Yummy Protein Pancakes

I love pancakes!  And nothing smells better than pancakes cooking in the morning.   The cinnamon and vanilla in these babies makes them smell fantastic!

My daughter is very healthy minded and used to make all kinds of different things with protein powder. Pudding, pancakes, you name it. I picked this up from her, researched other recipes and finally settled on a recipe that works.

I use Beverly International's Ultimate Muscle Protein (in vanilla)

I find it's easiest to mix the ingredients in the blender.  Although a food processor works too.  (Too much mess for me though.)

Then scoop the batter on to your griddle or frying pan.  I know, typically when I am cooking pancakes, and the little bubbles start to appear on the pancake tops, and then burst, it is time to flip the pancakes.  These pancakes will not do that.  So keep a close eye on them, or you might burn them--as I did my second batch!

Protein Pancakes
Makes total of 4 pancakes, 2 servings of 2 Pancakes each
WW P+: 3.75 per serving

 3/4 C. Oatmeal, dry (I use old-Fashioned)
1/2 C. low-fat cottage cheese
1 scoop protein powder**
2 egg whites
5 TBSP 1% milk (or almond milk)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp sweetener (or sugar)

Place the dry oatmeal in the blender and blend until fine. Add protein powder and cottage cheese. Add egg white and spices. Then add 3 TBSP of milk, and blend to check consistency. Add 2-3 more TBSP of milk to reach desired consistency. (Thin enough to scoop out, but not so thin it runs down the sides of your griddle).
Scoop the batter onto a hot griddle or pan. I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup, and spread out the mixture a little to thin it out. Cook until first side is complete and flip. Cook until done.

Notes on Points value: **My protein powder is 2 PT+ for one scoop. 
Use almond milk instead of 1% and save 1/2 PT+ per serving.

Have an awesome week!
Liane

Linking up:

At Home With Kim ~ Weigh~In~Wednesday {Guest Post}

Good Morning Friends! Today, I am guest posting over at At Home With Kim.

Kim hosts Weigh In Wednesday. It is a great place to check in on your weight loss and healthy eating goals each week. Kim also recently started a Facebook group for the Weigh~In~Wednesday friends. This group has been growing by leaps and bounds! It is a private group so only members of the groups can participate and see the discussion. I encourage you to join the group as well!

Recently Kim has been posting a weekly challenge that consists of an exercise and healthy eating goal. It is a fun way to make new, healthy habits. Make sure you head over to Kim's and check out my guest post!

Have an awesome week!
Liane

Linking up:

{Weighing~In} on a Week-End Retreat

This week-end, I met up with my quilting girlfriends for a week-end retreat. There are 7 of us, at the moment.  Most of us have been getting together for the last 10 or so years. We stay at a retreat house which sleeps 10 and was built in the 1880's. It is owned by one of the quilting girls.  We quilt, eat and drink all week-end. Sewing takes place LATE into the night and often times begins very early in the morning.

We have certain rituals~~ home cooked dinner on Friday night, breakfast each morning, and Saturday night dinner out. The retreat house is located in a small town so restaurant options are very limited. As you can imagine, mostly, it is an opportunity for over-indulging in not-so-healthy foods. So I attempted to take some healthier snack options, in fact, many of us did.  Having healthier snacks available did help to curb some of the snacking on candies and other home make goodies.  It helped, but I still didn't completely avoid the less healthy options.

On Saturday night, I did make a healthier (loose term) dinner selection than I really wanted.  The mostly fried-fare menu was not supportive to my healthy eating attempts.  But all in all, I was one of the few that left dinner satisfied but not miserable and overly full.  Small success!  And typically I would drink wine in the evenings (for bonus calories!).  This time, for various reasons, I had only a half of a glass.  (Yay for me!)

Swoon Quilt Block

Following the Weigh-In Wednesday challenge this week was definitely a challenge.  Finding the time, space and sometimes a chair (for the triceps dips) was a real challenge.  I was in Texas earlier in the week and every straight back chair in the house was replaced with bar stools.  I ended up using the coffee table for my dips.  This actually worked fine except it put me at exactly the right height for this guy to be in my face.

Remy - Forever curious!

Through my attempts at dips, planks and water, I'm weighing in the same as last week.  Better than a gain, I know.  But I would love to say I lost a few pounds this week.

I'm home from retreat and starting to unpack. So that I can repack.  My husband and I leave Friday for Hawaii!  And I haven't packed a thing.  EEECK!  I'm now faced with the challenge of packing summer clothes and bathing suits for next week~~that FIT.  Depressing in itself, and ever so stressful! 

My plan for the trip, is lots of walking, use of the hotel gym and making healthier choices when we are eating out.  I'm in this for the long haul, and life time habits are what it's about.  Starting NOW!

Have a good week!

Linking up:

Weigh~In Wednesday

Like most of the people I know, I've fought my weight for what seems, like FOREVER.  Each year, my "normal weight" is just a little higher than the year before.  And I've noticed as I age, my body carries that weight differently.  At 47, it is really unflattering to have the muffin-top thing going on.

Tired of battling it by myself and looking for something, anything to help get me going, I recently joined At Home With Kim's Weigh~In Wednesday group.  I've been a follower of Kim's blog for a while and always enjoyed her posts.  I could always relate to her and her WIW posts.  But I always kind of hung in the background and didn't really participate.  I'd read her posts nearly every week, and occasionally I'd comment but never a real commitment.  That has changed!

At the first of the year, the WIW Group started to take off, and Kim created a WIW FB Group.  I love this group!  I love the accountability and the ideas that come from being part of this group.  Everyone is so good about cheering each other on, providing encouragement and even sharing recipes! I love that I am reminded of the weight loss basics on a regular basis (eat less, move more).

No more lurking in the shadows waiting for the magical weight fairy to rid me of my excess weight.  I am committed to this group and I am committed to achieving the weight loss and healthy goals I have set for myself this year.  The buck stops here and the trends end now.  I'm excited about what 2013 will bring!

So with this new commitment, I've lost 2.6 pounds this week.  Not a staggering loss, I realize, but I will take every ounce of it.  I follow WW online program, and it is amazing what happens when you actually follow the plan!

Thanks Kim, for YOUR commitment to this group.  I know we can all do this together!

Linking up to:

Why Red River Crossings?

Why?  I don't know.  Except that I spend a lot of time burning up the highways between the Oklahoma side of Lake Texoma and the Dallas, TX area.  ALOT.  It's not so bad.  I used to drive between Oklahoma City and Dallas.  It is less of a drive now than it was then.  Yes, I am solely responsible for the wear and tear, and construction on Interstate 35 for the last several years.

Rad (my husband) and I have been married just a couple of short years.  Prior to meeting, I lived in the Dallas area and he lived near Oklahoma City.  After meeting up on week-ends, vacations and whenever else we could find time together, I moved to Oklahoma City.  His son had two years of high school left.  The plan was to sell the house in Oklahoma once he graduated, and we would move to the Dallas area, into the home I still owned.

And then he tricked me.  Rad had a cabin at Lake Texoma that his grandparents had built years ago.  We spent alot of week-ends there.  It was a great meeting point for us.  Not quite in the middle, but close.

We have since built a new home on the lake, which is within walking distance of the cabin.  We love living here.  I work for a company in the Dallas area.  I work from home the majority of the time, but am in the office about eight days a month.

And that's why I'm crossing the Red River.

My hope is this blog will become a common ground for all of the things I love to do like quilting, cooking, and fun at the lake.


Welcome!
Liane