Clean & Delicious with Dani Spies

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Pancakes

Semi Homemade High Protein Pancakes

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I have tons of homemade pancake recipes (which I love) but sometimes when life is busy, there is nothing better than a good quality pancake mix to help get the job done.

For this recipe I am using a protein pancake mix from Bob’s Red Mill.  They are light, fluffy and EVERYone in my family gobbles them up.

Personally, I like them with fresh berries, but for my kids… it’s chocolate chips every.single.time.

A big thank you to Bob’s Red Mill for partnering with me to bring you the 5 easy, healthy breakfast recipes in the video above.

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Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Pancakes

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Chocolate ChipPancakes

You can thank my kids (5 + 7) for these Clean & Delicious Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Pancakes.

You see, they both adore pancakes and they both love chocolate, so naturally, chocolate chip pancakes are one of their favorite breakfast choices.

While I often add chocolate chips to my favorite protein pancakes, sometimes I just like to try something new in the kitchen.  These pancakes are more traditional in the sense that they are made with whole wheat flour.

This is a blender pancake recipe, so all you do is put all of the ingredients into the blender, blend it up, and the batter is ready to go.  Remember, whenever you are making a blender recipe, like this, start with all of your liquids on the bottom and then add your dry ingredients,  because this will make for much easier blending.

While we love this recipe with chocolate chips, you can certainly add in any stir-ins you prefer.  Walnuts, pecans, blueberries, and/or strawberries are some of my personal favorites, but the options go as far your imagination!

Now I’m curious! What is YOUR favorite stir-in for your pancakes?

If you want to watch these pancakes made step-by-step, be sure to watch the video below.

Helpful Kitchen Tools:

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Grain-Free Banana Pancakes

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Banana PancakeYT

Scroll down to watch the step-by-step video.

These grain-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free banana pancakes have become one of my favorite ways to make pancakes.  They are so light, fresh and simple that they are hard not to love.

Essentially, all you have to do is mash up some banana with egg, cinnamon and baking powder and your pancake batter is ready to go.  The baking powder is not essential, but I do find it helps keep the pancakes a little bit fluffier.

Here are a few tips I learned along the way to ensure your pancake making experience is EASY and DELICIOUS:

  1. Weigh your bananas.  I have found seven ounces of banana and two eggs is the perfect ratio for these pancakes, but because bananas come in all different sizes it’s best  to weigh them if you can.  If you can’t then just know seven ounces is usually somewhere between two and three bananas, so if they look small or skinny use three and if they are big fat bananas two will do the job.
  2. Keep it chunky.  When you mash the bananas leave some chunks (you can watch the video below to see the consistency that works best) this will help to keep the pancakes light and fluffy.
  3. Make them small.  Because there is no flour, these pancakes are a little delicate (read: tricky to flip).  If you use about two tablespoons of batter per pancake, you will make the flipping process a whole lot easier and you’ll have cute little silver dollar pancakes.
  4. Give them space.  Do not be tempted to overcrowd the pan because this will also make ‘the flip’ a nightmare.  Giving them a little extra wiggle room will give you a lot more sanity.

As for toppings, I have a few favorites.  You can always stick to the traditional drizzle of real maple syrup (which is aways delicious) or try a smear of almond butter or coconut oil over the top with some fresh berries.  I find the extra fat helps me stay full longer and the berries add a fresh, bright boost of flavor.

If you are interested in the step-by-step, you can watch the video below. And if you have any thoughts, tips, or questions, please leave them down in the comments!

Here are a few of my other Clean&Delicious pancake favorites:

HELPFUL KITCHEN TOOLS:
Glass Mixing Bowls
Glass Mixing Bowls with Lids (great for storage and traveling)
12-inch Non Stick Saute Pan

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Almond Flour Pancakes With Raspberry Sauce (Video)

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Although there is no one food that I have eliminated from my diet, there are those I try to eat less of than others.

Included on my list of ‘less than others’ are wheat and gluten (which pretty much go hand in hand).

I don’t have an allergy or any severe reactions when I eat it, I simply find that I feel better when I don’t over-do it.

So I’m always looking for creative, delicious ways to find an alternative to the classics; for instance:

  • 90% of the time I opt for brown rice pasta instead of white or whole wheat
  • I usually pick oatmeal over a cold breakfast cereal
  • I love my Ezekiel bread over traditional wheat bread (which by the way does have gluten but much less processed)
  • I make protein pancakes instead of the traditional
  • And almost every time I make desserts these days, I use recipes from Elana’s Pantry (who is the queen of gluten-free, almond flour based desserts)

These pancakes are a gluten free, paleo friendly (if you skip the yogurt) alternative to a traditional pancake.

They are high in protein and healthy fats and lower in refined carbs and sugars.

For me the combination of flavor, nutrient value, and how ingredients makes me feel all hold equal weight in my food choices so I love this alternative.

If you go into this expecting a buttermilk pancake you will be disappointed.   But if you have any dietary restrictions, share my point of view, or simply care to eat more nutritious, nutrient dense foods, these will be right up your alley.

So check out the video and let me know if you give them a try.  I’d love to hear what you think!

Oh – and if you can’t find almond flour at your grocery store, you can buy some here, here, and here.

Print Recipe

Almond Flour Pancakes With Raspberry Sauce

Yield: 2 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

Sauce

  • 1-pint raspberries
  • ½ cup fresh oj
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ cinnamon stick

Pancakes

  • ½ cup almond flour
  • ½ tsp. cinnamon
  • pinch of fresh nutmeg
  • ½ tsp. baking powder
  • ½ cup egg whites
  • 1 egg

Topping

  • 2 tbsp. non-fat plan Greek yogurt

Directions:

Sauce

Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer for 25 minutes or until sauce has reduced down and thickened up a bit.

Pancakes

Combine almond flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking powder in a medium sized bowl.  Mix in egg whites and egg.

Heat a non-stick sauté pan over a medium heat and melt 1 tsp. of coconut oil.  Pour ¼-cup pancake mix into the pan (do this for as many pancakes fit in the pan without over crowding).  Once you see the edges begin to bubble, flip the pancake and cook another 40 seconds or so.  Remove from the pan and continue this process until you have finished al the batter.

Top each serving of pancakes with 2 tbsp. raspberry sauce and a big dollop of Greek yogurt.  Enjoy!

Pancakes make 2 servings (each serving is about 4-5 pancakes).

Nutrients per serving (½ recipe with 1 tbsp. yogurt and 2 tbsp. raspberry sauce) Calories: 252; Total Fat: 16.2g; Saturated Fat: 1.5g; Cholesterol: 90mg; Carbohydrate: 13.4g; Dietary Fiber: 5.1g; Sugars: 4.7g; Protein: 16g

How-To Freeze Pancakes (Video)

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This week I am not sharing a recipe video but rather a tip via video.

Whether or not this little tidbit warrants a video of its own I’m still not sure BUT what I do know for sure (I always feel like Oprah when I say that – love her!) is that this little trick has been a game changer when it comes to weekday breakfasts in our home.

Why you ask?

Because my little ones love to eat hot pancakes for breakfast BUT still can’t differentiate between ‘Mommy-has-plenty-of-time-to-cook-breakfast-on-Sunday-morning’ AND ‘sit-down-eat-get-dressed-and-find-your-shoes-because-we’ve-got-20-minutes-to-get-out-of- the-house-Tuesday’.

And yet I still hate to say no to these little faces

(Especially when they stroke my ‘pancake making ego’ by begging for more of my pumpkin pancakes).

So I needed to find a solution.

That solution is demonstrated in this video (hint: I freeze them).

Isn’t it funny how it’s ALWAYS the simplest ideas that can create the biggest solutions?

Do you freeze your pancakes?  Or anything else for that matter?  I think I may be leaning in the direction of finding more ways to use my freezer and always love to hear from YOU – my brilliant readers!

Print Recipe

Ingredients:

Directions:

 

High Protein Pumpkin Pancakes – (Video)

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I love pancakes but very rarely eat traditional pancakes anymore.

They just don’t do it for me.

I think it’s the combination of the flour and the syrup that leave me feeling pretty lethargic and low energy shortly after eating them PLUS they don’t keep me full for very long which is exactly why I am such a big fan of these Protein Pancakes.

This recipe may look familiar to you guys and that’s because it’s simply a fall version of my Blueberry Protein Pancakes (inspired by the Bill Phillips pancake recipe).

These pancakes are made with rolled oats, egg whites, and cottage cheese so they are more balanced than a traditional pancake in the sense that it’s not sugar overload.  As a matter of fact, I usually top them with coconut butter or almond butter so I can really avoid going down the ‘sugar-roller-coaster-rabbit-hole’.

In a nutshell, I find that the higher protein pancake leaves me feeling lighter and more energetic than a traditional pancake and they certainly delivers in the flavor department as well (I can assure you of that because not only do my husband and I love them but both of my little ones gobble them up as well!).

If you want to SEE how to make them, check out the video and let me know what you think;).

In the meantime, I”m curious… do you eat traditional pancakes?  Do they work for you? Have you tried protein pancakes?  And/or do you have a higher protein recipe you can share with me??

Print Recipe

High Protein Pumpkin Pancakes

Yield: 2 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • ¾ egg whites (about 6)
  • ½ cup Cottage cheese
  • ¼ cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 tbsp. maple syrup
  • 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

Pop everything into the blender and blend until you have a pancake-like batter.

Heat a nonstick skillet over a medium heat.  Lightly coat the pan with coconut oil or cooking spray and drop ¼ cup rounds of batter onto the pan.  Cook until edges are bubbling and then flip and cook another two minutes or until edges are golden brown and pancakes are cooked though.

Makes 2 servings.

1/2 of the recipe --> Calories: 288; Total Fat: 4.2g; Saturated Fat: 0.8g; Cholesterol: 8mg; Carbohydrate: 39.2g; Dietary Fiber: 5g; Sugars: 11.4g; Protein: 23g

High-Protein Blueberry Pancakes

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Blueberry Pancakes
High Protein Blueberry Pancakes – Clean & Delicious®

As I’ve mentioned in the past, breakfast is not my strong suite.

Actually, breakfast is a bit of an exaggeration.  Really, it’s just pancakes that I need to practice;  but every time pancakes are on the breakfast agenda, my husband pulls out the griddle and spatula faster than I can say, “maple syrup.”

There is not a long list of things my hubby likes to do in the kitchen, so I figure if the griddle makes him happy, who am I to stand in the way?  So I whip up the batter and hand it over to be “griddled up.”

In all honesty, I really don’t mind one bit. I kinda like that he likes the griddle. Or maybe I just like that he helps me make breakfast.

Actually, what I really like, is that we are doing it together. Chatting, laughing, sipping coffee and listening to music, while Katie hangs out in her high chair eagerly awaiting a bite of whatever her Mommy and Daddy are making.

Katie in the High Chair.jpg

It’s our family time and that makes me happy.  Even if it means never learning how to cook the perfect pancake (at least I get to eat them!)

SO – anyone want to chat about the pancakes?

I discovered Bill Phillips Protein Pancakes about five years ago (in his book Eating for Life) and they have been a favorite ever since.

They are made up of oatmeal, egg whites, and cottage cheese, so instead of eating a big plate of refined flour and sugar you get to eat a big plate of lean protein and complex carbs.

Bill suggests using two packets of sugar fee sweetener, but I am proud to say that I no longer use the FAKE stuff (ever – except for an occasional diet coke because for some reason diet coke it like crack for me).

What I do is add a few tablespoons of agave and a half a cup of blueberries to give it just the the right amount of that “sweet-yum-factor”.

Instead of topping my pancakes with butter and maple syrup, I prefer a few schmears of almond butter.  If you’ve never tried it you really need to – it’s too good not to.

What’s your favorite way to top your pancakes?  Are you a maple syrup and butta’ pancake-topper or do you have your own unique spin?

Print Recipe

High-Protein Blueberry Pancakes

Yield: 2 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of rolled Oats
  • 6 egg whites (3/4 cup)
  • 1 cup of low fat cottage cheese
  • ½ tsp of vanilla extract
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tsp of agave nectar
  • ½ cup of blueberries

Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients (except for the blueberries) in a blender and blend until everything is well combined (about 30 seconds).  You want to have a nice smooth “pancake batter-like” consistency.

Gently stir in the blueberries.

Pre heat a non-stick pan or griddle over a medium heat and lightly coat with cooking spray.  Scoop ¼ cup of the batter on to the hot pan.  Repeat, adding as many pancakes as you can without crowding the pan.  Cook for about three minutes or until the edges start to bubble.  Flip the pancakes and cook for another two minutes or until golden brown.

Top with maple syrup, fruit, or my personal favorite – almond butter!

Makes 2 servings.

Nutrients per 1/2 of recipe; Calories: 336; Total Fat: 5.7g; Saturated Fat: 2g; Cholesterol: 15mg; Sodium: 540mg; Carbohydrate: 41.5g; Dietary Fiber: 4.9g; Sugars: 13.6g; Protein: 28g

Peanut Butter & Banana Power Pancakes

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Ah, Southern California… I just finished a beautiful six a.m. hike with my friend Mary, and when I got home, I was hungry.

I wanted something hearty and satisfying without being overly indulgent and these Peanut Butter Performance Pancakes were exactly what the doctor ordered.

I call them “performance” pancakes because they are packed with energy and make for a great pre OR post workout meal.  Because I prefer to workout first thing in the morning, rarely do I eat a full meal before a workout, so these were post workout for me.

What I love about them is that they are a real rib-sticker, they stay with you for a while (which I guess is no surprise once you look at the ingredient list).  If I had to label them with just one word it would have to be hearty, they are definitely hearty.

Ultimately, they are really just a bowl of oatmeal in pancake form.  I mean really, look at the ingredients; oatmeal, egg whites, peanut butter and bananas.  Everything that I would throw into a bowl of oats just made into a pancake.  It’s funny how you can take the same exact ingredients, cook them up a little differently and end up with a completely different meal.  So fun:).

I make this recipe into one big pancake, but you could make it into two.  And I suppose that if you weren’t super hungry this could easily serve two people (but since technically, I am two people right now, I ate the whole entire thing!

Print Recipe

Peanut Butter Performance Pancakes

Yield: Serves 1-2

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup rolled oats
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ cup egg whites (4 egg whites)
  • 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
  • 1 teaspoon
  • maple syrup
  • ¾ tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ banana, quartered and sliced
  • Cooking spray

Directions:

  1. Combine oats, egg whites, peanut butter, syrup, and cinnamon in a blender and mix until you have a batter.  Stir in your  banana pieces.
  2. Coat a non-stick pan with cooking spray  and heat over a medium heat.  Pour pancake patter into the pan (the batter may be a little runny around the edges, so using a rubber spatula, gently pull the runny edges towards the center of the pancake).
  3. Once the pancakes firms and sets (this will take two or three minutes) flip and cook for another minute or so or until cooked through.  Enjoy!
Nutrients for entire recipe; Calories: 307 Total Fat: 10.5g; Saturated Fat: 1.6g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 202mg; Carbohydrate: 34g; Dietary Fiber: 5.7g; Sugars: 10.2g; Protein: 20.7g

“No-Bake Sweet Potato Pie” Pancakes

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sp_pancakes1_photo

It doesn’t happen often, but every now and then I come up with a recipe that impresses even me. These “No-Bake Sweet Potato Pie” Pancakes were just one of those recipes where I really felt the need to pat myself on the back, and not just because they taste amazing…

As you guys know, I sent an audition tape for The NextFood Network Star last week and the recipe I chose to make was my No-Bake Sweet Potato Pie.  Problem was, I had a had a bit left over in the fridge and just wasn’t in the mood for it (you know… this whole pregnancy thing can make a girl a little finicky). So after trying to pawn it off on my husband with no sucsess, it hit me… I could use it as a base for some pancakes.  Seriously guys, this was one of the best ideas I’ve ever had.

Simple?  Yes.

Rocket science?  No.

Brilliant? Oh yes! Yes! Yes!

Here’s how it went down.  I turned to Kevin over at Closet Cooking and used his recipe for Pumpkin Pancakes as my base.  It seems like Kevin cooks every night of the week because he ALWAYS has a new, drool worthy recipe that is inspiring me in the to get in the kitchen!

Once I had my hands on the base recipe, I added some of my signature clean, simple, and delicious twists; white whole wheat flour in place of bleached white flour, egg whites for the whole egg, a little vanilla soy milk and of course, the star of the show… my No-Bake Sweet Potato Pie Filling in place of the pumpkin. And may I just say… oh, baby, baby… these pancakes were to die for!  Light, fluffy, sweet… just delicious!

Plus I was able to get a cheap thrill by putting the left overs to good use.  There is just something about using all the food in my fridge without wasting that really excites me!

I topped my pancakes with the nutty, crunchy, crumb topping that I top my No-Bake Sweet Potato Pie with; it’s a combination of grapenuts, pecans, and cinnamon.  If I didn’t already have some leftover, I would have just stuck to few chopped pecans… SO GOOD!

Also, if you wanted to make these pancakes but didn’t have the leftoverNo-Bake Sweet Potato Pie filling, no worries… simply use steamed, mashed up sweet poatoes or some canned pumpkin.

Print Recipe

"No-Bake Sweet Potato Pie" Pancakes

Yield: Makes 10 medium pancakes; serves 5

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of white whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp of baking powder
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 cup of Unsweetened Vanilla Soy Milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1⁄2 cup No-Bake Sweet Potato Pie Filling
  • 1/3 cup raisins
  • Optional Toppings; Grape Nuts, Pecans, Cinnamon, Maple Syrup

Directions:

In a large bow combine the flour, baking powder, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice.

In a separate bowl combine soymilk, egg whites, and sweet-potato pie filling.  Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.  Stir your raisins in and you’re ready to cook!

Heat a large non-stick skillet over a medium low heat (be sure not to let the pan get too hot).  Spray with a little non stick cooking spray or coat pan with a kiss of butter.

Add about ¼ cup of batter to pan and don’t touch them until the edges of the pancakes start to bubble then flip em’.  The bottoms should be golden brown.  Cook another minute or so and remove.  Finish with the rest of the batter.

Two pancakes with no toppings: Calories: 206; Total Fat: 3.2g; Saturated Fat: .4g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 160.4 mg; Carbohydrate: 38.1g; Dietary Fiber: 4.8g; Sugars: 15.4; Protein: 7.5g

Protein Pancakes

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pcake1_photo

I wasn’t planning on posting this recipe for Protein Pancakes this week, but after this conversation that I had with my Dad, I changed my mind!

It went something like this:

Dad: So when are ya gonna post something good?

Me: What do ya mean? I just put up a new video about strawberries.

Dad: Yeah, I know.

Me: Did you learn anything new from the video?

Dad:(in low mumbly grumbly voice) Mmmmm, not really. It’s just strawberries. You can’t cook with strawberries.

Me: Well, sure you can. I have a few videos coming up this month using strawberries.

Dad: Oh, is that what you do. You do a video about strawberries and then you do another video using them in a recipe?

Me: Uh, HI… HELLO Dad!! Yeah… that’s kinda how it works.

Dad: Oh. Well I was just wondering when you were gonna post something good.

Seriously… I love that man.

Any how, this conversation kind of reminded of me of what my highschool teachers used to say. “If you have a question don’t be afraid to ask. Chances are if you’re thinking it, so are ten other people in the class.”

So I thought, if my Dad was feeling a little bored with strawberries, chances are there maybe a few more of you feeling the same way, so I pulled this recipe out of my “Cook Book” file.

Yeah, it’s true. I have a whole file of recipes that I hoard and don’t share with you guys in the hopes that some day they will go into my Clean, Simple,and D’lishes Cook Book. But I figured I could sacrifice one to keep you on your toes;).

I don’t think I ever mentioned this before, but breakfast is definitely my weakness in the kitchen (although this doesn’t include eggs, I’ve got eggs down… it’s the pancake, french toast, crepes, etc. thing that I’ve gotta work on).

When it comes to pancakes I like to try and up the protein department in order to balance the meal out a bit. I find that when I eat a traditional pancake, fruit, and syrup breakfast I usually end up with a sugar crash and feeling really hungry shortly after a big meal. So adding a little extra protein helps me to avoid the sugary carb overload without giving up pancakes all together.

I’m also not a big fan of saucey, syrupy foods, so I’m perfectly happy topping these babies with some fruit and nuts and calling it a day, but if you like yourself some syrup… by all means add it to the mix:).

Do you guys have any special tips or tricks that you like to use when making pancakes? Lord knows I could use any help I can get!!

 

Print Recipe

Protein Pancakes

Yield: Serves 2

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup uncooked oatmeal
  • ½ cup Fiber One cereal
  • ½ cup organic low fat cottage cheese
  • 6 egg whites
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp agave syrup
  • A few dashed of cinnamon
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • Garnish: Chopped fruit and sliced almonds... maybe even a little maple syrup!

Directions:

Put oatmeal, Fiber One and baking powder in a food processor and pulse until you have a fine powder.

Add cottage cheese, egg whites, vanilla, and cinnamon and mix until everything is well blended.

Heat a large nonstick sauté pan over a medium heat.  Scoop ¼ cup of batter and drop into the pan.  Add as many pancakes fit with out crowding into the pan.

Cook until the edges of the batter begin to bubble and then flip and cook another two minutes (or until cooked through) on the opposite side.

Top with chopped fruit and sliced almonds… enjoy!!

Calories: 230; Total Fat: 3.8g; Saturated Fat: 1g; Cholesterol: 5mg; Sodium: 402mg; Carbohydrate: 30.8g; Dietary Fiber: 10.1; Sugars: 4g; Protein: 21.7g