Week 15: A Pancake Recipe

Weight:                    164.8
Week Loss:               1.8
Cumulative Loss:  26.8

Seth's down 20.7 pounds, so he's hit a milestone this week.  (Again... stupid new scale.)  That takes the Team Mintz total to 47.5 pounds.  Only 2.5 pounds to go to the 50-pound mark!

Most of the key to our success has been a drastic reduction in our restaurant dining, and a corresponding increase in what we cook at home.  So this week, I thought I'd post my reduced fat banana pancake recipe I've been tinkering with for the past few months.

The recipe started as a regular old pancake recipe, and I've been modifying it as I go along trying to make it as tasty as I can with as few calories / fat.  Now, what the exact counts are I'm not exactly sure, but it makes around 10 palm-sized pancakes, and I usually give them 2-3 weight watchers points each, if it matters to anyone.

It should be mentioned, the texture of these is kind of rubbery, since most of the moisture in them comes from banana instead of butter.    They're still mighty tasty though, and healthy.  And the quality of the end result is VERY dependent on using a very ripe, soft and sweet banana.

And now, the recipe:

1 medium-large soft ripe banana
3/4 cup flour
1 rounded tsp baking powder
1-2 tsp white sugar (depends how sweet you like your pancakes... for some the banana might be enough)
1-2 tsp butter
1 Tbsp egg white
1/2 c. skim milk (we use Skim Plus. it works pretty well.)
Splash of vanilla extract... (maybe a 1/4 tsp? I just drizzle a little in.)

Mash up the banana with a fork in a mixing bowl, and then use a hand mixer to liquify it.
Melt the butter in the microwave, add it to the bowl, along with the milk, the egg white, and the vanilla - mix with the hand mixer.
Add the baking soda and sugar, Mix.
Add the flour.  Mix well.
We have a 2-cup measuring cup that works well for pouring.  Put all of your batter into something that pours well, heat up a pan or griddle and plop some palm sized pancakes on there.  Use your favorite method to keep them from sticking to the pan.  Keep a close eye on them while they're cooking, so they don't burn.

I suggest serving them with some ripe strawberries.  A quart of strawberries plus these pancakes is usually a good portion-controlled breakfast for Seth, Jade and myself.

If anyone makes them, let me know what you think. :-)

That's all for this week folks.