pancake adoration

So here's a not so secret confession. I adore pancakes. Growing up we rocked the Krusteaz like it was nobody's business. My momma regularly bought the Costco size. It was a typical Saturday breakfast, usually loaded with peanut butter and syrup. It was also one of the first things to go when I started eating healthy. I don't know if you know but that stuff is pretty much nutritionally deficient.

Imagine my absolute delight when I found a recipe for healthy pancakes. My friend made them for me one weekend and it was love at first bite! They were moist, fluffy (ish), and absolutely delicious. They were the closest thing I'd ever found to my former Krusteaz love. The updated version is packed with protein and no white carbs of the devil.

These have become a major breakfast staple for me. I'll make up a batch on the weekend and it will last me at least a week, sometimes longer if my pancake cravings are low that week (which rarely happens :O)) The ingredient list is a little odd, but you just have to trust me, they absolutely come out looking and tasting like a real pancake. They won't be taking down IHOP by any means but are way more nutritionally stacked.

The recipe was mildly adapted  from SparkPeople's Recipes

Cottage Cheese Oatmeal Pancakes
1 cup uncooked oatmeal
1 cup low fat cottage cheese (I use 2% because it's what Costco has in the jumbo container)
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
2 pakets Stevia (I use Truvia)
2 scoops protein powder (I use Muscle Milk 100% whey protein powder in vanilla)

Throw all ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth. I usually have to take a spoon and stir it around to help it all start to mix. If the batter is too thick or won't mix, just add a splash of water to help it along. Cook and enjoy!

I love to eat mine topped with almond butter and syrup, some organic jam, or with a little yogurt butter and a sprinkle of stevia and cinnamon.

This usually makes about 10 good sized pancakes.  
Per pancake:  93 calories    2.3 g fat      6.7 g carbs     1g fiber       11 g protein

 Tips:

• Cook over medium heat to avoid burning. Mine frequently turn a dark color on top but are still moist inside. These are pretty hard to ruin!
• Add in fruit, coconut, or chocolate chips to make them extra special
• I use a small ladle, pour about half the scoop in and let it sit for a minute and then pour the last little bit on. It seems to help make them a little fluffier.

Another pancake recipe I've come to adore is Gina's Perfect Protein Pancakes... although I'm still tweaking the recipe to get them to be less cake-y and more light and fluffy. These are perfect if you're trying to refuel from a workout. They are super dense and really fill the belly for a decent amount of calories.

Alright, I'm off to hang out with my cousin and enjoy the nice summer weather that's finally here! And maybe start to catch up on my reading??

I need to quit abusing my library's mail order system :O)

Sunday morning kinda feelin

“Sunday is the golden clasp that binds together the volume of the week” -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Sundays for me are a day of rest. Its the day I spend the morning with my family in church, worshiping God. Its the day we sit down and eat a meal together. Its the day we spend the afternoon doing miscellaneous things around the house or out and about, together. Since I've returned to church, it has become one of my favorite days of the week, made all the more special because the brother is home from college right now. I am one happy girl :O)

 I love my brother :O)

This afternoon we went on a family hike. It was one of those times that I realized how blessed I am to live where I do. Within 10 miles, there are at least 25 (possibly many many more) trails perfect for walking, trail running, trail biking, and hiking of all intensity levels. It's wonderful :O) Over the past couple months, we've tried out quite a few new ones, and now I'm itching to start trying out some trail running.

Got the bladder ready to go! (my nickname for the

Camelback, since mine's a High Sierra)

Other brother being very silly... sister in

the background.

It was the perfect day for hiking, about 65-70F... warm enough to be enjoyable, not so hot you are dying. The trail wasn't very hilly which was nice, plus it was lined with many pretty flowers and weird bush looking things.

The doggies couldn't wait to get a move on... they've gotten used to hiking without being on a leash (shhhh! Don't tell!) but there were too many people out today so they had to stay leashed the whole time.

I used my new Polar F11 HRM today... It was amazing! I didn't worry about hitting the right zones, I just wanted to see how many calories I burned. I hit 628 calories in 1 hour and 20 min. This is exactly why I bought this! I got an amazing workout in on my rest day! Now I don't have to feel guilty at all when I skip the gym this summer in favor of an outdoor workout.

I also grabbed my pedometer to track mileage and we hit almost 4 miles in that time. It was a nice leisurely hike :O)

This is home :O)

This evening was nice and relaxing too. My padre went and got pizza from Papa Murphy's, he even got a deLite pizza for me and my mommy to help us eat healthier :O) I started off with a turkey burger to fill me up and followed it with 2 slices of pizza. Then I made pesto! I just got a fancy schmancy food processor for Christmas and have hardly used it (it's great for shredding cheese, yum!). The other day when I went shopping, I picked up some fresh basil. I followed this recipe @ Girl Heroes except I cut down on the olive oil and cheese by about half. I probably should have made it exactly like the recipe, but it sounded like a calorie bomb so I eased up a little. I'm going to try it on my Ezekiel toast in the future. 

Not tomorrow though because I made another batch of Overnight Oats! (the first were consumed this morning). I loosely followed this recipe from Oh She Glows except that my recipe went like this:

1/3 cup Oats (I used quick cooking because that's all I have at the moment)

1/2 cup milk (this morning I used 1 cup and they were too watery, so I'm cutting it down for round 2)

1/2 scoop when protein powder

I mixed it up and left it in the fridge. In the morning I'll add 1 packet Truvia, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 tablespoon Almond Butter and enjoy the creamy sweet deliciousness as a post-workout recovery breakfast. I can't wait to dig into it.

I'm off to continue slugging through Jackie Warner's "This is Why You're Fat" and enjoy the last of my Sunday laziness :O)