My name is Sylvie and I may or may not have a bread problem. Ok, I do. I do have a bread problem. You see in Argentina, where I grew up, a meal is not complete without bread. I'm not exaggerating one bit. I remember running to the bakery for a bag of fresh bread many times with everyone waiting on me to get back to start dinner.
My uncle used to joke that I would be happy eating only bread for dinner. He also joked that I had so many health issues we could play bingo with my list of diagnoses. It wasn't pretty. Luckily, I eventually found paleo and it saved my life! And the bread had to go. Stat.
When I first transitioned my kids, a.k.a. the quesadilla junkies, to paleo I switched their whole wheat tortillas to brown rice tortillas for a couple weeks while desperately trying to find meals they wouldn't make a fuss about at the dinner table.
I made paleo pumpkin muffins and other treats regularly to appease their sweet tooth. Over time I found it was easier to just introduce completely new-to-them real food than trying to paleo-ify all the staples they had gotten used to. And I was pleasantly surprised with the results!
That led me to writing my first ebook, The Paleo Survival Guide: Getting Started with Paleo. I wanted to share how I overcame each challenge during our transition to paleo as a family, trying to find the time, energy and space in the budget for this new way of eating as well as trying to minimize the pushback from the kids.
As much as I like to stick to meat and veg most of the time, every once in a while I love to have a paleo bread option and it doesn't hurt to score major points with the kids! My requirements for recipes are that it be quick and easy without too many ingredients, healthy, yet delicious!
This paleo flatbread fits the bill. You can use it as a savory wrap for something like pulled pork, just as a bread almost like naan, or drop the basil and salt and use it as a crêpe and spread with something sweet! I must admit I'm a bit relieved that if my friends and family visit from Argentina I'll be able to offer them a bread alternative and they'll have 1 less excuse to not give this paleo thing a try.
Paleo Flatbread
- 1 c. Water Chestnut Flour
- 2/3-1 c. Filtered Water
- 3 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/2 tsp. Dried Basil
- 1/4 tsp. Sea Salt
- 1 Tbsp. Coconut Oil
Directions
- Mix water chestnut flour, olive oil, basil, sea salt and only 1/2 cup of water.
- Slowly add remaining water until desired consistency is achieved (I usually end up using 1 cup).
- Heat up a pan on medium heat and add a small amount of coconut oil.
- Fry until golden brown on both sides.
- Place on paper towels to soak up excess oil.
- Enjoy!
About The Author
Sylvie of Hollywood Homestead, is a celebrity personal assistant and mom of 3 by day, paleo enthusiast and blogger by night. She and SAHD hubby, Eric, each lost over 60 lbs with paleo and continue to improve their family’s health with food and lifestyle tweaks. You can follow Sylvie on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. Sylvie’s first e-book, The Paleo Survival Guide: Getting Started with Paleo has helped many families succeed with paleo. Her second e-book, The Gelatin Secret: The Surprising Superfood that Transforms your Health and Beauty, just released last week!
I absolutely hate water chestnuts, mostly because of the texture. I’ve never really thought about the taste because the texture makes me sick to my stomach. Is there anything you can relate the taste of this flour to? 🙂
Hi Kara,
It tastes really mild. In fact, it simply tastes like whatever herb you decide to use with it. I don’t like to use nut flours too often so I found this to be a great substitution for that.
Hope that helps!
Sylvie/ HollywoodHomestead.com
Where can I get chestnut flour from? Any ideas?
looks great!
Love your recipes! & newsletter/blog!, but haven’t been receiving them in along time.