The healthiest pancakes on earth… my recipe (Mike Geary)
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that your typical pancakes are certainly NOT the type of food you want to eat if your goal is fat loss or staying lean. However, for years, there’s been a basic type of modified pancake recipe floating around in bodybuilding circles that is a healthier version (although not my favorite)…
Basically, the bodybuilder version is as simple as using a carton of egg whites in a blender, adding some dry oatmeal and vanilla whey protein (and a few other minor ingredients), and then cooking them up as “protein pancakes”.
I’ll be honest with you… this bodybuilding pancake recipe tastes more like sweetened eggs than it does like pancakes.
So what I’ve done is come up with my own variation of healthier pancakes that actually TASTES like pancakes. Of course, we know that most pre-made pancake dry mixes are not the healthiest option. However, they can be more convenient for most people than trying to make pancakes from scratch.
Here’s what you can do to make much healthier pancakes:
1. Take only 1/3 of the quantity of pancake mix that the box calls for. So if the box says to use 1 cup of dry pancake mix, just use 1/3 cup instead. This way, you’re greatly reducing the amount of refined wheat flour and sugar that are in these mixes by only using 1/3 of the amount recommended.
I know I’m usually pretty strict with ruling out ALL refined wheat flours, but sometimes just reducing the quantity and substituting the remainder with healthier ingredients is the best option for something like this.
2. For the remaining 2/3 of the dry mix, substitute in a mixture of equal parts oat bran, rice bran, and whey protein. You can find oat bran at most grocery stores, and rice bran at health food stores.
Try using a little cinnamon too if you like the taste (it also boosts the antioxidant content).
3. Use whole eggs instead of egg whites and use 1 extra egg than what the recipe calls for to increase the protein and healthy fats content.
If you missed my previous article about whole eggs vs egg whites, you can see that here:
http://www.truthaboutabs.com/whole-eggs-or-egg-whites.html
4. After mixing in the milk called for on the box, whisk the mixture in a bowl. Now you’re ready to pour the healthier pancakes into the pan. Don’t forget to top them with some blueberries or other berries for some extra taste and healthful benefits.
5. The best oil to use in the pan for cooking is virgin coconut oil. I use virgin coconut oil for most of my cooking as it’s one of the healthiest options. It’s a much more stable oil for cooking so it’s not prone to the oxidation and free radical production that typical vegetable oils are prone to.
You can get virgin coconut oil at – http://nature.wildfamilynaturals.com
Also, be sure to check out their coconut flour, as it’s a great super-high fiber alternate flour that can be used in baking (note that if you use coconut flour, you should mix it with another type of flour to balance the moisture content as coconut flour tends to soak up more moisture than other flours).
If you’re confused about which cooking oils are healthy and which are not, this article of mine below clears that up:
http://www.truthaboutabs.com/unhealthy-vs-healthy-cooking-oils.html
Again, the trick to this recipe is using only 1/3 of the dry pancake mix (since that’s the least healthy part of this recipe) and the other 2/3 of the dry materials are the oat bran, rice bran, and whey protein to boost the fiber and protein content of the pancakes. I only do pancakes on occasion as they are a nice treat, but at least with this recipe, you have yourself a much healthier version of pancakes that are quite high in fiber and much higher in protein and healthy fats than your typical pancake recipe… but they still taste like pancakes and are delicious in my opinion!
And do yourself a favor and please do not ruin this meal by dousing it with your typical fake maple syrup, which is usually all high fructose corn syrup! Instead, a much healthier option is to simply top it with berries or other cut fruit instead of syrup.
Enjoy!
Feel free to fwd this email to all of your friends, family, and coworkers that might enjoy it.
Til next newsletter,
Don’t be lazy… be lean.
Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder – http://TruthAboutAbs.com & http://BusyManFitness.com
http://AvalancheSkiTraining.com
