Pancake Day: Healthy, Flour Free, Low Carb Pancakes!

It’s Pancake Day! But I’m on a bit of a mission to lose some weight, tone up and generally be healthy, so I took to the internet to look for ways that I could participate in the eating of pancakes, but in a slightly healthier way.

In my quest, I found recipes that used almond flour instead of regular flour for a less carb heavy solution; but I thought that the calories in this may be too high for my personal consumption (as I’m watching my calories as well as trying to eat cleanly), due to the fact that nuts in general are quite calorific. 

Then I had a eureka moment when I came across a recipe that called for eggs, oats and bananas and wondered if I could omit the oats to make it even less calorific and carb heavy! So I tried it, and it turns out that yes I could. Now I’m not saying that these have the regular pancake texture – and when cooking them they are quite fragile, so it’s better to make them smaller (but more of them)… but they’re close enough, and with some honey and lemon on (I stayed quite traditional) I think they’re rather yummy.

I used:

1 Ripe banana

2 Free range eggs

A Dash of vanilla extract

Coconut oil (for frying).

 

Optional Extras:

Feel free to add in vanilla extract, cinnamon, cocoa powder or any other spices/flavourings into the mix, depending on the flavours you prefer. And also if the mixture isn’t ‘quite’ there for you texture wise you could add in maybe a tablespoon or 2 of coconut or almond flour. I’ve also read that ground flaxseeds work well to hold the mixture together.

Toppings:

I stayed quite traditional with my honey and lemon toppings, but you could add pretty much anything that you’d normally have on your pancakes… especially if you’re not being totally rigid about the health factor. I think next time I might try some with strawberries and raspberries pureed in the food processor with a little honey in.

Apologies for the pathetic one pancake in my final photograph, in my excitement to get the others to the plate, I ended up dropping them on the floor, and I only had enough mixture left to make this feeble, lonely one more. I guess that’s another way to lower my calorie intake, though?! ;-)

Speaking of calories, this mix (without toppings) works out to be around 300 calories (depending on the weight of banana you use) and I think would be enough for 2 people (based on 2 small to medium pancakes each), so around 150 calories per serving, excluding toppings. 

Happy pancake day.

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk

Viviscal & Look Good Feel Better Charity Project: Your Hair Confessions!

I am a sucker for a good cause. I like to be able to help anybody, whenever/wherever I can and always donate what time/money I can to various charities too.

So, when I got an email through this morning, telling me about Viviscal and their campaign to both uncover the true meaning of a 'Good Hair Day' and raise money for Look Good Feel Better by donating £1 every time somebody in the UK fills in the survey on their Hair Confessions site, I immediately set to work in writing this post in the hope that I too could help to raise awareness, and also encourage every one of my readers in the UK to fill in the survey.

Look Good Feel Better is a charity that is 'dedicated to improving the self-esteem and quality of life of people undergoing treatment for cancer', something that I think is just as important as the cancer treatment itself.

How you look affects how you feel, and I'm betting every one of you knows what it's like to have a bad hair/makeup/skin or whatever day; you know, one where you go out just not feeling yourself, feeling self conscious and generally rubbish because your hair wouldn't curl properly or your foundation looks a bit cakey etc. So, if I was going through treatment for cancer, and had lost my hair in the process, or had to have my breast(s) removed, I'd imagine that I'd feel pretty low, on top of already feeling poorly and having my body battered by the various treatments available... and that just can't help matters at all.

So I'm asking you all, if you live in the UK, please please go over to the 'Viviscal Hair Confessions' site and fill in the survey. Also, please do share this post to all your friends and followers too as the more people that fill in the survey, the more money LGFB will receive, and the more people they'll be able to help. It only takes a little bit of your time, and you will be entered into a prize draw to win 3 month supply of Viviscal hair supplements, and a grand prize of a trip to LA on Oscar weekend 2014 - although I'd personally fill it in without the prize incentive.

If you're not in the UK, please feel free to forward this post to anybody who is. x

This post originated at www.thebeautyscoop.co.uk