Friday 31 January 2014

Healthy Pancakes!

Happy Friday lovelies!!

I'm sharing one of my all-time favourite breakfast recipes with you today! Pancakes. I have a big sweet tooth, so one of my favourite ways to have breakfast is with maple syrup. What can I say, I'm Dutch! ;) The Dutch actually have a word for people with a sweet tooth, which is pronounced something like "Slickhert". I actually have no clue how to spell it, but that's not important. What is important are pancakes!

I don't like to deprive myself, but I do like to be healthy. So, these pancakes are the perfect way to have your cake and eat it too! It's super easy, and the secret healthy ingredient is.........protein powder! It works as a great substitute for flour. Along with pancakes, I've made chocolate cake and muffins with it as a replacement for flour.

You need to make sure you add the baking powder though, otherwise it will not hold together very well. Trust me, I've tried. I've tried many different recipes for protein pancakes, and this one is the best, by far!

So here it is!!


One of the great things about this recipe is that it's so versatile. You can literally make hundreds of different combinations. This recipe is just like a base. You can add whatever other flavours you like to it!


Protein Pancakes

1 Banana
1 Egg
1 scoop Protein Powder
1 tbsp Flour*
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4-1/2 tsp Cinnamon

*any kind - I've tried almond flour and all-purpose flour - both work good!

Step 1: Mash the banana with a fork or whisk. Add the egg and mix together until evenly combined.


Step 2: Add all the other dry ingredients, plus the vanilla, and mix together.


It should look like this.

Now's the fun part!



You get to add whatever ingredients you like! This time I added strawberry jam & coconut flakes.

Here's a list of things you can add to/on top of them, to make them even more tasty:

Chocolate Chips**
Almond Extract
Crushed up nuts
Peanut/Almond Butter
Lemon Juice and Stevia
Dates
Rasins
Nutmeg
Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
Cacao Powder
Apple Sauce
Baked Apples
Strawberries, Blueberries, Blackberries, etc
Pumpkin Puree
Greek Yogurt (mixed with vanilla & stevia)
Banana Slices

** I try to use semi-sweet or dark, but sometimes I just want milk, so I use that! Extra refined sugar is not good for you. Neither in an excess in sugar. So, even if you're using real natural maple syrup, it's best to keep your sugar intake on the low side, by not using milk chocolate. 
-Even better is to get your sugar from natural sources, like fruit! I love baking apples in the oven and then putting them on top. It's warm and delicious!

Once you're ready to cook them, you can do a few things. You can make a bunch of little pancakes or one large one. But keep in mind, it will be large, so you'll need a massive spatula, if you want it to come out in one piece. Yet again, learned from personal experience. This one is great. I totally own it. 

Another thing you can do is cook them in coconut oil! It kind of fries them, and makes the edges crispy, which I really like sometimes. Coconut oil is a great oil/fat to use, but it is higher in calories. (You can look up the amazing benefits of coconut oil here, or anywhere on Pinterest or Google). If you want to cut back on calories, I suggest using a spray such as EVOO or Pam.


This time, I used coconut oil.


I was able to make 3 - 2" pancakes in my pan. I probably could have fit 4 though. Cook, and wait until bubbles have formed on top before flipping. Cook for about 30 seconds on medium to medium-high.

And that's all there is to it! Delicious protein pancakes, that are healthy and taste oh-so-good.

Here's a couple other versions of the protein pancake that I've made:

Banana & Chocolate Chips

Chocolate Chips & Coconut

Banana and Coconut Vegan Icing

Apple Sauce

Peaches and Greek Yogurt

Banana, PB, and homemade chocolate sauce

Strawberry & Greek Yogurt

Blueberry & Coconut

Pumpkin, Greek Yogurt, and real Maple Syrup

So yeah, you could say I like pancakes. ;)
You can also make them savoury, but more on that later. 

Now go make something delicious and good for your body! It will thank you for it.

Love,

Lo


0 comments:

Post a Comment

 
{ Blog design by Tasnim }