These pancakes make you thinner

I really wish my mornings included sunrise yoga, cooperative children and me tossing the quinoa I made on the weekend into an egg white scramble, but because the night before often comprises eleven episodes of The Good Wife and a half bottle of Pinot Noir, the start of my day is generally something of a shit show.

Somewhere between my third cup of coffee and eating the crusts of my kids’ gluten-free French toast, I recall these irritating facts:

1. Remember Tim Ferriss? The guy that wrote The Four Hour Work Week? Anyhoo, he also wrote The Four Hour Body and he ‘proved’ that the most important thing you can do for fat loss is to eat 30g of protein within 30 minutes of waking.

If you want to watch a summary of his thinking, watch:  Tim Ferriss talks The Four Hour Body

2. There are basically two hormones that govern how much of a pig you make of yourself: leptin and ghrelin. Leptin is basically made of fat and tells you to stop eating. Ghrelin is secreted mainly in your stomach lining. Ghrelin increases hunger. Ergo, Ghrelin is a little bitch. A high protein diet basically helps leptin get into your brain easier, so you feel satisfied on fewer calories.

3. Eating 2 eggs for breakfast has been shown to boost weight loss by 65%, compared to the same amount of calories from more delicious things like bagels and croissants. Dammit.

So now I am faced with a conundrum:

1. I do not want to be fat.
2. I think I am a bit fat.
3. I have neither the time nor the inclination in the morning to make a decent breakfast.
4. I have the kind of sweet tooth that makes me confiscate party packs “because you’ve had enough sweets” just so that I can gnaw on a Fizzer late at night.

Enter the Protein Pancake.

About 300 calories of yum

You need:

• Eggs (whites or whole – your call – or Woolies does those liquid egg whites)
• Whey protein powder (Gold Standard Whey by Optimum Nutrition is a global bestseller for a reason)
• Oatmeal or any other flour (spelt is good if you’re sensitive to gluten or if you’re a hipster)

Whisk the ingredients, fry in a little coconut oil and top with cinnamon and xylitol or raspberries or, if you want to make your mouth truly happy, Life Matrix’s maple or vanilla flavoured sugar free syrup.

Boom.

Variations:

• If you don’t have oatmeal and want to Tim Noakes it, you can use almond flour or coconut flour. This will drop the carbs and up the fat and make the pancake denser and more filling. Did somebody say Banting?
• You can get clever and add some chia seeds, which will boost the fibre and Omega 3 content. Better brain power? Check. More regular bowel movements? Check mate.
• If you opt for egg whites only and want to add some good fat, some almond butter is a good addition.
• If you don’t like the idea of using whey protein and want a pancake mix that your kids can eat too, use Greek yoghurt instead of the whey.

Be creative with your taste buds and health concerns in mind. Once you’ve got the basic recipe down, you can add blueberries or raw cacao or bananas or maca powder (Benefits of Maca Powder) or the moondust of an ageless vegan unicorn. Whatever makes you feel like you got it all this morning.

If you make the mixture the night before, it literally takes 3 minutes and while it ain’t no Pain au Chocolat, it’s pretty delicious for a 300 calorie/30g protein breakfast.

Bon appetit!