4 Pancake Recipes: I Can't Think of a Better Way to Start the Day

I adore pancakes - they put me in a fantastic mood for the day and they're incredibly versatile. I also think that they're pretty underrated as a reasonably healthy breakfast; granted, pancakes covered with maple syrup with bleached white flour aren't very healthy, adding bananas, cottage cheese and wholegrain spelt flour to recipes decreases the calories while increasing the protein and vitamin content, making them a healthier, filling breakfast. You don't even need to make them from scratch in the morning - just mix everything together the night before and leave it in the fridge.

For this post, I've just listed ingredients for each recipe, as the combination and cooking is the same for all of them (and I'm sure you know how to make pancakes!)

Banana Pancakes
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 mashed banana
1 knob of butter
pinch of salt
honey


Spelt Pancakes
1 cup whole spelt flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup milk
1 egg
2 tbs melted butter
1 ts vanilla extract
1ts baking powder
honey

Cottage Cheese Pancakes (these taste way better than they sound)
3/4 cup cottage cheese
1 egg
1 cup flour (may need to add more later)
pinch of salt
2 tbs melted butter

Blueberry Pancakes
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup milk
1 egg
handful of blueberries
1 knob of butter
pinch of salt
honey

Why not try adding slices of apple while you're cooking them, or frozen mixed berries? I haven't added sugar to any of the recipes as the banana or blueberry will make the pancakes sweet, and you can add honey to taste. The cottage cheese pancakes are savoury, as are the spelt ones (although they also taste great with yoghurt).

Thanks to ChannahG for the image.

Bananas 4 Ways

Bananas have a lot of health benefits - they're high in fiber and potassium, fructooligosaccharide (a compound that nourishes 'good' bacteria in the digestive system), as well as vitamins such as B6 and B12. They're also low in sodium, and can help reduce your blood pressure, treat heartburn and are even said to help reduce morning sickness. Here are 4 ways so serve bananas so you can get more of their benefits, while varying your mealtimes.

Banana Porridge
A favourite of bodybuilders and children, this porridge is slightly sweeter than the plain stuff, without adding artificial sugars. Just mash up a banana with a fork and add the oats and milk to it and mix, then cook. Very quick, and contains around 12g of protein.

Banana Bread
Absolutely delicious! Try it with fruit and yoghurt with your tea. This is my favourite recipe:
125g butter
175g muscovado sugar (or any soft, unrefined brown sugar)
2 eggs
270g self-raising flour
salt
120ml milk
3 bananas (ripe)
splash of vanilla extract
any nuts you'd like to add

Preheat the oven to 180C, then just blend together the sugar and butter. Add the eggs, then the flour and the milk. Finally add the bananas (mashed) and nuts. Pop it in the oven for about an hour and you're done!

Healthy Banana Split
Instead of using ice cream, try frozen yoghurt. Add a sprinkling of nuts for yet more protein and you have a great pudding.

Boozy Banana (not really that healthy, but everyone deserves a treat now and then)
Definitely one for the adults, and just as quick as the banana porridge. Put a few tablespoons of caster sugar on a hot frying pan and stir it until it begins to caramelise. Add a splash of Amaretto, and slice the banana down the middle. Put the banana on the frying pan and move around a little to ensure that it gets covered in plenty of Amaretto and sugar.   Don't cook for any more than a minute and a half, and eat immediately.

Thanks to Luis Condessa for the image.

Packed Lunch Alternative - Quesadillas

Quesadillas are a great alternative to sandwiches - you can vary the filling just as much (as long as you use cheese!), and they have far fewer carbs than a traditional sandwich.

I'd decided to fill mine with peppers, onion, chicken and cheese.

Chop the onion and peppers, and fry them in olive oil to soften slightly (you don't have to do this, but I prefer it). 

 

After you've chopped the chicken and prepared the onion and pepper mix. it's time to start making the quesadillas. Just pile the ingredients into the centre of the tortilla, and make sure you have plenty of cheese throughout it to hold the whole thing together. 

Place the quesadilla mix-up onto a hot frying pan. I prefer to add the second quesdilla when the cheese has already started to melt and I'm about to flip it over. Once the bottom of the tortilla is golden-brown, then carefully turn the quesadilla over to cook the other side. It's quite easy to spill the filling out when you're turning, so make sure your spatula goes right under it so you're supporting the whole thing.

Once you've cooked both sides, you're done! If you feel like giving them a bit of a kick, try adding paprika or chillis to the mixture.

Healthy lemony chicken recipe (25 minutes)

A quick and easy recipe, that's full of protein and perfect for a post-workout meal. 

Chicken breast fillets (1-2 per person)
Rice
Chicken stock
4 Lemons
1 can sweetcorn
1/2 white onion
1/2 red pepper
3 eggs
Olive oil

Begin by setting your oven to 200 degrees C and wrap your put your chicken on a baking tray. Cut one of your lemons in half and squeeze out some of the juice onto the chicken, drizzle on some olive oil and wrap in foil. Put into your oven for about 20 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, half your lemons and squeeze all of the juice out into a bowl. It helps if you get a fork and push it into the flesh to get more of the juice out. Put the stock into a saucepan on a medium heat and add the lemon juice - leave to simmer until it reduces down to a jus.

Finely chop the onion and the pepper. Add both to a frying pan with some olive oil and the sweetcorn. Cook until softened, then add your rice. Stir in your eggs, one by one, until the rice is coated.

Take the chicken out of the oven and check that it is cooked through. Chop into chunks and add to the frying pan with the egg-fried rice mixture. Mix together and pour the jus over the chicken and rice, and serve!

Thanks to Moyan Brenn for the image.