Protein Pancakes

Mmmm Pancakes!

With ground almonds and protein powder.

Oh yes I did!

I'm a lover of all things pancake. These have become my go-to option for my favourite breakfast treat. Weekend or weekday. I like to whip up a batch and pack them for breakfasts during the week, because they reheat very well in the microwave. Who doesn't love warm pancakes on a weekday morning? If that's not motivation to get out bed when the alarm goes off, then what is?

I know it's been some time since my last post, but it's been for good reason. I've been working hard behind the scenes on a big blog update and moving everthing over to the new squarespace 7. It hasn't gone as smoothly as I'd hoped either. I've ran into some strange technical issues, but I have the very helpful people at squarespace working on it with me. Otherwise, between designing a new logo for the site, making sure my posts are all in order (tag + category wise), redesigning the site, updating my about page etc., it's been keeping me rather busy, but today I'm giving you pancakes.

For most of my meals, I tend to have a selection of different things to choose from that I put into steady rotation throughout the week. Although I do like a bit of unpredictability. Sometimes it's fun to have some meals and dinners that are off the cuff with whatever I have in house. Or if something pops into my mind that sounds really good instead of something that's I had planned. My lunches, breakfast, and snacks however are always planned. 90% of the time breakfast is oatmeal, eggs with some grapefruit, or greek yogurt + berries (or whatever is in season, like peaches). My meals are very predictable. The other 10% of the time is reserved for things like these protein pancakes. 

These pancakes are flourless. Instead they're made from a base of ground almond flour and an all natural sugar-free protein powder, Vege Pro 7 by North Coast Naturals. Although any protein powder you have should work, just be sure you enjoy the taste of it. Now these don't have a traditional pancake texture, instead they're more dense and satisfying, and very delicious. I also decided to use lucuma powder to sweeten them, and keep the recipe sugar-free. I'm really loving the lucuma powder, it's made from a Peruvian fruit and it's low glycemic.

No sugar here! Except for some maple syrup of course ;)

Just endless pancake love!

Protein Pancakes

by Jennifer Trennum

Keywords: breakfast dairy-free gluten-free grain-free protein sugar-free vegan option almond flour almond milk protein powder

Adapted from Tosca Reno's Protein Pancakes

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Ingredients (Serves 3-4 (makes 9 pancakes))

• 1.5 cups almond meal
• 2 scoops protein powder (about 56 grams or 4 Tbsp) I used North Coast Naturals Vege Pro-7
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp lucuma powder
• small pinch of sea salt
• 4 eggs or vegan option (1/4 cup flaxseed meal mixed with 1/2 cup water + let rest 5 minutes to thicken)
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat electric griddle to medium heat, or a large skillet on the stove stop.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients (almond meal through sea salt).

In a separate bowl whisk together eggs (or thickened flaxseed if using vegan option), almond milk, and vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until combined and batter is smooth. Be careful not to over-blend. If you are using the flax egg method let the batter rest for about 5 minutes before cooking.

Using a 1/4 cup measure, pour 1/4 cup of the pancake batter onto the griddle for each pancake. You should end up with 9 pancakes. Flip when bubbles appear in the middle and around the edges. Cook for 1-2 minutes more on the other side. Remove from griddle and place on a plate to keep warm in the oven until all pancakes are cooked.

Top with fresh berries and maple syrup.

These will reheat very well the next day in the microwave.

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Maple Pecan Protein Bars

Hola!

It's Friday!

And I've got a treat for you!

In the form of protein snack bars.

So what are these bars like, you ask?

Well, they're soft, thick, and they taste like maple-pecan bliss coated in a thin layer of extra dark chocolate. The texture and flavour is so good. And you know what else? To top it all off their really easy to make.

I added 1/2 a cup of North Coast Naturals vanilla iso whey protein powder to rev up the protein in these bars. This protein powder is truly one of the best I've tried in terms of taste and blend-ability. So creamy + smooth! You can substitute your favourite vanilla protein to veganize these bars of course. Just make sure that whichever protein powder you use, it tastes good, because you will taste it.

I actually made a double batch of these, pressed them into my trusty 7 x 5 baking dish, and cut the bars in half. That's why they look bigger in the above photo without the chocolate coating. The nutrition is the same as the single batch that makes 6 bars, but making the double batch this way gave the bars a nice height.

The combination of pecans and coconut sugar is out of this world. Plus it also provides your body with some good functional fuel.

These are perfect as a pre or post workout snack. They do best when stored in the fridge. They hold up pretty well for short periods of time when they've been out of the fridge, but they do tend to soften up a bit and get sticky.

Once you start making your own homemade energy/ protein bars you'll quickly realize how much better they taste than the store bought ones. Especially when you know 100% exactly how much of what ingredient went into them.

Adapted from Protein Pow

Maple Pecan Protein Bars

by Jennifer Trennum

Keywords: food processor no-bake snack grain-free gluten-free vegan option soy-free protein low-sodium almond flour chocolate maple syrup almond milk bars

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Ingredients (makes 6 bars)

• 1/2 cup (50 g) vanilla whey protein powder (I used this one by North Coast Naturals)
• 1/3 cup (40 g) pecan halves
• 1/2 cup ground almonds
• 2 tbsp coconut sugar
• 1 tbsp lucuma powder (optional)
• 2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
• 2 tsp maple extract
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/4 cup (40 g) dark chocolate

Instructions

In a food processor, mix together vanilla protein powder, pecan halves, ground almonds, coconut sugar, and lucuma powder until smooth. Add in the almond milk, maple extract, and maple syrup. Mix well to combine.

Shape the dough into 6 bars using your hands or firmly press into a 7 x 5 inch baking dish lined with parchment paper. Place the bars in the fridge for 1 hour to firm up. If using the baking dish method, slice into 6 bars. Place the individual bars on a baking tray lined with a sheet of tin foil or parchment.

Melt the dark chocolate in a small heat proof bowl set over a pot of water on low heat. Dunk the bars into the melted chocolate or spoon the chocolate over them to coat. Return the bars to the lined baking tray. Garnish with a pecan on top of each bar and place in the freezer to set.

Store in the freezer for a week or longer in an air-tight freezer bag or container.

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Now bring on the weekend!