My First Protein Pancake

Happy Memorial Day!  I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend, relaxing, and remembering what the occasion really signifies, with the added bonus of friends, family, and cook-outs.

I left you yesterday as I was about to go walk my friends’ dog; I had plans to take her on a good, long hour walk since she had been couped up in the house all day.  Twenty minutes later however, I knew I had to turn around because it was waaay too hot.  I think it got up into the 90s here in Richmond, and I could tell we were she was struggling.

When I got home, I needed a snack.  While my head wanted frozen yogurt (I blame it on the weather), I knew I needed something a little more substantial.  So I whipped up something along those lines, but it was even better in my opinion because it was more nutritious and just as delicious!  In the mix: Fage yogurt, frozen blackberries, handful of Kashi GoLean, soy nut butter, dark chocolate pieces

Getting to the good stuff…

My good friend from college was in town for a wedding, so I made plans to go have a drink at her house yesterday evening.  Nothing like a cold glass of wine (or two) on a beautful summer night with an old friend!  It was so good to catch up.  Her mom also set out some delicious appetizers from Fresh Market.  There were three dips: pimento cheese, spinach and artichoke, and black bean salsa.  I tried one of each (not pictured).  The black bean salsa was definitely my favorite, althought the pimento cheese came in at a close 2nd.  Good times.

An hour later I headed over to my brother’s house for Sunday Night dinner.  Since it was not a school night, I enjoyed a couple more glasses of wine and more appetizers (I am on vacation!).  I did make a point to drink a glass of seltzer water in between each glass as to not over do it.  That didn’t stop me from having a slight headache this morning though…

My favorite pretzels ever + roasted red pepper hummus = addictingly good.

I was pretty hungry by this point, but didn’t want to fill myself up too much before dinner.  We weren’t planning to eat until 8:30 because we had to wait for the boyfriend to get off work.  The meal was worth the wait!  On the menu:

Asian flank steak, wasabi mashed potatoes, green salad with balsamic dressing

As you can see, I always try and fill my plate with the good green stuff.  All in, it was a great dish.  To season the steak my brother used a combination of Asian flavors:

• soy sauce
• grated ginger
• juice of 2 limes
• steak rub
• sea salt

I am not certain of the exact proportions, but the flavors worked really well together!

Like I said, I woke up this morning with a slight headache.  I swear, 4 glasses of wine over the course of 4 hours even makes me a tad hungover.  Note to self: I am not 21 anymore.  I knew I needed to limit myself to 2-3 for a reason.  Oh well…moving on.

The ultimate hangover cure?? Running!  First things first, I laced up my tennis shoes and hit the road.  After about 10 minutes however, my body was not feeling it.  I made a deal with myself to alternate songs on my playlist with walking & running.  At first I was a little bummed that I couldn’t maintain the run, but didn’t beat myself up over it because intervals are just as effective. I kept this up for about 5 miles and came away from the workout totally satisfied.  I also felt better in the end.

Breakfast was on my mind immediately after I walked into the kitchen.  I downed a large glass of water and decided I wanted to try my hand at “the protein pancake.”  Usually I am not a pancake person; I typically crave a breakfast bowl of some sort, whether it is a concoction of oats, yogurt, or cereal with fruit.  But I wanted to mix it up a little bit.  For guidance, I looked up a recipe on Brittany’s blog because that is where I remember seeing them.  She even provided me with a step-by-step cooking method on how to get the perfect protein pancake.  I basically followed her recipe to a tee, but ended up making some tweaks:

• 1/4 c egg whites, or egg whites from 2 eggs
• 1 scoop of protein powder (I used my recently purchased Peaceful Planet Rice Protein powder)
• 2 tbsp vanilla almond milk
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• cinnamon to taste
• blueberries (or fruit of choice)

Heat skillet over low-medium heat.  Pour batter onto pan and cook 2-3 minutes.  Flip and cook another 2-3 minutes on the other side.

I think I got a little impatient and flipped my pancake too soon.  Also, my pan doesn’t cook very evenly, which I will need to keep in mind for next time.  Brittany even said that before she got it down, her pancakes turned out more like scrambles, which is exactly what happened to me…

I’m not complaining.  It was still a delicious and filling breakfast!  I topped my pancake with almond butter and a mashed banana and dug right in.  I will definitely have this again and can’t wait to experiment with other combinations.  Besides,  practice makes perfect!

I have plans to go lay out at the pool with my sister-in-law, but it hasn’t cleared up yet.  Until then, I think I am going to go read my book and take it easy.  Have a good day!