Recipe for Protein Pancakes - Fat Loss or Muscle Gain
By J. Atkinson
Pancakes are not the best choice of food from a health and fitness point of view, they are not the best thing you can eat.
I like a bunch of pancakes swimming in lemon juice and sugar but eating something like this is not great when you're looking to pack on some lean muscle or lose some fat so I have come up with a healthy alternative.
When I was stripping off the fat for a bodybuilding show I tested out all sorts of things with the limited food I was allowed to eat. My breakfast consisted of Oatmeal, egg whites and low carbohydrate protein powder.
With a bit of water and cinnamon, you've got ingredients for pancakes!
Now as these are low fat, no sugar and high protein pancakes they are not the best tasting, but they are awesome if you are on a fat loss or muscle building diet, they fill you up and because of the sweetener from the protein shake and cinnamon, they satisfy your sweet cravings. So here is what you will need to make these protein packed alternatives to your traditional pancakes -
Ingredients for protein pancakes
- 6 egg whites or 200 ml (I have these a lot so I use egg whites in a carton, this saves time messing with separating the yolks and wasting them. These are hard to find in the UK probably easier to find in the US? The best place to look in a store is near the pastry/ bakery items... This was a nightmare for me to find but worth it as I plan to make these a lot
- 100g rolled oats or Oatmeal
- Low carbohydrate protein powder (whey protein) You can use any protein powder here but I would stick to a whey powder with low carbs. This is because the oatmeal is providing us with all the carbs we need. I use a whey based protein powder from the gym I train at. Now if you are weary and unsure of which protein shake to by, you should be! There are many brands out there that are loaded with sugar and are low quality. The gym I use has a great range of quality supplements and the guys there know what they are talking about so can advise on what you need. If you are from my area in the UK its worth checking them out.
- Cinnamon or "all spice"
- 100ml water
The mix is pretty simple to make, you just put all of the ingredients into a mixing bowl or food processor and blend.
I use a hand blender with a detachable end for easy cleaning, this should help you out with time saving also. Its a great bit of kit because you can use it lots and it is very easy to clean. Blend the mixture. (This is personal preference but If you blend this well so the mix is very smooth, the pancakes turn out better).
Once this is done, you will need to heat a none-stick pan so it is hotter than the sun!... Or as hot as you can make it. This is important if you don't want scrambled eggs and protein shake in a pan!
Once the pan is hot you need to add a small amount of vegetable oil. To cut calories even more, I put a small amount of oil in the pan and quickly wipe around the pan with a folded piece of Kitchen roll to remove excess oil and spread evenly. Depending on your pan, this should be enough for up to 3 pancakes, and then the oil may need to be applied again.
When the pan is hot enough and the oil has been added, you now need to add a small amount of the mix to the pan. (The more you do this the more you will see what kind of amount you need to add per pancake, you can have thick ones or thin ones).
Once the mixture is added to the pan leave it until you see small bubbles forming on the top. It is now time to ease up the sides with a spatula and flip! It should take around 30 seconds per side, "Rinse and repeat".
This will make a fair amount of pancakes. If you are bodybuilding or dieting you may need to adjust the amounts of ingredients here.
For my pre-contest diet, I had to eat all of these for breakfast. If you are not on a very strict diet, you may want to dust with sweetener or eat with sliced fruit or honey. This would still be a healthy alternative.
I will finish with saying that these are a great choice for breakfast as they are filling and have slow release nutrients, they are low in fat/ sugar and have a high protein content, which is also great for weight loss.
If this has been useful, you will find more great recipes on my blog. I have tried and tested all of these myself. All of the recipes here are of high quality, healthy nutrition. As I am into my food as well as my fitness, I always try to make these as tasty and as interesting as possible. You will find more ides here ->
Good luck! Let me know how it works out for you
Tags:
Weight Loss
