A Story I’ve Been Meaning to Tell

This has been an exciting week for me.  I submitted an article to the Huffington Post for the first time, and not only did they print it but they featured it on the front page of the women’s section.  I’m beyond flattered, but also really stoked that I was given this opportunity to reach so many more people than I could on my own.  The story is of my experience growing up with Tourette Syndrome and OCD.  I won’t recap it here, but hope that you will go check it out on the Huffington Post if you haven’t already.

This has been a story that I’ve been meaning to tell for some years now.  Honestly, each year I have planned to post it here on my own blog on Easter Eve, but I’ve always come up with an excuse not to: I hadn’t written the story yet, I wanted to wait until I could go back and find pages of my old journals that I could share along with it (and maybe I’ll still share those), etc.  It was the encouraging words of a new friend that pushed me to finally put excuses aside, sit down and write my story, and to share it with a much larger audience than my own Messy Kitchen fans.  It feels great to have my story out there, and it is my sincere hope that my story will provide hope to other families who are facing Tourette’s or similar challenges.

Anyways, this is a food blog, so why don’t I share some pumpkin pancakes while I’m at it…

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Protein Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling!)
• 1 scoop protein powder (I use Cellucor cinnamon swirl)
• 2 egg whites
• 1/3 cup raw oats*
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice)
• 1/3 cup water
• Almond butter and syrup to drizzle

How-To:  Put all ingredients through water in a food processor or blender and blend well.  Meanwhile, heat a nonstick griddle or large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat.  Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake onto griddle. Turn pancakes over when tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked.  Mix almond butter and syrup in a small bowl and drizzle over pancakes!

Makes 1 large serving (I eat a lot!  Could easily be two servings if serving with eggs) 

*Update:   You can make a grain-free version by eliminating the oats.  If you do this, you will want to reduce the water to 1 tablespoon.  This is a great paleo/low carb alternative that I often make and enjoy, but the consistency is better when made with oats.

Johanna