Greek Yogurt Pancakes

   So, I've become addicted to pancakes. There's nothing unusual in that, I grant you, but I'm so careful with what I eat that pancakes went off the menu 2 years ago. But I came across a recipe - such a simple simple recipe - that put them right back on again, and I thought I'd share it with you today, on pancake day!

   Yogurt pancakes.

   Yup, Greek yogurt gives you a great dose of protein with much lower fat and carbs. It's awesome. Just throw together a bit of Greek yogurt with an egg, some flour and baking powder and you're away! And its so versatile - you can add all kinds of flavours with fruit or powders, or by simply opting for a Greek yogurt that contains fruit.

   So, every Sunday for the past 4 weeks I've had pancakes for breakfast, and they've been deliciously clean and healthy - well, except one, but that was my birthday.

Basic Greek yogurt pancakes recipe

Serves 1; 4 small pancakes;

215 cals; 18g protein; 25g carbs

Ingredients:

80g Greek yogurt (protein & calcium)

1 medium egg (protein and loads of vitamins and minerals)

1/4 cup whole meal flour (carbs and loads of vitamins and minerals)

1 tsp baking powder (raising agent)

   Just combine the yogurt and egg together, then add in the flour and baking powder and cook in a pan until little holes start to form on the top, then flip it over for half the time.

   The mixture is thick so it doesn't spread out, but that means you can make shapes with it, like hearts, smiley faces and so on.

   Now, the above recipe doesn't sound great, but as I said, it's easy to add clean and healthy flavour to it without adding any refined sugar at all. Use fruit juice, set aside a little bit of fruit smoothie and add it into the mixture, use powdered fruit, flavoured protein powder, or just use Greek yogurt with fruit or honey already in it. I assure you: there's no need to add any sugar at all.

   Raspberry pancakes: take a handful of raspberries and soak them for about 5 minutes to really soften them up. Drain the water and transfer them into a bowl and mash them up using a fork. Then you add the rest of the ingredients: the egg and yogurt, mix it together, then add the flour and baking powder! Easy, fruity, and top with another handful of raspberries and you'll not only have a deliciously sweet and fruity breakfast, but also have knocked out one of your 5 a day!
   40g raspberries add about 25 calories.

   Baobab pancakes: add 2 teaspoons of baobab powder (I use Aduna) to the basic recipe for a sherbety, fruity pancake breakfast.
   Adds minimal calories.

   Lemon and matcha pancakes: add the juice of half a lemon and a teaspoon of match to the above recipe, and you'll get a wonderful lemony omelette packed full of antioxidents.
   Adds minimal calories.

  Chocolate pancakes: add a tablespoon of cocoa powder - I found that a sachet of Options hot chocolate was just perfect, making them perfectly chocolatey while adding only 40 calories. Alternatively, use cacao powder for a little healthy boost for your heart. If the mixture becomes too thick, you may want to add a tablespoon of water. I found it necessary with the hot chocolate.

   For my birthday I decided to treat myself - it was my first time making the pancakes so I just added lemon to the base recipe, but it was more than good enough...but it was also my birthday, so while the pancakes were clean, they were somewhat less healthy when I put mini marshmallows between each and let them melt beneath the heat, and then added a little whipped cream to the top. But like I said: birthday! It was healthy for the most part, the only sugar came from the marshmallows themselves. And it was good.