Clean Eating Recipe: American Style Pancakes

Pancakes have to be one of my favourite breakfast foods ever. I used to love going to Frankie and Bennies (or anywhere) that served pancakes for a bit of a treat. I didn't do it often, but when I did, man it was good! So when I began eating clean I definitely prepared myself for not having pancakes for breakfast for a good long while. But that was before I opened my Clean and Lean Cookbook and saw this wonderful recipe.

I've tried to find healthy American style pancake recipes before, and they are out there but they often include buying expensive ingredients or ingredients that aren't readily available in my nearest supermarket (namely buckwheat flour). Thankfully, these pancakes are made out of three (yes, three!) cheap and simple ingredients that you could find almost anywhere!

Clean and Lean Pancakes (serves 2):

♥ 100g porridge oats

♥ 200g cottage cheese (!)

♥ 4 eggs

♥ a teaspoon of cinnamon

♥ fruit toppings of your choice (I usually go for strawberries, blueberries and a bit of maple syrup)

Method:

♥  Blend the oats, cottage cheese, eggs, cinnamon and you're ready to go.

Calorie Count (approx):

♥  Total - 774

♥  Per Serving - 387

♥ Per Pancake - 129

♥ + whatever fruit and syrup you use

And it's that simple.

Absolutely delicious! 

Also, it's worth noting that I absolutely hate cottage cheese with a fiery passion so I was dubious the first time I gave these a go but I can confirm that they really don't taste like cottage cheese. I mean I can't guarantee that if you didn't have the toppings there wouldn't be a slight taste there but with the fruit and syrup you really have no idea you're eating anything other than fluffy American pancakes. 

I also think these would be pretty easy to adapt, perhaps putting some vanilla essence in rather than cinnamon, just egg whites if you wanted to lower the calorie intake, or even some protein with the oats. I'm not someone who has ever taken a protein supplement before so I don't know how that would work exactly but I'm sure there'd be a way!

Clean Eating Recipe: Cauliflower Pizza Crust

The idea of cauliflower substitute for carbs is one that's been around for a while. As a self-confessed carb-aholic it's always been hard for me to get my head around why on earth anyone would bother.  However, conveniently I'm also self-confessed cauli-aholic, so now I'm on the clean eating wagon cauli pizza (and cauli rice) was something I had to get on board with and try.

For the crust, I used this recipe and didn't change anything at all. It was my first attempt and I definitely wasn't confident enough to mess with it. I think it turned out ok, a bit burnt around the edges, which I think was down to my rubbish rolling pin action. The recipe was good, easy to follow and tasted gooooood. Although, I think the next time I make this, I'll tone down the amount of herbs used in the base. I like herbs but in this case, they were just a little bit over powering for me.

Cauliflower Pizza Crust - The Breakdown:

♥  Level of ease: 7/10. It's not particularly hard but it is fiddly and frustrating so you need to have your patience hat on when making this! It is possible to make the crust without a food processor (I used a blender), but I believe it would be much easier and quicker with a processor. Also, when the recipe says squeeze the water out, it really means squeeze the water out. This bit was the most annoying and took the longest but is completely essential so don't skimp on it. 

♥  Time: 6/10. It probably took me about 1 hour from start to finish (that's prep, making it and cleaning up afterwards), not too bad and most likely something that could be sped up once you get used to making it.

♥  Taste: 8/10. When it comes to this point it is essential you keep an open mind. No it's not going to taste like your favourite take away pizza and sadly, the cauliflower doesn't magically take on dough like properties whilst in the oven. But what it does do is act as a marvellous conduit for pizza toppings with significantly less calories and without making you feel naughty, fat and bloated. Plus it doesn't taste like cauliflower which is a bonus for all those out there who aren't keen on the veggie. Obviously you can top with whatever you like, and next time I think we'll go for something chicken based but this time, since I was already convincing Nick to go crazy and accept cauliflower as a credible pizza base I didn't want to stray too far away from the topping comfort zone. I went for basically what we would order from a take away - pepperoni, jalapeños, onions and mushrooms (I also put some goats cheese on there as it's meant to be one of the best cheeses for you).

♥  Chances of making again: 10/10. Definitely will be making this again, but for me it's a weekend meal, I wouldn't be doing this after work!

♥  Chances of serving to people who aren't clean eaters: 7/10. Although I think most people would like this after they got over the idea of cauliflower as a pizza base, I don't know if I could be bothered convincing them!

Before the toppings went into the oven:

After:

Clean and Lean Diet - Week Two

Now I'm two weeks into eating clean and so far so good! It's actually become a lot easier this week and I've noticed that I'm not getting as hungry, I'm waking up earlier and I have more energy throughout the day. All of which get a big thumbs up from me! 

I also feel like I'm starting to look like I'm losing weight which is great. It's not necessarily enough for anyone but me to notice but it's a start! I weighed myself on Saturday morning and I've lost about 7lbs since I started this, which I'm actually really impressed with. When I've lost weight before it's been through serious calorie control which is difficult to stick to and often leads to eating foods that aren't good for you and don't keep you full but because they're 'low calorie' or 'low fat' they allow you to stick within you calorie allowance. I am so happy that this isn't the case with Clean and Lean as it doesn't make you feel restricted. You can have anything, you just need to plan ahead. Also, there's basically a clean version of any recipe somewhere online so nothing is out of the question which is so good, I'm a sucker for wanting what I can't have to restrictive diets like that aren't good for me. When I have calorie counted previously I've done ok, but I've never had as much success as 7lbs in two weeks. I expect that in the next week or so it'll become harder to move the weight but for the first two weeks looking at the numbers on the scales is enough to keep me going!

I'm a bit apprehensive about next week though... I have three nights out planned and I'm not sure how the clean eating will stand up. On Tuesday I'm going out for dinner with the girls I play netball with. We're going to an all you can eat world cuisine buffet (not my cup of tea - I suggested Pizza Express but got denied!) Obviously there will be options for me, like salad and veggies, which is more than fine but I'm loathe to pay the full price and then just sit nibbling lettuce all night. Anyway, I'm hoping there'll be some good choices and that I don't lose my willpower in the face of all you can eat Mac n Cheese.

Then on Friday I've got a family 'do' at my parents and on Sunday it's Fathers Day here in the UK so we're having a BBQ. The BBQ I'm not too worried about as it's at our house so I'm going to whip up some clean food. I'm thinking veggie skewers, homemade turkey burgers and maybe some chilli prawn skewers too. I'm also hoping to make these brownies if I can get to a health food store to get the ingredients prior to then! But the alcohol will be flowing and I'm a sucker for a glass of red wine....

I'll let you know how it goes at the end of week three!

Until next time :)