Paleo pumpkin protein pancakes

I eat (almost) strictly paleo and for the longest time I’ve seen people posting photos of their protein pancakes but never got around to cooking them! I used to love pancakes (store-bought, boxed mix) covered in syrup… but we all know they aren’t the most healthy option – so why not make a healthier option?!

I searched around for several different recipes, but in the end kind of went for what I thought would work the best. Here’s the recipe I thought worked the best:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (pure canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 serving of protein powder (I used Visalus, it takes like cake, enough said)
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1/4 almond milk
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (you can use cinnamon or nutmeg if that’s what you have)
• 1/2 tsp of baking powder

While beginning to measure all the ingredients out… this disaster took place:

OOPS! Surprisingly, coconut flour is much more dense which made it easier to clean up than wheat flour!

(There is a positive side to everything, right?)

Preparation

Step one: Measure out all ingredients in processor/blender.

Step two: Blend until smooth. My batter sort of resembled cookie dough, so I went with it! If you prefer it to be slightly runnier, add more water and mix again.

Step three: Turn burner onto 3-4, place batter in a little coconut oil, and let it cook!

Step four: Let cook about 10 minutes on one side (remember, LOW heat) and flip – if you really want to work your cooking skills – give the flip in the air a shot! I’m happy to report I landed the flip!

Since my dough was like cookie dough, it looks like a peanut butter cookie – don’t be fooled – there is no sugar or wheat in this!

Step five: Once cooked (mine was still soft like a cookie) top with your preferred toppings! I chose natural peanut butter and raspberries!

A few tips:

• My batter was quite dry, but I liked that. If you prefer runnier batter, use more water and or another egg.
• Some recipes call for stevia or some kind of sweetener. You’ll see I didn’t use any because I used Visalus in this recipe – it already has a sweet flavour to it so I didn’t need to add sugar or sweetener of any sort.
• Pumpkin is my favourite – feel free to swap that part out for whatever fruit/nuts you prefer!

Do you have a protein pancake recipe that works well for you? Please let me know – I’m looking to try others to see which I like the best!