Strawberry Chocolate Protein Pancakes

Nothing quite says "I love you" like a huge stack of Strawberry Chocolate Protein Pancakes. I mean... don't get me wrong, a dozen puppies would be pretty hard to beat. BUT, this sweet stack comes preeeetty darn close.

Do you know what? I've come to the conclusion that us "healthier" eaters can never really catch a break. It's like certain holidays were placed ever so strategically on that darn calendar so that we have no choice but to indulge all year long. I mean, yeah okay we could just exercise that little thing called self control and say no to the sweet stuff all year long but TBH... that sounds exhausting.

Say no to Halloween candy? Nope I'm a nanny, gotta eat all of the kids' candy. It's an important part of my *cough* job requirements.

Okay, so how about we just skip past the Christmas candy? HA. It's okay, I laughed too.

Valentines Day? Or should I say...February 15th? (Because let's be real, I get more excited about the 75% off chocolate sales).

Then we have Easter. Oh, darn you Easter bunny. Hoppin' around, laying those calorie filled chocolate eggs everywhere.

IT'S. JUST. SO. HARD.

I WILL say that this past year, I've done significantly better at taming my savage sweet tooth and I have protein to thank for that. Foods that are high in protein are SUPER essential to avoid over-snacking and loading up on carbs and sugar. One of the main reasons for this is because protein helps you to feel full for sustained periods of time.

Because of this, lately I've been on a mission to cram about just as much protein as I can in pretty much anything and everything that I cook. First the Double Chocolate Chip Protein Muffins and now these. Mornings these days are F-A-B ♥♥♥

As an eager attempt to increase my daily protein consumption, I skipped off to Kroger and purchased a nice big tub of cottage cheese. I've seen all of the health nuts and fitness freaks RAVE on about it for years but for some reason, I'd never really officially jumped on the band-wagon.

Come to find out...I think that all of those years were a sign. A sign that cottage cheese didn't need to be anywhere near my mouth. Ever.

That texture is something that will probably haunt me for years to come. I get little goosebumps just thinking about it. Wet...runny...AND lumpy...? (gag). I've even tried it with added fruits, peanut butter, salsa... still no luck. I realized that I had to find recipes that I could literally disguise this tub of lumpy protein in or throw it in the trash, so off to Google I went. And that's when I discovered the wonders of cottage cheese pancakes. Uh HELLO. Earth to Vicci?! Where have these been all of my life?

These Strawberry Chocolate Protein Pancakes contain an entire half cup of cottage cheese...and you would never even know! To amp up those pros even more, I added a scoop of chocolate protein powder.  26g of protein per serving. YES.

Not to mention, they're totes adorbs as a Valentine's Day breakfast AND refined sugar free ♥

Strawberry Chocolate Protein Pancakes

5 minPrep Time

20 minCook Time

25 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
• ½ cup low fat 2% cottage cheese
• 2 tbs lite maple syrup
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 eggs
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tbs cocoa powder
• 1 cup chopped strawberries
For the toppings:
• ¼ cup lite maple syrup
• 1 tbs cocoa powder
• 1 cup strawberries, halved

Instructions

1. Add the whole wheat flour, protein powder, cottage cheese, maple syrup, almond milk, eggs and baking powder to a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Place a nonstick pan on medium heat and spray lightly with nonstick spray. Allow the pan to heat up and then pour the mixture into small rounds onto the pan. Cook on one side for approximately 3-5 minutes or until the edges can easily be lifted with a spatula. Sprinkle approx a tbs of chopped strawberries onto each pancake and flip. Cook for an additional 3-5 minutes.
3. To serve: layer pancakes by placing a pancake on the plate then topping with sliced strawberries and repeating. In a small bowl, mix together the maple syrup and cocoa powder to make chocolate syrup and drizzle over pancakes. Enjoy!

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