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I’ve recently welcomed tigernuts into the Breakfast Criminals kitchen, and I gotta tell you, it quickly became one of my new favorites.
Tigernuts are nuts that grow in Africa, and just like pigs hunt for truffles, tigers hunt for tigernuts.
Just kidding.
Let me start again :) Tigernuts have nothing to do with tigers or nuts. They’re actually a root vegetable, traditionally grown in Spain, and used to make the original Horchata (it’s not rice milk, kiddos!) Full of prebiotics, healthy fats, carbs and even some protein, tigernuts are also paleo, gluten-free, nut-free, vegan, non-gmo and organic.
Tigernuts make an amazing snack on the go. One, because they taste amazing – with vanilla-ish, sweet creamy flavor, and two – because they’re very chewy, ensuring that you don’t overeat and chew your snack well for optimal digestion (the flavor opens up the more you chew, too).
They’re loaded with prebiotics (a.k.a. the food for probiotics), fiber, healthy fats, protein, carbohydrates, and a bit of natural occurring sugar. I’ve been enjoying them sprinkled on top of my smoothie bowls in the morning or taking a handful with me as a snack on the go. They’re incredibly unique, they taste like an almond mixed with the sweet taste of dates, creaminess of a cashew, and are quite chewy.
When I brought strawberry tigernut horchata to a meditation session with my mentor David Harshada Wagner, he also commented saying that tigernuts are a very a great food for feeding your ojas (pronounced oh-jus). According to ayurveda, ojas –which means “that which invigorates”– is the life force, the energy that flows through every person and living thing. It takes the form of quantifiable liquid in the body, which transforms food into ojas through digestion and metabolism. Like chi in Chinese philosophy, ojas is the force that makes us feel happy and alive. Responsible for wellness, harmony, and spiritual growth, it makes our eyes shine and puts a spring in our step.
Vibrant people have ample amounts of ojas. The best way to keep our ojas up is to live a balanced lifestyle that is pure and close to nature, and it’s especially important to eat ojas-rich foods when you have a daily yoga or meditation practice. Besides tigernuts, some ojas building foods include ghee, rice, milk, sugar, almonds, and raisins.
I’ve tried three Tigernuts products by Organic Gemini, a Brooklyn-based company: Tigernuts, Tigernut Horchata and Tigernut Flour. I ate tigernuts out of the bag (although you can also soak them prior to eating), used horchata as a base for a cherry chai smoothie, and tigernut flour to make gluten-free chocolate maca pancakes. All of it was THE BOMB!
Here’s the Gluten-Free Chocolate Maca Pancakes made with Tigernut Flour:
Ingredients:
- 3 egg whites
- 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
- 1/2 cup tigernut flour
- 3/4 cup Tigernut Horchata (or use almond milk)
- 1/2 mashed banana
- 3 tbsp raw cocoa (I like Frontier Coop)
- 1 tbsp raw cacao nibs (Frontier Coop are hands down the best)
- 1 tbsp maca (I like Organic Burst)
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
- Coconut oil (for cooking)
Directions:
- Whisk together egg whites and flours, then pour in the horchata (or almond milk) and mix well.
- Add cocoa, cacao nibs, maca, baking soda, maple syrup, cinnamon, sea salt, vanilla bean and mashed banana. Mix well.
- Add 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil to a pan and heat it up on medium.
- Pour in the pancake mixture and cook until the edges start to brown. Flip and cook the other side. Repeat.
- Serve with warm cinnamon pecan apples, maple syrup, almond butter, raw cacao nibs and coconut chips.
To make warm cinnamon spiced pecan apples:
- Slice up two large apples.
- Warm up a pan with 1 tablespoon coconut oil.
- Add the apples, and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring.
- Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon and a handful of pecans.
- Cook for another 5 minutes. Ready!
Disclaimer: This recipe post was sponsored by Organic Gemini. Regardless of whether the product was provided/recipe was paid to develop, you can always expect my honest opinion, as I only work with brands that alight with the Breakfast Criminals wholefood philosophy and good vibes.