Blueberry, Banana & Rolled Oats Protein Pancakes

Last summer and fall I noticed a growing trend geared toward protein pancakes. It dipped slightly during the holiday season, then cropped up again on Pinterest mid January. But in the past two weeks I've seen a SURGE of protein pancake photographs on Instagram. Granted, I follow quite a few healthy-minded accounts, but still. 

Banana + Egg = A Simple Pancake

The ingredients looked really simple. Many only used banana and egg. Then I came across one particular image* of two simple protein pancakes slathered in peanut butter and topped with blueberries. This inspired me. Two minutes later I was in the kitchen mashing a banana. Then I remembered stumbling across The Fountain Avenue Kitchen's cottage pancake recipe several weeks back and this inspired me to add in cottage cheese for the first time. What a great idea for bumping up the protein and moisture content of your pancakes! 

But I didn't stop there. I'm a big fan of slathering peanut butter on my pancakes or waffles. However, this particular time I tried a new product that intrigued me—powdered peanut butter. 

Food Fads: Powdered Peanut Butter

It's been all the rage for awhile now, especially on the "skinny" blogs, which I normally do not follow because of the abhorrent ingredients they substitute in the name of dieting. What is it? Well, powdered peanut butter is regular old peanut butter with all the oil pressed out. The resulting product has 85% less fat than the original and some people love that. Me? I wasn't concerned with the fat, but mostly curious with how it tasted. 

So I mixed two tablespoons of the powder with one tablespoon of water to rehydrate it. After a bit of stirring it was the same texture as creamy peanut butter, just not quite as thick. It tasted peanut buttery, but wasn't as rich tasting without the oil. Plus, if you let it sit out for a bit (taking pictures...ahem), it dries out quickly.

My Verdict

So what did I think of the powdered peanut butter? 

It's okay.


Personally, I prefer the real stuff. To me, regular peanut butter is more filling and satisfying. Plus, when you strip out the oils from peanut butter, you're removing most of the healthy vitamins that are stored in the fat! 


*After making the pancakes, I commented on this fellow's picture and asked how to give him credit for inspiring me. He said to upload the photo to instagram and tag or simply email him. When I went to find it again today...I scrolled down to the bottom of my interactions and found that the comment was inaccessible! Apparently Instagram only lets you see the last 100 or so notifications (comments, likes, etc.). > : [ I tried searching for #pancakes and there are literally thousands of pictures tagged to it. Maybe hundreds of thousands. I'm going to be on the look out for his pictures in the future, so I can eventually let him know about this post!  

Blueberry, Banana & Rolled Oats Protein Pancakes
High protein and fiber pancakes with no added sugar. The egg, cottage cheese and organic protein powder provide natural protein, while the banana and blueberries sweeten the batter naturally. If you use a natural protein powder like hemp, it is high in fiber, as are the oatmeal and blueberries. 
Inspired by a gentleman on Instagram (if I can ever figure out his username) and The Fountain Avenue Kitchen's Kathleen's Cottage Pancakes
Yield: 4 small pancakes  

Ingredients

Pancakes
1 ripe banana, mashed
1 pastured egg
1/4 cup of organic rolled oats
1/4 cup of organic, grass-fed cottage cheese*
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract (get my homemade vanilla extract recipe)
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon + more for sprinkling
3 tablespoons of protein powder (I use organic, high fiber hemp protein powder)
1/8 teaspoon of baking powder
1 pinch of fine sea salt (I recommend Pink Himalayan, Celtic or Utah sourced salt)
1/4 cup of frozen blueberries, thawed

*The pancake texture will be smoother if you puree the cottage cheese in a food processor or blender first, but I was too lazy and used it whole. 

Topping
3 tablespoons of organic powdered peanut butter* + 1 1/2 tablespoons of water (for rehydrating) OR regular, organic peanut butter
1/4 cup of frozen blueberries, thawed

*Powdered peanut butter is a relatively new product that's growing in popularity. It's basically peanut butter with the oils pressed out. Rehydrate it with a little water and it turns back into a creamy peanut butter consistency, except with 85% less fat. That said, it may be difficult to find it in your local grocery store. I used Just Great Stuff's organic powdered peanut butter, which is Non-G.M.O. The only thing they add back into the peanut butter after removing the oils are coconut sugar and sea salt. You can get it here from amazon.

Directions
Combine all ingredients, except for the blueberries in a bowl. Mix thoroughly. If you prefer a more smooth texture, blend the cottage cheese first, but this is optional. Once the blueberries are thawed, gently stir them into the mixture. Heat a well oiled skillet to medium and cook the pancakes in batches, flipping halfway through when the pancake starts to bubble in the middle. Once the pancake is cooked, it'll still be slightly moist from the cottage cheese. Mix the powdered peanut butter and water to form peanut butter. Spread it onto the pancakes, top with additional blueberries and sprinkle with cinnamon. 

Notes & Tips
If you use a ripe (or better yet overripe) banana, the pancakes should be sweet enough to eat without syrup; however, they'll be equally delicious should you want to drizzle real maple syrup over them. 

Obviously you can use any regular type of nut butter here as a topping, especially if you're not down with the powdered peanut butter thing. 

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I'd like to hear from YOU!

What's your favorite topping for pancakes? 


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