Whenever you’re an unconventional eater and you go home to visit family, there are inevitably questions about your culinary preferences. After so many years of this, my family is actually incredibly accommodating, driving me around town for ingredients and tolerating my many special needs.
There have definitely been some memorable comments made by my mom, my brother, or other random family members about my cooking or eating habits.
“Neely, I don’t understand how you eat so much,” upon seeing my breakfast. Every. Single. Morning.
Or…
“Ewwww, it smells like cabbage in here now. Gross.”
My favorite quote from my last trip to see my family, though, was when we were driving past a tattoo parlor discussing whether or not my mom, sister and I should get tattoos. My mom’s response? “Well, I have always wanted a tramp stamp.” And yes, I realize that has nothing to do with food. Was she kidding when she said that? We have yet to find out.
Back to food, though.
The Recipe of All Recipes
The thing I’ve been asked the most about is my tapioca crepe recipe. “How do you make those? They look delicious! What’s the recipe?” When people taste them, they’re usually pleasantly surprised, mostly by the fact that you can create something that tastes so bready and feels so stretchy without using grains.
These banana tapioca crepes are (in my opinion) amazing and delicious, and they’re one of the main things that’s made my Paleo lifestyle completely satisfying. I’m an athlete and I found through my years experimenting with my diet that I really need carbohydrates. Like, a lot of them.
I’m not talking normal American amounts, but I probably get about 150 grams of carbs a day or more when I’m super active. If I don’t have them, I feel fatigued, grumpy, and my rock climbing performance sucks. But even if you’re not an athlete, and you’re not afraid of carbs and you just want a substitute for a tortilla or a sandwich wrap, here’s your answer.
I’m going to share the banana tapioca crepe recipe with you, so that you can get the benefits of a carb-rich sandwich wrap/crepe/snack without the harmful ingredients that are in normal tortillas, bread, or crepes.
Banana Tapioca Crepe Recipe
Prep Time: 30min
Cook Time: 1hr or more
Makes: 15-20 Crêpes
Ingredients
- 10 ripe or over-ripe bananas
- 8 eggs
- 1 cup tapioca flour
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp oil
Instructions
- Coat the pan with a thin layer of oil. Wipe off excess with a paper towel.
- Preheat a pan on medium heat.
- Mash the bananas until they are a thin paste (photo 1).
- Mix in the eggs and blend throughly.
- Slowly add the tapioca flour and mix into the batter (photo 2). Avoid folding the batter over the flour as it will create large pockets of unmixed flour.
- When the pan is hot add some batter and use a spatula to spread it evenly over the surface of the pan.
- Cook until slightly brown on each side.
- Experiment with the thickness of the crêpes and repeat. Personally I like them as thin as possible.
Ideas
Wrap up some meat and veggies for a sandwich (the sweetness of the bananas is very subtle) or a couple spoonfuls of almond butter and honey for desert. Or just eat them plain.
(Alternative) Plain Tapioca Crepes (no bananas)
(makes 5-7 crepes)
Ingredients
- 1 C Tapioca Flour (or “Starch” – same thing)
- 1 C Organic Coconut Milk (Native Forest cans contain no BPA)
- 1 Pasture Raised Egg
Instructions
1. Mix all the ingredients well in a bowl.
2. Heat up coconut or olive oil in a pan on medium low until a drop of water sizzles in it.
3. Pour in about 1/4 cup of the mixture and tilt the pan in all directions to spread out batter to desired thickness.
4. Cook both sides until very lightly brown.
5. Add salt and any other herbs (sweet or savory).
6. Enjoy!
Allergen Note: If you can not eat eggs, you can substitute the egg for 2 tablespoons of water and it turns out just as well.
I usually make as many as I have time to make, and then put the rest of the batter into a mason jar or other tupperware (preferably not plastic) and store it in the fridge for up to a week.
If you can’t find tapioca flour at a store near you, you can buy it on Amazon here. Oh, and if you don’t like my crepe recipe, if you google “tapioca recipes”, you’ll come up with 818,000 results (which I won’t list here), so knock yourself out. If you do try this one, let me know how it turns out!
Until next time.
I can’t believe this page isn’t overwhelmed with comments like, “omg Neely! These are so amazing!”… Because OMG, these are so amazing! I just got done cleaning up our banana crepe breakfast and I’m so grateful for an eggy breakfast that isn’t so… eggy. I cheated and used my food processor so cleanup was a breeze (minus homemade syrup all over). The sticky toddler and I loved these (and I have missed crepes)! I set aside a few to cool to see how they hold up as wraps. It’s a fantastic bonus to have 1/2 the batter left over for another busy morning. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
My mom used to make crepes when I was a kid. It’s been so long but I remember loving them.
I can’t wait to try both these recipes!!! OH and by the way, I’m loving your interviews with your online event. Great job and THANK YOU for taking the time to help others find a healthier way to live!
Where are the 10 reasons a woman can,t lose weight? I see your 10 recipe books, but that is not what I am looking for.
KD
Anonymous – If you registered for the Women’s Only event, you should’ve received an email with that 10 Reasons… document in it. Please let me know if you haven’t received it and I’ll get it to you. If you respond to this, please do it via email at neely@neelyquinn.com. Thanks!