Picture this: It’s December 31, 11:50 p.m., when you suddenly realize that maybe you should succumb to society’s tradition of making a New Year’s resolution. It can’t be that hard to cut out the nightly Whataburger visits or to stop telling yourself that, “a 10 piece chicken nugget from McDonald’s for breakfast never hurt anyone.” So when midnight hits, you make your New Year’s resolution to take better care of yourself and make healthier choices.
Fast forward to March 2020, the salad, grilled chicken, and all the carrots that you pretend are just bland Mozzarella sticks from Sonic are just not cutting it anymore. You’re tired, you’re hungry, and you are so ready to set aside the eggs you eat for breakfast everyday, grab a large pizza and stress eat the whole thing by yourself before 11:00 a.m.
I’ve been there, done that, bought the t-shirt. What do you do when you just want to give up? Well, the answer you probably want to hear is, “Just eat all the carbs, life is meaningless anyway.”
I’m sorry to tell you that is not the answer I’m here to give, I’m here to tell you that you just need to shake things up a little bit and realize that you have more options than you know. In order to fix something and make it better, you start at the root of the issue. In this case, the root of the issue is….breakfast. The most important meal of the day. The thing that either makes or breaks your morning. If you start the day out with a bad attitude and a stale red velvet cupcake from your friend’s birthday last week, the rest of your day (and your healthy way of eating) will be ruined.
So let’s start with breakfast…. What does one do to make a healthy breakfast a little less mundane? My answer to that is the three P’s: Protein, Pancakes, and Parks and Recreation (the satirical sitcom, not your city’s recreational resource).
For the sake of this recipe, we’ll disregard the Parks and Recreation recommendation. Although, if you want to start your morning with a good attitude, I do suggest you watch this show while you make your breakfast that combines the other two P’s together.
Let’s begin that process:
WARNING: If you do not like bananas, egg whites, protein powder, or flaxseed meal you are probably not going to enjoy these particular recipes. In that case, I still recommend you start your day with Parks and Recreation.
Also, I know you feel like you’re an adult who doesn’t need to be told this, but I’m required to tell you that for all three of these delicious recipes, you’ll need to blend all of the ingredients together until you feel like you have the texture you prefer. You will also want to heat up a griddle to 300°F, without the griddle you may find it a little difficult to make the pancakes. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter on the griddle and cook for five minutes on each side.
- Extra Light Protein Pancakes: These pancakes are super simple to make and even easier to eat! (2 medium pancakes)
- First of all, you’ll need a banana. (Don’t say I didn’t warn you!)
- Next, you want to use ½ cup of egg whites.
- 1 scoop of protein powder
AND…You guessed it!
- 1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal
- If you would like to use any kind of topping, here is where you add whatever you may like. I won’t tell you what to do, I’m sure you’re an independent person who doesn’t need to be told what topping to use on your pancakes!
2. Oatmeal Pancakes: These pancakes are my personal favorite! (4 medium pancakes)
- Once again, you’ll need one banana (I bet you’re catching on now).
- ½ cup of egg whites
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder (not to be confused with the protein powder, watch yourself. I made that mistake once).
- 1 egg
- A cup of rolled oats
- A pinch of salt… A PINCH, not a dash, I made that mistake once, too.
- 1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal
- 1 scoop of protein powder
- And finally, a dash of cinnamon. Not to be confused with a pinch. We talked about this earlier, PAY ATTENTION.
3. Sweet Potato Protein Pancakes (4 medium pancakes)
SPOILER ALERT: You’ll need a banana (JUST KIDDING)!
But you do need 1 large sweet potato
- 1 cup of egg whites
- Grab that flaxseed meal again! This time you’ll need ¼ of a cup.
- ¼ cup of protein powder (preferably vanilla…or whatever you like, it’s up to you! #independence)
- ½ teaspoon of baking powder
- ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- And ½ teaspoons of pure vanilla extract (We’re adding a little flare to this recipe)!
Like I said earlier, mix all of the ingredients together, spray your griddle with cooking grease, TURN ON the griddle, and start preparing those perfect, protein pancakes (say that three times fast).
Don’t forget to be your own individual person and add the topping you want! Do not let anyone sway your decision and embrace your newfound independence…and most of all, ENJOY THE PANCAKES!
