Carrot Cake Protein Pancakes

Cake… for breakfast? YES PLEASE! But before we dive into the recipe, did you guys know Starbucks teamed up with Living Social today? For the next 12 hours you can spend $5 to get a $10 Starbucks gift card!!! Woo hoo!! #coffeeaddict You’ll have no excuse not to try my clean treat creation now

Click this link to purchase your gift card.

Ok now on to the pan-CAKES!

Carrot Cake Protein Pancakes

slightly adapted from this recipe

Serves 1 (makes 3, 1/4 cup pancakes)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup carrots, finely grated
2 egg whites
1/4 cup 2% low fat cottage cheese
1 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/2 tbsp ground flax seed
1 scoop protein powder (I used Gaspari Cinnamon Roll)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tbsp agave nectar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Pinch of salt

Optional Toppings
1 Laughing Cow cinnamon cream cheese wedge
about 1 tbsp (or 6 whole) chopped almonds

Directions:
1. Put all of the ingredients, except the carrots, into a food processor or blender. Mix until everything is fully incorporated and there are no lumps. Add the carrots and pulse a couple times until the carrots are just mixed in.

2. Put your mixture into the refrigerator for about 10 minutes, allowing everything to set. (**I made my batter the night before and left it in the fridge overnight so in the morning all I had to do was heat my griddle and cook them.)

3. Preheat skillet over medium heat. Spoon mixture onto skillet using a 1/4 size measuring cup. (makes 3, 1/4 cup pancakes) Cook until medium sized bubbles form.

4. Flip and cook another 2-3 minutes on the second side.

5. Plate first pancake and spread with a third of the cream cheese wedge. Repeat with other two pancakes and sprinkle the top layer with a dusting of cinnamon and the chopped almonds. Enjoy!

Nutrition Values (for pancakes alone):
299 calories
5g fat
26.9g carbs
3.6g fiber
16g sugar
38.6g protein

Nutrition Values (with toppings):
389 calories
12.5g fat
30.4g carbs
4.4g fiber
17.3g sugar
42.4g protein