Banana Protein Pancakes

The past few months I have been hitting the gym pretty hard. Then yesterday I had my first truly difficult workout. I don't know what was wrong with me, its not like my muscles were unusually sore, but I just couldn't seem to get my limbs to move like I wanted them to. Yet, I pushed through (it took me twice as long to get through my workout then it should have). This morning I woke up feeling frustrated with yesterday's workout and feeling like I had been hit by a train. So, I got online to see what workout forums had to say to get me back to feeling human again. Here is what I found (though its not like I didn't know this already, I just hadn't been paying attention):

 1. When you work out you need to eat so that you have the fuel to keep you going (I realized I hadn't eaten much yesterday)
2. Protein, protein, protein. Seriously, it helps with muscle recovery
3. Its important to consume vitamins when working out because your body needs them for the best performance.

Even though I had already heard this before, I decided it was time to actually follow the advice. Which led me to the whole reason for this post: I decided to try making the banana pancakes that one of my paleo diet friends keeps raving about. My friend has said on multiple occasions that these pancakes taste just like the real thing and that she doesn't even think about the high carb pancakes anymore. I seriously doubted that a recipe that requires just two ingredients (eggs and a banana) could possibly taste the same as a real pancake, but I decided I would go ahead and try it.  Because I am very sore today, I decided to add a few more ingredients to increase the protein in take, but I still kept it low carb. Here's what I discovered, it doesn't really taste just like a real pancake (as I expected), but it did taste really good. And it's really easy and quick to make. Here I am sharing my first attempt at making these very healthy, high protein, delicious pancakes. Below the recipe I have added the nutritional information for you to take a gander at too. Enjoy! ;)

Banana Protein Pancakes

1. If you want to make the original recipe, all you need are two eggs and a banana (this will make four pancakes)

2. Yes, eggs are an excellent source of protein, but to get an extra protein boost, I decided to add a scoop of protein powder and a tablespoon of powdered peanut butter.

Isopure is a great protein in you are looking to trim down instead of bulk up as it has only 6g of carbs in a serving (2 scoops).

The powdered peanut butter can be found in Target, health stores, and possibly select grocery stores. It's awesome because it has all of the nutrients of peanut butter without the oil.

3. Just put all of the ingredients in a blender and blend it all together. You could mash it and mix it with a fork, but it needs to be REALLY well mashed and mixed or you're going to end up lumpy with dry spots in your pancakes. Just a heads up, the mixture will end up very liquidy, it won't look like pancake batter (and that's how it's supposed to be).

4. Preheat your pan on medium heat and spray it with non-stick spray.

5. Pour your batter in your pan. You need to keep an eye on it, because you won't get those little bubbles in your batter telling you when it's time to flip it. I burned my first pancake a little because I had waited too long.

6. Here is the finished product. They are really thin and have a bit more of a crepe like texture to them.

7. For my meal I put black raspberry jam on the pancake, ate a few strawberries, and had a cup of orange juice. I also took two fish oil pills as well. I was actually pleasantly surprised by how good it tasted. I think it will probably become one of my staples from now on.








Nutrition info:

                                                    Pancakes (2):          Strawberries (5):          Orange Juice (8 oz):
Calories                                         194                          48                                 112
Carbohydrates                               288 g                       117 g                            26 g
Total fats                                       2.1 g                        0.5 g                               -
Protein                                          21.7 g                       1 g                                 2 g
Cholesterol                                   225.8 g                       -                                    -
Sodium                                         179.9 mg                  1.5 mg                           2.5 mg
Vitamin A                                     11%                           -                                   10%
Vitamin C                                     23%                          149%                            207%
Vitamin E                                     8%                             2%                                 -
Vitamin K                                     6%                            4%                                  -
Vitamin B6                                   27%                          4%                                  -
Vitamin B12                                 7%                              -                                     -
Calcium                                        14%                           2%                                3%
Iron                                               7%                             3%                                3%
Phosphorus                                  14%                           4%                                4%
Potassium                                    16%                            7%                               14%
Magnesium                                  18%                           5%                                7%

* Percent daily values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.