A Nutrition Mechanic client recently asked: “Is it okay to have pancakes as a snack option before a workout?”
My answer is YES, so long as we’re talking about an upgraded pancake. Not the classic kind of pancakes that have little nutritional value (consisting mainly of refined flours) and are topped with mounds of butter and syrup. Instead, let’s do your body better by giving it calories that count….and still taste good.
While in a dream world (to some folks), we wouldn’t use packaged pancake mixes at all, I have found some of them to be super convenient and provide a nutritional upgrade. One of my go to mixes In this case is the Birch Benders brand which is handy if your kitchen pantry is devoid of the dry flours. Version 1 of my Birch Benders pumpkin flapjack can be found here.
The main differences between this pumpkin flapjack concoction and version 1 are that I used freshly baked pie pumpkin (“baking pumpkin”) instead of canned pumpkin and I increased the amount of pancake mix and protein. Bonus!!
Recipe ingredients:
1.5 cups of Birch Benders paleo pancake mix
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (you can increase this if you want more of the spice flavor!)
1 Tbsp hemp hearts
35 grams (by weight) chocolate whey protein isolate powder (I used Thorne; If you’re not using whey, you can substitute your preferred protein powder)
1 large egg
1/2 c pumpkin puree (you can still use canned, just be sure it’s not ‘pumpkin pie filling’)
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 c unsweetened vanilla coconut milk (from carton, but you can use just about any milk here)
optional toppings such as chopped pecans, blueberries, or dark cacao chips
Preparation steps:
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and let sit for a few minutes to thicken. If you like less dense pancakes, you can add more liquid (start with a few tablespoons of water or milk of choice, mix and see how it “feels” in consistency after it sits for another few minutes. The more runny and thin the batter, the less dense of a flapjack.
Get your griddle pan going on medium to medium-high heat. You can opt to lightly oil the pan with coconut oil or olive oil.
Use a large spoon (or small ladle) to get the batter onto the pan and your flapjacks griddlin’ up! If you want to throw in a couple add-ons (like the chopped nuts), go ahead and sprinkle them on now.
Carefully flip with a spatula once you see the edges firming up. After flipping, you may want to lightly press down the cake with your spatula to flatten it for more even cooking.
Gobble up or store in the freezer for later nibbling (put them in the toaster, microwave, or in a skillet to reheat).
Basic nutritional info per flapjack (yield of 10):
125 calories
11 grams carbohydrate (3.5 grams fiber)
8 grams protein
5.5 grams fat
~1.5:1 ratio of carbohydrate to protein
So what about eating 1-2 of these before a workout? Starting a workout with a “mixed macronutrient” snack in the 30-90 minutes beforehand is preferred over a snack that contains only sugar (contrary to what used to be recommended in sports nutrition). If you have batch made these, you can easily and quickly remove a few from the freezer, toast them, optionally top with a few extra goodies, and you’re good to go kick butt in your workout.
Experiment to find what you like best for combinations:
Make a “sandwich” with nut or seed butter of choice and optional fruit jam.
Top with yogurt and berries.
Get creative. The world is your oyster. I mean, flapjack.
Enjoy as is.
I’m headed out for a run in just a bit… I’ll give you one guess as to what I’m having as a snack…
-Dina