.

Sprinkle on the Shredded Coconut.

Fill the bowl with about 1/2-3/4 cup milk/cream, until it completely covers the cereal. Wait a few seconds for the cereal to soak in some of the liquid and stir. If there are any dry parts to the cereal add more liquid until all of the cereal is covered. Dig in!