Easy banana protein pancakes

Ingredients

3/4 cup extra fluffy pancake mix 

1 cup water (approximately) 

1 mashed banana 

3/4 cup oats 

spoonful peanut butter 

few dashes cinnamon 

couple swirls syrup 

Instructions

To begin, add the pancake mix to small-to-medium sized mixing bowl. Follow with the water; approximately one cup should work, though add as much water to the mix until the desired runny or thick state (I prefer mine to the point that it is thick enough to not run off the spoon, but not too thick to stir). 

Meanwhile, peel the banana and lay the naked banana on a plate; using a fork, mash the banana to a “mush” so as to leave no lumps. Add the mashed banana to the mix. Follow with the oats; stir together the new ingredients into the mix to a homogenous state. The oats, when mixed together fully, will combine with the water to create an oatmeal-like consistency (and possibly flavor; don’t let this scare you off if you don’t particularly like oatmeal).  

For that needed addition of protein, add a spoonful of peanut butter; depending on how thick you want your pancakes to turn out, the more peanut butter added then the thicker and denser the pancakes will turn out. Splash into the mix a few dashes of cinnamon; add more if you enjoy the flavor of cinnamon (unlike myself) for a nice bite and contrast to the prior ingredients. 

Before stirring together the mix and proceeding to the cooking process, add a couple swirls of syrup to the mix for a light sweet taste (this is a family tradition, for those who may question this step). Stir everything together one last time until fully blended; let the mix sit for a few minutes so as to allow it to set and create extra fluffy pancakes. 

To end, use either a flat griddle or average frying pan to cook the pancakes set on medium to low heat. Cook time per pancake will vary depending on pancake size; flip when multiple bubbles begin to show on the pancake’s topside. The optimal pancake will turn out with a nice golden, slightly crisp to the touch finish. 

Serve with butter, syrup, fruit, etc.; I topped mine with more peanut butter, a small amount of syrup, and brown sugar sprinkled on top. Enjoy this not-your-average, delicious protein pancake! 

Commentary

I woke up one day recently craving specifically banana pancakes (as my mom and I had made years ago when I was a kid), so I checked if I had all the ingredients and was only missing the banana; the nice thing about this recipe is most homes will already have the ingredients on-hand, which means it can be made virtually whenever! I proceeded to put together all the ingredients I thought would work well in a pancake, using my prior experience. 

When I was a kid pancakes were the go-to breakfast food, but since we ate pancakes so much we had to find ways to switch them up from time to time; sometimes we would add food coloring for a different colored batch, make one huge pancake, or add fruit and/or spices for a completely new taste. Given, this recipe not only turned out great, but it also brought me back to my childhood. 

As with every meal, protein is an essential aspect, so I thought what would be better than adding peanut butter to the banana; I also remembered how much I love oats in cookies and pancakes and thought I would try that, too. While this recipe may seem somewhat complicated for simple pancakes, it is much easier to put together than you may think—and when you taste the finished dish, it is very much worth it!  

Whether you like banana or not (as many seem to not, though I love them), with all the ingredients it is not that prominent of a flavor. Upon tasting the finished pancake it may seem that it is so soft and dense inside that it is not fully cooked, but that is simply because of the soft-denseness of the banana, peanut butter, and oats combination. 

These fruity, protein-filled, and overall very healthy pancakes are great for any meal of the day and are just as great the next day or two warmed up for a quick protein boost!