WIAW #30: Pumpkin Protein Pancakes + Game Day Treats

Hi friends and Happy Hump Day!

I hope your week is going well for you. Ours is truckin’ along and the official start to the NBA season will be here before we know it… or next week.

As you probably saw last week, my What I Ate Wednesdays don’t hold much back. I often get questions about what my every day eating habits are, and to help sum it up I participate in Jenn‘s WIAW link up every week.

In no way do I plan meals out for the purpose of looking healthier or more “on track” than I normally would. I eat what I eat, I document it, and I share it with you!

In fact, the beginning of last week’s food choices (Monday through Wednesday) was anything but on track.

Cheat days happen, and I choose to share those with you to help you realize we are, in fact, all human. We all slip up. We all enjoy the occasional margarita (or three) and in turn follow up with a face full of fried cheesecake.

At the end of the day, it’s all about how you handle moving forward from those days or obstacles. For me, one good thing about eating my face off for a few days is that I always land on my feet with cravings for clean, whole foods for a while after that.

This week is the perfect example of this scenario. On a game day yesterday, my body craved healthy eats!

What I Ate Wednesday Tuesday: Fuel For Game Day

I knew this breakfast would be an important one. Instead of grabbing my predictive bowl of fiber cereal, I decided to put a little extra effort into it and take another stab at protein pancakes.

They don’t always come out looking like pancakes, so I don’t really post about them. I first made them back at the beginning of 2012, and used that as inspiration to try again. This time I finally got it down!

Ingredients

Cake:

1/2 cup raw oats

2 Tbsp. egg whites liquid

1 scoop protein powder of choice

splash of almond milk

pumpkin pie spice

cinnamon (both to taste)

Topping:

1/2 cup pumpkin

pumpkin pie spice (to taste)

cinnamon (to taste)

agave nectar (to drizzle on top)

Directions

1. Combine your cake ingredients of choice in a small mixing bowl. Add enough milk to liquify, but not enough to make it runny. Mix well.

2. In a small skillet, spread mixture into a pancake-like shape on stove top on low-medium heat.

3. Cook all the way through by flipping once or twice.  This process should take less than five minutes and while you’re waiting mix up the topping.

4. You can then remove the cake from the heat or spread the topping on while it’s still in the skillet.

5. Drizzle with agave nectar or honey for extra sweetness and enjoy!

Also, try adding some unsweetened applesauce to the pumpkin topping as seen here. So yummy!

The cake was very satisfying and just filling enough to last me through lunch.

Grabbing the rest of my already prepped salad from the refrigerator, I simply heated up and added a serving of butternut squash and drained black beans for more substance.

(Under those two ingredients is a base of spring mix and organic power greens, tomatoes, orange peppers, green peppers, cucumbers, green olives, carrots, and fresh cilantro.)

I topped it all off with freshly ground pepper and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar (not pictured).

I always enjoy butternut squash on my salads but never think to add it at home. I will for sure be doing this again!

After lunch, I hopped in the shower to get ready for the game and had to get out the door soon after. I grabbed some fuel on the go with this Designer Whey protein bar and a banana and enjoyed both on my drive over.

After blocking, I had about an hour in the dressing room and made my own meatless sandwich with the lunch meat they bring to our dressing room for sandwiches.

Super boring, but better than nothing.

We had a close game, but ended up winning over the Washington Wizards. I’m excited to play them again next week on Opening Night!

I wasn’t going to do anything after the game, but got talked into a celebratory margarita at Sagebrush Cantina.

(I chose the skinny version. I love when restaurants offer those!)

I ordered a chicken taco salad for dinner and knew exactly what I was getting into. This thing is ginormous, but will last me with enough leftovers for a few meals!

I asked for extra salsa for the dressing and enjoyed about a third of it. Great way to end the night if you ask me!

Now it’s time for me to get outta here and get ready for a busy day of running around before practice. Hope you all have a good one!

Question of the Day

Skinny margaritas: yay or nay?

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