Almond Flour Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

When I was first making changes to my "diet" after being diagnosed with Insulin Resistance, one of my saddest goodbyes was to pancakes.  While working to manage my IR, I am eating very few grains, so even the whole-wheat oatmeal pancakes I had been making were out.  Our family tradition had been to make a pancake breakfast after Church every Sunday.   Nixing the pancakes left me feeling like I was missing out on more than just a food that I liked.  I was missing out on ritual...and on watching my husband teach my toddler how to flip a flap jack!

Missing pancakes is what led me to the eventual discovery of almond flour, or almond meal.  It is essentially finely ground almonds.  Almonds (in healthy quantities) have tons of health benefits for people with Insulin Resistance.  (And people without IR!)  Almonds can actually help decrease rises in blood sugar (glucose) in addition to providing protein, monosaturated fats, Vitamins E and B2.  I feel no guilt about giving my toddler pancakes made with almond flour as part of her breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack on Sundays!

So, almonds, almond butter, and almond flour are now staple ingredients in my kitchen!  I have actually enjoyed many almond flour recipes much more than the "originals."  I have found a few great almond flour pancake recipes online, my favorites being at Heather Eats Almond Butter and Elana's Pantry. I also created one of my own, and after several batches of tinkering, I think I have a lemon ricotta pancake recipe that is pretty darn good.  Of course, if you have suggestions, comment away!

Ingredients:
1 c. of ricotta cheese (I use whole fat organic)
Zest and Juice of 1 large lemon
3 Eggs
1 Tb. Coconut Oil
1 c. Almond flour
2 Tb. Coconut flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. Stevia in the Raw
1 tsp. Lemon Twist Stevia
1/4 c. seltzer water

Instructions:
1. First, gently mix the ricotta cheese, egg yolks (set egg whites aside for later), lemon juice and zest, liquid lemon twist stevia, and coconut oil.  I put these ingredients in my stand mixer and turn it on low just until blended.
2. Next, in a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: almond flour, coconut flour, stevia in the raw, salt, baking powder.  Gently stir into the wet mixture.
3. Whip up the egg whites until you have peaks forming.  Add the egg whites to the rest of the batter.
4. Finally, add the seltzer water.  I add this last so that the carbon dioxide bubbles are lost in the blending process.
5. I cook these pancakes around 300 degrees on my electric griddle.

I make 9 pancakes out of this batter, and I estimate that each one has about 5g carbs.  I serve them with a berry "syrup" that I make with fresh berries, water, stevia, and maybe a bit of xanthan gum.  I think they'd also be good with some greek yogurt.  If you make these, I would love to know what you put on them!