Chia Protein Pancakes

Today I had the opportunity to meet the lovely Joy McCarthy, owner of Joyous Health.  Joy is actually a graduate of the program I am currently enrolled in and was a substitute for our class today. It's always so inspiring and motivating to meet someone whose work you admire and to see what kinds of amazing things you can do with this degree.

So..Protein pancakes, the new, yummy way to get some protein post workout that has gained a lot of popularity on the blogosphere.

I was doing pretty well with having a protein shake after each workout but recently for some odd reason I have just not been able to get more than half of it down. It's pretty unfortunate because I feel a huge difference when I have protein after a pretty rough workout compared to when I don't have any, especially the next day. I felt like I needed a different way to get some protein into my system so that my muscles could properly heal and to avoid soreness.

I decided to try out some recipes out there for protein pancakes from scratch and non of them really tasted all that amazing to me and lacked the fluffiness a pancake should have. I came home from a workout absolutely starving and grumpy so I figured why not use my favorite store bought healthy pancake mix and just replace some of the mix with protein? Added in some chia seeds for extra protein and fiber and it worked out so well that I actually had a pancake party with myself and my maple syrup.

The pancake mix that I pretty much worship is Pamela's Gluten free Backing and Pancake Mix. It tastes even better than a regular pancake you would find at a diner and it can also be used as waffle and muffin mix. I hear their gluten free bread mix is divine. 

The protein I used is Whey Isolate by Precision. I get unflavored because I cannot stand the aftertaste of Stevia, and this way I can flavor it whichever way I want. Almost done with this bottle and planning on switching to a plant protein because I am trying to slowly moving away from all dairy, but more on that on another post. 

Raw, whole chia seeds are from Navitas Naturals, but you can use any brand. Flax seeds can be used as well.

For a vegan version, use a plant protein and instead of an egg, try a flax or chia egg: Mix together ground flax or whole chia seeds with 3 tablespoons of water and refrigerate for 15 minutes, this equals one egg and adds as a very effective binder just like a regular egg.

(I know this recipe is not completely from scratch but it's a great quick fix!)

The recipe on the package calls for 1 cup of the pancake mix, so I used 3/4 cup mix and 1/4 cup of protein, to equal one cup of dry ingredients. Followed the rest of the instructions, and added a tad more protein because the mixture seemed a little loose. I added 1 tablespoon of cha cha cha CHIA (remember those commercials for chia pets?) seeds, which are impossible to detect in the finished product. Just cook these as you would a regular pancake, but they cook really quickly so keep an eye out. Also excuse my non-stick, waiting impatiently for a cast iron skillet that was ordered two months ago....
This recipe will make about 5 small pancakes.

Chia Protein Pancakes
Finished Product: 

Fluffy, fiber rich goodness with no protein taste 

Unfortunately only one pancake ended up in a pretty round shape...

the rest were still devoured in spite of their ugliness. 

Benefits of Chia Seeds:

• Very high in Omega 3 Fatty Acids

• Great source of calcium 

• Contains antioxidants

• High fiber content 

• Complete protein

• Can help curb appetite 

-Sprinkle it on almost anything or take daily as a fiber supplement!

My next protein venture is to make protein chia balls, for on the go protein- stay tuned!

What is your favorite brand of protein?