Hello Stranger...

hello, stranger!

Oh wait, I guess I’ve been the stranger.  Sorry!  Recently a friend of mine said that she missed “the Nook”.  I took this as challenge to post more than 1x per year.  Is that so hard???  Sometimes, yes.  

The truth is I do really enjoy blogging, but time just gets away from me.  Doesn’t it do that to you too?

Confession: If I borrowed a fraction of the time I spend scrolling and “pinning” I could probably turn out a post or two....or a hundred. 

Anyhow, today I have something to share.  Something good, and I mean something that TASTES good.  And anything that tastes good is worth sharing, right? 

During all the aforementioned scrolling and pinning I found an interesting recipe pin and wouldn’t you know?  I actually made it!  What???  Yes, I actually made something I pinned and I liked it!  No Joke!

SO, The pin that inspired me was for Greek Yogurt Pancakes. 

(You can feel free to go over there for the recipe if you want.  I’m not trying to say that I INVENTED Greek yogurt pancakes, but I am going to give you my play-by-play right here at the nook.)

Now, know this…I am a pancake-traditionalist (butter and maple syrup and occasionally a few blueberries. That is it for me.) and I have a pretty slam-dunk recipe that I got from my grandma, so I’m not saying that this is “my pancake recipe” but this recipe is truly awesome because it’s way healthier than my grandma’s pancakes and I feel pretty good about eating these cakes….ALL DAY LONG.

This recipe is also simple…as in EASY.  The ingredient list is inexpensive too.  There is no reason not to try this.  

I’m calling mine Protein Packed Greek Yogurt Pancakes

PPGYP??? Ok, Maybe not.

Let’s just get started…

Buy this:

1 container (6oz) Greek yogurt (any variety-you really don’t taste the flavor much…at least I didn’t)

1 egg 

1/2 cup flour (whole wheat if you like)

1 tisp baking soda

A splash of milk or Light Vanilla silk milk (could be up to 1/4c.)

Do this….

Start by getting your griddle goin’.  Medium heat and give it a little spray of the cooking spray.

Now, In a bowl, mix up your egg and your yogurt until it’s nice and creamy. 

Next add the flour and baking soda and mix ‘er up.

You’re going to notice that this batter is THICK!  That’s okay because we’re going to use the milk to thin it out.  That’s why I say “up to” 1/4 cup.  Just get it to the consistency that you like.

Hopefully by now your skillet is nice and hot and you can get started cooking these babies.

SO, I don’t know if grandma taught me this or what, but I always make a “test pancake”.  It’s the first one and it’s tiny  and it tells me if my griddle is ready for the real thing.  Plus I like to use it to kind of sop up that cooking spray that is now kind of brown and yucky and doesn’t seem like anything I want to eat on my pancakes.  So if you want to, make a test pancake and if it’s a success move on to the real deal.

Using a largish spoon, spread out some batter on the skillet.  I like to make about 6 pancakes that are about 4 1/2 inches in diameter.  You can make em bigger or smaller.  If you are counting calories just keep track of how many you make and if they are all pretty close in size you can just do a little division to get the right caloric value per cake…make sense??

When the cake starts to bubble, go ahead and give it a flip.  And then cook it on the other side.  Don’t overcook it, but you do want it to have time to cook through.

Note: maybe it’s my cheep-o stove, but I find that any time I’m cooking pancakes, I have to keep turning my heat down a bit because the cakes are cooking too fast!  Do this if you think yours are getting overdone on the outside before the inside has a chance to set up.

When you’re done it’s time to dress these babies up! Like I said, I’m a traditional girl.  I love butter and maple syrup.  But in the spirit of these cakes being a “healthier” option I chose to dress them with a couple of spoonfuls of mixed berries that I had previously macerated with a little honey.  Mmmm….honey.

And, because I simply cannot do pancakes without maple syrupy goodness, I gave em a little drizzle of that too. 

(Love you, Mrs. B.)

IN the end they looked like this…. 

You want to know the kicker??  This whole bowl of pancake batter only has 330 calories…TOTAL! 

(in case you need proof….yogurt 120+flour 120+egg 70+silk milk 20=330!)

Here is my estimation of the caloric value of this scrumptious little meal…

3 pancakes  165 cal.

Berries (1/4 cup) 50 cal.

2 Tbs. Mrs B’s syrup  50 cal.

Total: 265 Calories

Protein: 10 Grams!!

So, now you see why I’d eat these ALL DAY LONG!

Quick Confession: I did. I made a batch for breakfast and then finished them off at lunch.   Guilty….or am I??  Please tell me that you're going to give these a try.

Love,

S

PS: This post was fun.  Maybe I won’t wait a year before posting again!