Protein Pancakes

Breakfast is one of the most important meals of my day.  It provides the energy I need to handle the morning commute across the 520 floating bridge, deal with decaffeinated coworkers (those that were running late and missed the Starbucks drive-thru), and all of the trivial issues that have piled up in my inbox.  If I have a little extra time, I like to have protein pancakes with sugar-free pumpkin spice syrup.  I've borrowed this recipe from the Body for Life site.

Ingredients:
2 eggs and 1 egg white
1/2 cup uncooked, old-fashioned oatmeal
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
1/4 cup plain Fage nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 oz. Sugar-Free Pumpkin Spice syrup (available at Cash & Carry)

Preheat your skillet to 300º.  Blend the five ingredients above in your bullet blender until smooth.  Spray your skillet with cooking spray and pour several pancake sized dollops of batter.  Cook on one side until the edges begin to bubble and are crispy.  Flip and cook for a few minutes more.  Serve hot with the syrup.

This recipe makes 2 servings.

Calories:  265
Fat:  7g
Carbs: 22g
Protein:  31g

Protein Latté

I love my morning coffee, I live for my morning coffee. On IP, its a restricted item. OK, its not restricted but the way I like my coffee makes it a restricted item. I'm a huge fan of drip Starbucks Pikes Place with cream and two Splenda packets. Since starting IP, I've had to give up the cream and Splenda. Ever resourceful, I've replaced that morning routine with its high-protein equivalent. Here's my recipe for a Protein Vanilla Latté:

1 Worldwide Nutrition Vanilla Creme Protein Drink (Trader Joe's)
2 shots of espresso
1 cup of ice

I have a Tassimo machine and so pulling shots via the Tassimo discs are easy. If you don't have access to an espresso machine, the Tassimo, or Keurig--I'm sorry. Get one. Pour the two shots of espresso over the ice and add the chilled vanilla drink. Yum!

Protein Mocha "Frappuccino al Via"

I love this. I have it nearly every morning for breakfast. Its super-quick and I can drink it while I'm on my morning commute across the 520 and headed to Bothell. Here's what you'll need:

1 Premier Nutrition Protein Chocolate Shake (Costco)
1 cup ice
1 Starbucks Italian Roast Via Packet (Starbucks)

Put all three items in the a blender and blend until smooth. For variation, I use sugar-free coffee syrups to change the flavor. Just add the following:

Almond Joy - 2 pumps of Coconut, 1 pump Almond, 1 tbsp Cocoa
Mounds - 2 pumps Coconut, 1 tbsp Cocoa
Reese's PB Cup - 2 pumps Peanut Butter, 1 tbsp Cocoa


You'll find these syrups for about $4 per bottle at the Cash & Carry and the cocoa at any grocery store.

If you were to order this at Starbucks, you'd be looking at 370 calories and only 5 grams of protein. Not nearly enough protein to justify the 370 calories. If in a pinch, I'll take my PN chocolate drinks with me and have the barista blend them with ice and two shots of espresso.

Calories: 165 (175 w/ cocoa)
Fat: 3g (4g w/ cocoa)
Carbs: 6g (9g w/ cocoa)
Protein: 30g (31g w/ cocoa)