20 Grams of Protein Power……

I’m not quite sure when I became a breakfast person. It seems to have almost happened over night. I think it may have started when I became a “morning person”. (Is anyone ever REALLY a morning person?) So, that was probably about 5 years ago when I was pregnant with our son. And then after he was born and I started exercising that is when breakfast took on a whole new meaning. But even before I was a breakfast person I enjoyed breakfast foods at any time of the day. My all-time favorite as a kid was what my mom called New York Omelets. Come to find out they are also known as German Pancakes, or Dutch Babies. (You can find my mini version here.) Then of course French toast was a very close second. Loved me some French toast!

I hate to say it, but I absolutely hated pancakes in the worst way. My mom loved pancakes, but when she would make them they were thin and crunchy. (She liked her toast burnt too, I’m not quite sure what that was all about.) She never made her pancakes like IHOP, so I tried to stay away from them if I could. Finally, about 5 years ago I decided that I was going to give pancakes one more try, at home. I used a boxed mix, just like she did, but my turned out beautiful and fluffy, and a pancake addict was born. As we all know pancakes just aren’t our friend. As yummy as they taste, and as much as we want them, they should only be a once in a while thing. That is unless you make them a little differently!

A couple of months ago I turned Sunday into pancake day. The kids still like the white fluffy pancakes, and I’m ok with that. I make a batch for them. Hubby and I started eating Grainberry pancakes and they are so, so good! Love them, but they are still boxed. Could I make them from scratch? Of course, but these are just right. Last Sunday I decided to change it up a bit and made my husband a recipe from Cooking Light, and neither of us cared for them. But I made myself Vanilla Protein Pancakes. And this is the beautiful pancake that I am going to introduce you to today that you don’t have to feel guilty about eating…. EVER! I know I’ve heard some moans and groans about eating oatmeal, well this is an oatmeal and pancake game changer!

For three basic 4 inch pancakes you’d be eating about 258 calories with only 6-8 grams of protein. Essentially you are eating fluff. Fluff tastes good, but these taste even better! Three Vanilla Protein pancakes are 241 calories with 20 grams of protein!

If I were to describe the taste to you I would have to say they taste like oatmeal cookies, but they don’t have an oatmeal texture. I ate mine with some natural peanut butter over the top, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and some blueberries. Ok, now I’m drooling! The only downside of these pancakes is they get a little crumbly if you save and reheat them. 😦 My one tip for this recipe is let it sit for a few minutes to thicken up before you put it on the griddle or you will have skinny pancakes instead of nice fluffy ones. Make these once a week, or eat them regularly, no guilt. (I am making this recipe a single serve recipe since they don’t save well, but you can make the batch larger if you choose.)Grab your favorite beverage, your choice of toppings, and 3 steaming pancakes, sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Vanilla Protein Pancakes

By Angie Gouchenour

1 serving (3 pancakes)

Ingredients

½ scoop (24 grams) vanilla protein powder (I used Body Fortress Vanilla Whey) NOTE For plant based use a vanilla plant based protein powder.

½ cup quick oats

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons Truvia zero calorie sweetener

¼ cup water

1 Tablespoon unsweetened apple sauce

½ teaspoon vanilla flavoring, or extract

Directions

In a medium bowl combine the protein powder, oats, baking powder, and Truvia

Stir in the water, apple sauce, and vanilla

Heat a non-stick pan (I sprayed mine with non-stick cooking spray) over medium low heat

Using a scoop, or spoon, drop batter onto the heated pan

Allow to brown, when the outer edges are slightly firm flip the pancakes (They don’t dry and bubble like traditional pancakes)

Continue to cook through

Serve with your favorite toppings

1 serving 241 calories