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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Vegan Mac and Cheese

Welcome to my new favourite healthy weeknight meal. Yes, macaroni and cheese really can be made healthy and still taste just as good as it's boxed counterpart. All you need to do is make this simple creamy vegan cheese sauce that's dairy-free, soy-free, and packed with loads of nutritional bonuses. Like nutritional yeast. It's full of vitamins B6 + B12, Thiamin, and Riboflavin. Plus it packs an excellent boost of protein and fiber. Just 2 tablespoons has 8g of protein and 4 grams of fiber.

Finger. Licking. Good.

Now this doesn't taste like real cheese but it's pretty darn tasty if I do say so. The sauce is made up of a handful of ingredients that starts out with sautéed onions and garlic for the ultimate flavour boost. I found that adding sautéed onions and garlic deepened the flavour of the "cheese" sauce in a wonderful way. It was so tasty!

Next up we toss the onions and garlic into a high-speed blender and add nutritional yeast, soaked cashews, tomato paste, smoked paprika, turmeric and a small handful of other ingredients. I don't think it's necessary but if you prefer you can use unsweetened almond milk in place of water in the sauce.

Oh cashew-vegan cheeze sauce how I love you. This sauce cannot only be added to macaroni but many other things as well. Try adding it to: 

• Mashed potatoes (russets, yukon, red, etc.)
• Quinoa and rice dishes 
• Casseroles
• Sandwiches
• Veggies of all kinds including steamed or roasted (broccoli, cauliflower and green beans are excellent!)

There are many options!

The sauce makes enough for about 4 generous servings of pasta (I used brown rice elbow macaroni).

Now I'm not going to tell you this is a recipe for old-fashioned mac n'cheese, because it's definitely not that. What I can tell you is that it's absolutely delicious and just as comforting. Besides you could totally serve this to a non-vegan and they'd love it! It's so satisfying you may even convert them over.

Vegan Mac & Cheese

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked 3 to 4 hours, preferably overnight, and drained
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ cup + 2 tablespoons water
• ½ cup nutritional yeast
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Pinch of sea salt
• 12 ounces macaroni or small shell pasta (gluten-free if needed)
• Fresh thyme or red pepper flakes (to garnish)

Optional add-ins

• roasted broccoli, sauteed mushrooms, spinach, or peas

Instructions

In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent (about 5 minutes). Add garlic and cook for a few more minutes on low.

In a high speed blender, puree the sautéed onions and garlic with the cashews, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, tomato paste, paprika, water, nutritional yeast, turmeric, a pinch of cayenne, and a pinch of salt. Makes about 2 1/4 cups of sauce.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Prepare the pasta according to the instructions on the package, cooking until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. Drain and return the pasta to the pot. Stir in the sauce, adding the pasta water as needed to thin the sauce and make it creamy. If you're adding any roasted or sauteed veggies, this would be the time to do it.

Serve hot garnished with fresh thyme or a pinch of red pepper flakes.