This past Monday morning, I was just coming off a very S-heavy weekend.
(S means Satisfying... a meal that includes lots of good proteins and fats but very little carbohydrates. If you are not familiar with THM, you may click here for the start of a series of seven posts that explain the basics of the Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle).
Anyway, I knew I needed to give my metabolism some good carbs. And boy do these pancakes do the trick!
They are so easy to make! I prepare a large batch of them and freeze single-serve portions in zip bags in the freezer. First I will share the pancake recipe, and then further down I will talk about the delicious blueberry compote and the miracle ingredient that made it possible.
2 cups regular rolled oats
2 cups egg whites (See note below)
2 cups cottage cheese or Greek yogurt
1/2 cup sweetener equal to sugar (I use 2 tablespoons of THM Sweet Blend which is 4x sweeter than sugar)
2 t. vanilla
4 t. baking powder
Put the oats into a blender and blend until they become a powder. Add remaining ingredients and blend away, scraping sides and blending as needed. Allow batter to sit a few minutes to thicken up.
Coat a non-stick or cast iron pan with coconut oil spray. (I brush the bottom of my cast iron griddle pan ever-so-lightly with a stick of butter, which keeps the fat quantity at or under a teaspoon per serving). Ladle batter onto a hot pan and cook until bubbly, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook the other side another minute or two. This batch makes 6-8 servings.
These pancakes are delicious and high protein. And there are lots of great ways to top them in a blood sugar-friendly way. I will mention a few, but first a note on egg whites.
Egg whites are such a versatile lean protein. I buy six cartons at a time and freeze what I am not using. I always try to keep a carton thawing or ready in my fridge.
Okay, back to the pancakes. You can simply top them with fresh fruit of your choice. Or you could combine an on-plan sweetener blend and cinnamon and sprinkle on top. I always keep a shaker of sweet cinnamon in my cupboard.
But this week, I went all out with blueberries. Last summer, I visited my sister in Michigan, picked a gallon of those amazing little wild things, and froze them. I had been hoarding them, but when I recently discovered that my husband has been eating them, I knew I needed to dig in or he'd eat them all!
Before I give the recipe for the blueberry compote, I want to talk about a fantastic ingredient - glucomannan. It is a powder made from the konjac root, which is native to Asia. It is a non-starchy thickener that won't thicken your waistline. In addition, it has other health benefits, and if you'd like to know more about them, click here to read what Dr. Axe says about it.
You can easily find glucomannan in supplement form, but THM sells a powder version of it which is easier for cooking. Like my cinnamon sweetener, I keep my "gluccie" in a shaker.
It only takes a little to thicken a sauce. Also, there is a delayed reaction in the thickening action comparted to cornstarch, so there is a learning curve to working with it. Unlike starch, which causes thickening at the boil, gluccie causes things to thicken up as they start cooling down. And a little bit goes a long way!
So here is how I made the blueberry compote:
1 cup blueberries
1 splash lime juice
Sugar blend equal to 3-4 teaspoons regular sugar (I used a teaspoon of blend 4x sweeter than sugar)
1/2 cup water
A small sprinkling of gluccie (maybe 1/8 to 1/4 of a teaspoon)
Combine first four ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Sprinkle lightly with gluccie and stir/whisk like mad to avoid any clumps. Cook a minute or two and remove from heat.
Delicious! Pour generously over your pancakes and enjoy this magnificent breakfast!
Using the same thickener, you can also make a pancake syrup:
1 cup water
Sugar blend equal to 5 tablespoons sugar
1/2 t. maple syrup
1.2 t. butter extract
Pinch mineral salt
Optional: small blob of molassas for color
1/4 tsp glucomannan
In small pan, combine all ingredients except glucomannan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and sprinkle in the gluccie, whisking constantly. Let simmer for a couple minutes. It will thicken more as it cools. Store extra in the fridge for up to a week.
Don't feel bad if you over-thicken this syrup. I often do. Like I said, there is a learning curve to working with glucomannan. Simply reheat it, and add a little hot water if desired to thin it out.
You can also substitute xanthan gum for the gluccie in this recipe, but I have never tried it myself.
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