Vanilla Protein Pancakes With Strawberries and Bananas

Breakfast is one of the most important meals in our daily lives, its intention is to fuel us with energy through proper nutritional intake to allow us to accomplish our simplest to most rigorous tasks for the day. The problem with most traditional breakfast dishes is that many sacrifice nutrition to satisfy our taste buds. As an active person who loves working out, I decided to utilize the high-protein powders I typically use for my post-workout shakes, to create a more nutritious and delicious breakfast alternative. Enjoy the protein pancake!!!

First you will need to gather the proper ingredients to make the pancakes.

You will need:

-1/2 cup oats
-1/3 cup egg whites
-1 scoop of vanilla protein powder (24g protein per scoop)
-1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
-1/4 ripe banana
-1/2 cup of strawberries
-1 tablespoon Greek Yogurt
-1 teaspoon of cinnamon
-1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
-1 teaspoon coconut oil

Coconut oil is a great alternative to other convention cooking oils, it adds flavor to foods and increases your body's metabolism naturally.

Measure out 1/2 cup of oats and put it in the blender.

You can choose to separate the egg whites from an actual egg or purchase a carton of egg whites like I had. (Doing so is a good way to prevent wasting the egg yolk.

There are numerous protein powders in the market. I had chosen to go with Optimum Nutrition's 100% Gold Standard Whey protein as it contains 24 grams of protein and essential amino acids.

Flaxseed can be found in many health food stores. It is a great source of omegas and great for joint health and lubrication.

Because protein tends to create a dry texture when heated or cooked, it's important to add greek yogurt to create a softening texture to the pancake. The vanilla extract and cinnamon will also help bring out the flavor of the protein when cooked.

Make sure to blend the mixture until a consistent and smooth pancake mix-like texture is created before placing in the pan.

After blending, pour a fist-sized portion of the mix into the pre-heated pan. Unlike normal pancake mix, protein pancakes will not bubble up to let you know when to turn it over. Make sure to check the under side is cooked and browned a bit before flipping. When both sides of the pancake are cooked (browned) place the pancake onto a dish and serve!

Congrats! you have just made a delicious and nutritious breakfast alternative! You can add a teaspoon of greek yogurt (flavored or unflavored) on your dish as a substitute to butter. Add some chopped fruits of your choice, other great alternatives to bananas and strawberries are blueberries and raspberries.