I started the day with some cheater protein pancakes for breakfast. Why cheater? Because I used Trader Joe’s mix as the base. This is actually what I do with pancakes 75% of the time. This protein pancake recipe is great, but grinding buckwheat on weekday mornings is not always something I’m willing to do. I don’t actually think mixes are that bad when doctored up properly. I used 1/2 cup of mix and then added the following:
- 2 tablespoons liquid egg whites
- 1/4 cup cottage cheese
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons vanilla protein powder
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- cinnamon
- liquid stevia
- vanilla extract
Definitely a little different than the milk, egg and oil the box instructions call for and a whole lot more nutritious.
Mid morning snack was whole wheat puffs (some oddity that my ghetto Asian store sells which are basically like eating air) with peanut butter and banana, lunch was leftover summer lasagna with carrots & hummus and dinner was sausage, peppers, onions and tomatoes with potato salad.
You ready for some ball talk?
In the spirit of this month’s WIAW theme “sensible snacking”, meet the peanut butter chocolate protein ball that really became a cookie (cue the womp, womp, womp sound).
Regardless of shape though, these genius creations from Janetha are delicious. I saw balls in the title, looked at the ingredient list and the baking time and when I realized they’d go from bowl to oven to my mouth in about 15 minutes total, I was in.
I followed her recipe exactly except I subbed in chocolate chips for cherries. Not a bad substitution at all if I do say so. I thought about raisins for a hot second but the chocolate won out. Shocking. I only got 9, not 13 out of the batch so these probably pack closer to 175 calories and 10 grams of protein each which is pretty impressive for a two bite ball cookie. I shoved one in my mouth right before my workout which kicked some sweaty butt yesterday so I call these a success.
Want to party with the rest of us? Check out Jenn’s link up by clicking the button below!
Pancake poll… Mix or from scratch?
I used to do mixes but the sodium for most is outrageous from 390mg-900mg per serving so any mix I can find that’s still tasty but healthy is a big plus!
I’m such a freak about my pancakes (all my mothers fault), but I’m homemade through and through. Love your ball turned cookie creation!
Definitely rom scratch!
Balls, cookies, whatever – it all turns to yum in my mouth anyway. :)
80% of the time I use the cheater method too :) Then add healthier ingredients to make the mixture. My go to basic mix is a multi-grain pancake/waffle mix from Costco.
Haven’t made pancakes in farrrr too long. they seem so labor some (is that really the word?) first thing in the morning, although I guess not if I were to use a mix. Eggs are just about all my brain can handle
Definitely trying that cookie recipe! Yum!
I’ve been using Bob’s Red Mill pancake mix, and am very happy with the results :) I never would think to put COTTAGE CHEESE in my pancakes though, so you got me on that one! Interesting my dear. Interesting.
PS. I almost ALWAYS use organic baby food pouches (my fav is Strawberry, Beet, Kiwi, Pear) instead of eggs in pancakes.
PPS. You don’t have to be a baby to eat them :)
PPPS. And there was actually Kale in my recent Citrus pancakes… score!!
you’d never even know it was in there either once you whisk it up! ;)
Kale in pancakes…now THAT’s impressive! How did I miss that when I read that post?!
Mmmm…I love how much these “balls” look like cookies (twss? I guess that would be kind of weird)!
Mmmm peanut butter balls. Yum! I too have used Bob’s Red Mill pancake mix. It is great when time is short. My favorite pancakes are more time consuming and involve whipping egg whites, etc. Mom used to make them every Sunday when we were growing up. Maybe I love them so much because of the memories. :)
I love pancakes in general, wether it is mix or from scratch. But normally I like them from scrtach!! Love your cookies!!
Those balls look fantastic- perfect for a pre-workout energy boost!
I do definitely enjoy pancakes from pancake mix but I usually make mine from scratch. I find that the mix gives me too much of a boost and then a giant sugar crash, so I generally make mine with whole wheat flour and oats.
I love it when you share your balls..
that sausage dish looks really good! one of the best things about sausage is you can toss it in any sauce or anything really and it just automatically makes it taste better. i checked out the recipe for those delicious cookies and love it! we can substitute protein powders with jusy flour, right?
I would think so or just use more oats!
Those PB chocolate protein ballcookies look delicious! As does your stack of protein pancakes for breakfast, yum! I generally don’t use a pancake mix, but that’s only because I save pancakes for the weekends when I have more time. Weekday breakfast shortcut, I don’t blame you!
i’m all about some balls talk, especially when they involve chocolate and peanut butter. ;) i love kodiak cakes mix, and then i doctor it up with some add-ins. it’s just so easy and tastes amazing.
I think I need to have these balls/cookies/deliciousness in my life asap!
Great looking balls that actually look like cookies! Anything with peanut butter & choc chips has to be good!
The balls sound great, regard of their shape ;) Thanks for sharing!
chocolate chips! that’s a great addition right there.
I’m so glad you posted these again! I visited you another time and wrote down the recipe, but still haven’t made them! Thanks for the reminder!
These are actually different ones, not my recipe. But now that you said that, they are quite similar! You should def make either one. Both equally delicious :)
These sound fantastic, though I do miss the ‘ball’ shape! Hopefully another recipe soon? ;)
I’m not a pancake snob, I just never think to put pancake mix in my shopping cart (don’t know why), so it’s scratch for me.
Whatever you want to call those, they look so good. Gotta go check those out! I always make pancakes from scratch, but mostly because my hubby is boring and only likes the same pancakes all the time and they’re incredibly simple, haha. I really need to start experimenting, I know I like pancakes but I’m usually too lazy to experiment just for myself.
those cookie balls look really really good regardless of shape..i’d eat anything ball-shaped or not! if i’m in the mood to whip up pancake mix, then i’ll do it from scratch, but if i’m lazy..who cares if you use store mix? they’ve been tested and they’re tried & true for a reason!
Box for me! I just personally don’t think homemade pancakes taste much different (or better) than the good ol’ box, but maybe that’s just because I haven’t found the right recipe
mmmmm balllls. I would totally 86 the cherries sub choc chips too. Good choice.
Hey, Gina! I stumbled on your site when I saw a recipe for protein pancakes on FoodGawker a while back. I saw that you were doing the Jamie Eason workouts; I’m signed up with Bodybuilding.com, too and was wondering how that workout/diet plan is working for you.
Hi Rebecca- I was doing Livefit and made it to about week 8 when my work and personal travel schedule got insane. I tried to stick with week 7 and 8 until I could complete them diligently (not in a hotel makeshift gym) and then intended to progress on from there. However, phase 2 workouts get insanely long (imo). It was just hard to stay motivated or cut out enough time (90 minutes+) 6 days a week and so I’ve kind of stopped. I’m still working out 6 days a week and using the Livefit workouts, just condensed versions of them. So instead of 7 or 8 exercises, I’ll do 4-5 and supersets and then shorter HIIT cardio instead of a constant 30 mins of steady state cardio. I did see (and continue to see even though I’m modifying the workouts) a great improvement in my arms, back and legs. Stomach is the hardest part for me and I know it has a lot to do with clean eating but even with cleaning my eats up, I’m still not super impressed with that area. Hope that answers your question, feel free to email me if you want to discuss it more :)
I am all over these balls…er…..cookies.
All that food looks amazing! Really into protein recipes now that I am doing P90X and Insanity. Have been following your blog since finding you on Healthy Aperture and really like it, especially since I eat gluten-free and love healthy yummy food. Look forward to more posts :)