Just me or did April just fly by? It’s the first Monday of the month again, and I am excited to share some new favorite healthy recipes with you! Am I a food blogger? No. Some people mentioned my baked pasta dish was great from last month, but they wanted a better picture. OK, I’ll try to be more beautiful, but remember I am not a professional. What’s really great though is putting healthy food in your body. I try and live by a philosophical question: How can I make this just a little bit better?
Thought I would share one of my favorite breakfast recipes today. Breakfast is notoriously one of the worst meals of the day. Typically, it’s a lot of refined carbs like cereal, bagel, or instant oatmeal (which has fiber removed so it cooks faster. If you drink juice or cow’s milk you’re also getting a lot of sugar which is even more carbs added to the mix. Then we have our breakfast meats like bacon and sausage. Yea, you’re getting some protein, but it’s accompanied by a lot of fat. Then there are eggs. We’ve been sold this idea that eggs are healthy. Some eggs do have some good nutrition in them, but most do not. If your egg yolk isn’t dark orange, then that chicken isn’t eating a healthy diet. Your best bet is probably a local farmer’s market to find a farmer who can confirm their chickens roam free and eat bugs, grass clippings and some grains.
There is a common theme of what’s missing above. Micronutrients. Colors. Fiber.
Doesn’t mean you have to eat a salad for breakfast, but let’s make things “just a little bit better.” (However, if you take a scoop of super greens in the morning like I do, then you kinda are having a salad for breakfast)
One of my favorite breakfast items to prepare are my super power pancakes. Normally, there is nothing healthy about pancakes, but that’s because you haven’t had mine. I’ll give you the full recipe amounts, which makes enough pancakes for 3 people.
1 cup almond flour (either grind yourself or Trader Joe’s sells already ground)
1 cup oat flour (I use a magic bullet to grind up steel cut oats)
1 cup vanilla baking mix (again, from Trader Joe’s)
1 scoop Growing Naturals Vanilla Rice Protein
1 tbsp. Sunfood Maca Extreme
3 tbsps. Sunfood Chia Powder
Dash of sea salt, a good shake of cinnamon
1 cup almond or coconut milk
½ cup of water (add water slowly until the batter is thin, but not soupy)
The chia seeds soak up a lot of liquid, so the final prep might be adding the milk, letting it sit for a couple minutes, and then adding water until batter is thin enough to fall off a spoon. Get a hot skillet and fry your pancakes! I like to use either coconut oil on the pan or coconut oil spray. “Grade B” maple syrup is going to be your healthiest syrup option, as it’s highest in minerals.
So why is this a much healthier recipe? It’s very high in fiber meaning you won’t get that same insulin spike as with refined bread products. You get fiber from the almonds, the steel cut oats, and a lot from the chia seeds. Cinnamon actually helps to regulate healthy blood sugar levels too. Maca is a well-known superfood for energy and endurance. The fiber along with the high protein content from the rice protein ensures that you have a nutritional balance that will leave you full and satisfied for many hours. Hunger is mostly dictated by hormones. Too many carbs without enough fiber, protein and fat leads to hormonal imbalance and hunger irregularities throughout the day. These pancakes give you the best of all worlds.
Do you want to stay away from the extra sugar from syrup? You can mash a ripe banana into the batter for the pancakes to add sweetness. I like to put some frozen berries into a sautee pan on low heat and simmer them while the pancakes are cooking. Add a dash of sea salt to help draw the moisture out and into the pan, a few drops of vanilla stevia and an ounce or two of water. Berries are among fruits lowest in sugar and have a ton of antioxidants. You’ll get a delicious syrup substitute to pour on top of your stack of pancakes!
My son loves the pancakes and then found a whole new level of excitement when I started making the berry topping as you can see here. I hope you’ll enjoy this recipe, but hopefully it inspired you to think about how you can make other breakfast foods just a little bit healthier. I have more food ideas and recipes on my Instagram page, www.instagram.com/worldhealthhub
Russ Marchewka’s commitment to better nutrition has earned him the nickname “Mr. Healthy” on the tour. He has spent the last eight years studying how nutrition affects his volleyball game. For more, visit his website, WorldHealthHub.com or connect with him on Facebook, www.Facebook.com/avpruss.
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