Protein Pancakes

Name: Protein Pancakes
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 1 cup, old fashioned Rolled Oats; 1 cup Wheat Flour (All-Purpose, Enriched); 1/4 cup, red Lentils (Dry); 2, mashed Overripe Banana; 3/4 cup Yogurt (Plain, Nonfat); 3/4 cup Milk (Low-Fat); 2 Egg (Whole, Raw); 1/4 cup Canola Oil; 1/4 cup, packed Brown sugar; 2 teaspoons Baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon Baking soda; 1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract; 1/4 tsp Salt; 1 tablespoon, to serve Maple syrup

<p>Pancakes made from oats, cottage cheese and eggs — 10.7 g of protein, no powder.</p>

369kcal per serving

10.7gprotein

54.1gcarbs

12gfat

Per 1 serving of 6 — 3 pancakes. Estimated; may vary.

Prep20 min

Cook20 min

Total40 min

Makes6 servings

Difficultyeasy

Pancakes with cooked red lentils in the batter. It sounds odd and it is invisible — the lentils cook down to nothing you can see or taste, and they push the protein up without changing what lands on the plate.

This is a USDA MyPlate recipe and it makes ten pancakes at 369 calories each. Oats and mashed banana do the rest of the work, so there is only a quarter cup of sugar in the whole batch.

Two rules: stop stirring while the batter still looks rough, and let it rest five minutes before the first one hits the pan.

Ingredients

Amounts below make 6 servings, one serving is 3 pancakes.

Rolled Oats1 cup, old fashioned (81 g)
Wheat Flour (All-Purpose, Enriched)1 cup (125 g)
Lentils (Dry)1/4 cup, red (48 g)
Overripe Banana2, mashed (236 g)
Yogurt (Plain, Nonfat)3/4 cup (184 g)
Milk (Low-Fat)3/4 cup (183 g)
Egg (Whole, Raw)2
Canola Oil1/4 cup (55 g)
Brown sugar1/4 cup, packed (55 g)
Baking powder2 teaspoons (9.2 g)
Baking soda1/2 teaspoon (2.3 g)
Ground cinnamon1 teaspoon
Vanilla extract1 teaspoon
Salt1/4 tsp
Maple syrup1 tablespoon, to serve (20 g)

Cook’s tips

Cook the lentils until fully soft and drain them properly. Undercooked, they stay grainy in the batter; wet, they thin it out.
Rest the batter 5 minutes. Blended oats and flour keep drinking liquid, and unrested batter spreads too thin to flip cleanly.
Medium heat, not high. The banana and brown sugar brown fast, and a hot griddle gives you dark outsides with raw middles.
Contains: eggs, milk (yogurt and milk), wheat (flour). Oats are wheat-free but are usually processed alongside wheat.
Batter keeps 2 days refrigerated, and cooked pancakes freeze for 2 months — reheat them straight from frozen in a toaster.

Method

Wash your hands and all surfaces before you start.
Cook the red lentils in a small pan of boiling water for 15 to 20 minutes, until completely soft. Drain them well and set aside. They disappear into the batter — you will not taste them, they are there for the protein and the texture.
In a large bowl, stir together the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a smaller bowl, whisk the yogurt, milk, oil, eggs and vanilla until even.
Pour the wet into the dry, add the mashed banana and the cooked lentils, and stir just until combined. Stop while the batter still looks a little rough — worked longer, the pancakes go tough.
Let the batter stand 5 minutes. The oats keep absorbing liquid and it thickens noticeably.
Cook on a lightly oiled griddle over medium heat, about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake. Flip when bubbles appear across the surface and the edges look set, 2 to 3 minutes, then 1 to 2 minutes on the second side.
Serve with maple syrup and extra banana.

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