Fluffy Greek Yogurt Pancakes

Hello Everyone! I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend so far – I sure am!  I meant to post last night, but I came home super late from watching the school play and was too tired.  Oops!

But, don’t worry, I’ll post it today because it’s a really good one.  Better late than never, I suppose.

Slightly adapted from SHAPE Magazine

Ingredients:

• 1 egg, separated
• 1 egg white
• ½ cup plain greek yogurt (regular yogurt would work too)
• 3 tablespoons flour (I recommend 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour + 1 tablespoon all-purpose)
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-2 teaspoons sugar
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Separate one egg.  Combine the yolk in a small bowl with the yogurt, flour, and vanilla extract.  Stir well with a fork.
2. Separate the second egg.  In a larger bowl, beat two egg whites, sugar, and salt until they are fluffy and hold a soft peak.
3. Melt butter in a small nonstick pan over medium-low heat. When the pan is hot, add a quarter of the batter. Cook 2-3 minutes, until brown, then flip and cook 2-3 minutes on the reverse side. Repeat with the remainder of the batter.

Yield: 1 large serving (4 pancakes) or 2 smaller servings (2 pancakes each)

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I enjoyed my pancakes plain: no nut butter, no sugar, nothing.  They were just that good on their own.  However, if you’re a syrup person (I’m not) then you can top your ‘cakes with syrup, agave, fresh fruit, chocolate, etc. 

These pancakes are also pretty filling considering they have over 6 grams of protein each!  Approximately 25 grams in the entire recipe.  Yay for protein!

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I definitely think all of you should get up and make these pancakes right away.

Before I sign off I’d like to share a few more things with you.  Remember a couple of days ago when I told you that Katie and I were doing a 3 miler?  Well, it was actually a 2 miler because instead of running the entire way we stopped to get pizza on the way back to school and walked the mile back.  Fail.  However in my defense, who wants to run on a full stomach?!  Not me!

Another thing, remember my Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies?  Well, when I first made them I brought a few over to my uncle’s house and he loved them so much that he requested I make them for his birthday party (later tonight)!  Of course!  I’m in charge of all desserts, but more about that later.

Questions of the Day:

1. Do you put syrup/other toppings on your pancakes or prefer to eat them plain?  I like to add sugar and nut butter, but I also eat them plain 75% of the time.
2. Have you seen the movie, Beastly?  Was it good?  I saw the previews awhile ago and thought it looked cool.  My friends and I are thinking of going to see it.

Have a great weekend! 

Peanutty Protein Pancakes

Now try saying that 10 times fast…

A few days ago, I was trying to think of more uses for Peanut Flour.  Different recipe ideas crossed my mind, but ultimately I chose pancakes.  I mean, who doesn’t like pancakes?!

Peanutty Protein Pancakes (or P³)

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup peanut flour
• ¼ cup mashed banana (approximately ½ medium banana)
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon chopped peanuts
• 1 tablespoon milk or water
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt and cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine all dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon) until well mixed.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the mashed banana and the wet ingredients (egg, milk, vanilla) until smooth and well mixed.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well.  Let stand for 5 minutes.
4. Heat a large pan over medium high heat.  Spoon batter onto pan forming 3 pancakes.  Let cook for 90-120 seconds or until easily flipped with a spatula.  Cook for 90 seconds on the other side.
5. Plate, eat, enjoy!

Yield:  One serving (3 pancakes)

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When I sat down to eat these pancakes something terrible happened:  I put syrup on my pancakes!

You might be asking, “Why is that terrible?”

It’s terribly weird of me because I never put syrup on my pancakes.  Never.

Today I couldn’t resist, though, it wasn’t any syrup.  It was a mixture of Aunt Jemima Lite syrup and peanut butter.  Mmmmmm…

Delish.  I have been missing out.  Big time. 

The pancakes were soft, fluffy, and somewhat dense.  All humbleness aside, they were perfect. 

So what are you waiting for?!  Make yourself a big plate of P³ now!!!!!

*drool*

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Questions of the Day:

1. What are your favorite pancake mix-ins? Mine are chocolate chips and nuts!
2. Do you put syrup on your pancakes?  Maple or pancake syrup?

Have a Happy Hump Day! 

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancakes

Sorry about going MIA yesterday!  I was out and about shovelling snow, selling Girl Scout cookies, shopping, etc. and I didn’t come home until 10PM.  I was exhausted!  Don’t worry though, I’ll just publish the post I had planned for yesterday.

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Do you like pancakes?  Do you like apples?  Do you like oatmeal?

If you answered yes to all of the questions above then these pancakes are perfect for you!

I’ve already eaten them numerous times considering I first made them in the beginning of January.  Why they weren’t posted for you to enjoy earlier is a mystery to me! 

Maybe I wanted to keep their fluffy, apple-y goodness to myself?   Definitely. 

Slightly adapted from Fitness Magazine (Yes, the same one that I saw Julie & Tina in)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup shredded apple
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons whole grain pancake mix
• 2 teaspoons ground flax or wheat germ (optional)
• a pinch of cinnamon

Directions:

 

1.  In a medium bowl, combine oats and milk and let stand 5 minutes.  Add grated apple and 1 beaten egg.  
2. In small bowl, mix together ground flax/wheat germ, cinnamon, and whole-grain pancake mix.  Slowly add dry ingredients to oat mixture. 
3. In a medium skillet, heat 2 teaspoons canola oil over medium heat. Add 1/3 of the batter and cook, flipping once, until pancake is lightly browned on both sides; repeat.

Yield:  3 pancakes (1 serving)

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Easy and delicious are two words I would choose to describe these pancakes.

So what are you waiting for?!

Make these for breakfast!*  It’s Pancake Sunday after all!

*If you are reading this after breakfast, don’t worry, it’s perfectly acceptable to eat these pancakes for lunch, dinner, or a snack!

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Questions of the Day:

1. Have you ever eaten Breakfast for Lunch/Dinner before?  Yes! I love it!
2. Who are you rooting for in the Superbowl tonight?  Steelers or Packers?   Steelers all the way!  We’re die-hard Steelers fans.

Have a great Superbowl Pancake Sunday!

Sugar-Free Week Day 2

WOW! Thanks for all of your wonderful comments on my Sugar-Free Week (SFW) Day 1 post!  I really appreciate all of  your kind and encouraging words.

I also learned many of you would be interested in taking part in a similar challenge in the future.  In that case, click here to learn more!  Kayla is planning on having a SFW the first week of every month.

OK, now that that’s cleared up, let’s move on to today’s eats!

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Breakfast:

Alex’s One Size Fits All Pancakes topped with watery peanut flour butter and cinnamon plus ½ a grapefruit on the side

I first saw those pancakes on HEAB’s blog and was immediately curious.  I believe my exact thoughts were “Sugar-free?  Fluffy?  Healthy?  I’m definitely giving them a try!” So I did and they did not disappoint.  They didn’t even taste bitter (due to the lack of sugar) like I expected. 

They actually tasted kinda sweet.  But that may have been influenced by the fact that I found out that school was closed due to snow while I was eating them.  Pretty sweet news, right?

 

Lunch:

Lunch was already all packed for school, so that’s what I had.

Turkey and TJ’s Roasted Garlic Hummus on Bran Bread, calcium-enriched applesauce, and a Babybel

Calcium-enriched applesauce?!  Yeah, I know it’s weird, but I’ll do anything and everything to get my bone density up!

Snack:

Apple Pie Larabar

I love the taste of this Larabar, but I don’t know why.  It’s not apple-y at all!

Also, don’t you love my style?!  I was wearing sweats, a t-shirt, and Uggs all day.

Dinner:

Creamy Chicken & Pasta Bake (Whole Wheat rotini pasta, chicken breast, broccoli, mozzarella, Parmesan, cream cheese, chicken broth)

This was SO good.  It was a recipe taken from a super old Kraft Foods magazine (Spring 2009).  I’m thinking of posting it tomorrow just because it was so wonderful and cheesy.

Snack:

I actually haven’t had my after-dinner snack yet.  But I’m thinking it’s probably going to be veggies and hummus.

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Results: 

I loved doing 2 days of SFW!  I had no trouble resisting sugar and learned so much.  For example, did you know soy sauce has corn syrup in it?! I didn’t. I was this close to adding some into yesterday’s Veggie Scramble.  Good thing I chose to read the label!  I also learned how many of my food staples have sugar in them: Sandwich Thins, Kashi/Luna bars, and cereal to name a few.

All in all SFW was a positive experience and I’m hoping to do a few more days next month.  I feel great!

* * * * * *

Question of the Day:

1. Totally unrelated but…Do you ever have days where you just stay in sweats or pajamas all day? 
2. If so, what is your go-to comfort outfit?  Mine is fuzzy socks, sweatpants, and a sweatshirt. 

Hope you had a great day!  Were any of you off because of snow?

The Day That Keeps Getting Better

The title says it all.  I woke up to this.

Actually, I woke up to a small bowl of Kashi Go Lean and had a quick workout.

Workout:

• 1 mile speed walk
• 30 min. Wii Fit Plus (yoga)

But afterwards I had these pancakes from Jessica.

They were amazing!  Not healthy in any way at all, but amazing.  I highly recommend you make them! 

C’mon even Phil liked them.

Scratch that.  Even my Mom liked them and this is coming from the woman who eats a waffle with butter and sugar for breakfast everyday.

Speaking of my Mom, she also treated us to some shopping and Starbucks.  I got a Skinny Vanilla Bean Frapuccino. 

Later we are planning on hitting up Trader Joe’s for some Peanut Flour! I’m so excited!

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Questions of the Day:

1. What did you do today?
2. Any good peanut flour recipes?!

Have a great weekend!