I have learned that I do best with a high protein breakfast. When I eat a high carb breakfast (which is what many breakfasts are made of) I am usually hungry again by 10am, I am cranky, I have low energy, etc. When I eat a high protein breakfast, I am good to go ’til lunch without even batting an eye. And my family likes to be around me more. Go figure.
Recently I had an astounding revelation. I was happier, more productive, and more energetic as a result of eating protein for breakfast — and yet I was letting my kids have cereal every day! Or bagels. Or toast. Or whatever other high carb thing was on hand. Because it was more convenient for me to let them get their own breakfast than to provide something healthier for them. And you guessed it: they were struggling to concentrate on schoolwork. They were cranky. They were picking fights. They needed snacks. And I was frustrated.
So yea, lightbulb moment — it would be better to put forth the effort to make the kids a nutritious protein breakfast than to have to deal with their sugar-induced behavior. Not to mention it would be more loving to them, more considerate of what was best for them than what was more convenient for me. What a concept!
So I polled some Facebook friends for high protein breakfast ideas, and they told me the usual stuff – scrambled eggs, fried eggs, omelets, etc. Eggs, eggs, eggs. And we do those now, a lot. (I collected many of them into one place on this post: 6 Quick & Healthy Breakfast Recipes with Eggs.) But one gal mentioned protein pancakes that she makes primarily with eggs and oatmeal, which sounded like they might be good for variety. She didn’t give any more details than that, so I was on my own to come up with a recipe that would work.
After some experimentation, I have hit upon a recipe that is really yummy and fries up nicely. You’ll have to try it and see if you agree with me — but my kids honestly and truly do rave about them. Which is always gratifying, I must say. :-)
You may know already that I don’t do gluten, which is another reason why I liked the idea of pancakes made mostly with oatmeal. (Not to mention that traditional pancakes would just be another high carb breakfast like I was trying to avoid in the first place.) Oatmeal is a whole grain that can be purchased as gluten-free and is also a decent source of protein — 5 grams per 1/2 cup of the old-fashioned kind, 3 grams per 1/2 cup for instant*. The recipe does contain a tiny bit of flour, just for texture, but I use brown rice flour. If gluten is not an issue for you, regular flour would work just as well.
The recipe also includes flaxseed meal. I do not like to put weird ingredients into my recipes – but I have gotten past thinking of flaxseed meal as a weird ingredient. I can buy it at the grocery store, for one thing. And I use it fairly often: in my protein shakes, sprinkled on salad or yogurt, and as an egg substitute in baking if I am out of eggs. Flaxseed is an excellent source of healthy fat and also adds some protein — 3 g per 2 Tbsp.**
High Protein Cinnamon Breakfast Pancakes
Ingredients:
- 8 eggs
- 2 c . oats (gluten free if desired, which I do)
- 2 Tablespoons flaxseed meal (probably could be omitted in a pinch)
- 2 Tablespoons brown rice flour (can substitute regular flour if you don’t need gluten free)
- 1/2 cup almond milk (or regular milk)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
Instructions:
- I just throw it all in a bowl and mix it together. (I can’t be bothered with dry ingredients and wet ingredients…!) Let it sit for a few minutes.
- Fry ’em up over medium heat. If the heat is too high, they will burn on the outside and not be cooked fully on the inside. Don’t try to turn them too soon, or they will fall apart. But once they are firm on the bottom, they turn easily. They rise nicely and the cinnamon smells so good as they are cooking!
Notes:
Serve with syrup, jam, honey, powdered sugar — whatever you like to put on your pancakes. These are very filling, so adults may only need three apiece, and younger children would only need one or two.
For a more adult high protein breakfast recipe,
lol, take a look at my High Protein Breakfast Smoothie
— it’s low sugar and also dairy-free. I love its chocolatey
goodness for any meal of the day!
*http://www.livestrong.com/article/398372-oatmeal-nutrition-protein/
**according to the Bob’s Red Mill package
Ann has written Cure the Fear of Homeschooling High School: A Step-by-Step Manual for Research and Planning, Save Your Sanity While Homeschooling High School: Practical Principles for a Firm Foundation, and recently Taming the Transcript: The Essential Guide to Creating Your Teen's Homeschool Transcript from Scratch (without overwhelm). She also founded the popular Facebook groups It's Not that Hard to Homeschool High School and It's Not Hard to Homeschool K-8, and in addition she voices the It's Not That Hard to Homeschool High School Podcast.
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These sound great and I love the idea of high protein/low carb breakfasts for all the reasons you mentioned. Have you tried making them ahead and freezing a batch? I would love the convenience of just being able to grab them from the freezer on busy mornings.
I’ve never made them ahead, exactly, but I have frozen the ones that were left over after we were all full. :-) And they do freeze really well. I usually lay them out on a cookie sheet, let them freeze, and then transfer them to a ziploc bag AFTER they are frozen — that way they don’t stick together. Then they can be reheated in the microwave or popped into the toaster. Good question, Nicole! Thanks for stopping by! :-)
im sorry but this just tastes like egg..
I’m sorry, too, that you don’t like them. It’s probably not too surprising that they taste a bit like egg, since that is what they are mostly made up of. But we’ve not found that to be off-putting, and in fact I never would have thought of it if you hadn’t said something. They don’t have that floury taste or texture that regular pancakes do, but then, that’s kind of the point, right? To get away from the useless carbs and put something into our kids (and ourselves) that has some nutritional value? I truly (no lie here or trying to make them sound better than they are) think they are yummy, and so do my kids. But thanks for trying them! :-)
Can sugar substitute be used to replace the sugar
Theoretically, I’m sure it could. I personally think sugar substitutes are bad for the body, so I can’t recommend the switch. Honey would be fine, though. Great question! :-)
I think they taste like french toast.
I just tried this with my kids. I added 1.5 TBSP truvia with it and blended everything up to make it smooth like regular pancake batter.
I agree- it tastes like french toast.
Definitely suggest blending it yo if you have kids who want “real” pancakes without the processed crap.
Blending is a great idea to make the texture more uniform. I’ve found that the oats soak up enough of the moisture from the eggs, though, that they aren’t that noticeable after cooking, even if you don’t blend it. That would be another step, so you have to weigh your own preferences there.