You can eat pancakes if you're trying to lose weight, but you should only eat the pancakes in moderation and not everyday.
Traditional pancakes are not really good for weight loss as they are high in sugar and refined carbs, low in protein and easy to overeat.
Although you can fit pancakes into a weight loss diet plan as long as you maintain your calorie deficit.
You can also make your pancakes weight loss friendly by changing the toppings and ingredients.
Traditional pancakes are not good for weight loss due to them being carb heavy, low satiety and also due to the calorie dense toppings.
Topping the pancakes with butter and maple syrup adds hundreds of extra calories which can be bad for when you're trying to lose weight.
And the lack of protein and fiber in the pancakes means that you'll feel hungry soon after eating the pancakes.
And traditional pancakes are also made with white flour and sugar, which causes blood sugar spikes.
You can make weight loss friendly pancakes by swapping out the refined flour and sugar for high protein and high fiber ingredients like oats, egg whites and Greek Yogurt.
The ingredients to make weight loss friendly pancakes include.
1 ripe banana (medium size)
½ scoop (or 15g) vanilla protein powder.
¾ cup (or 150g) liquid egg whites.
Optional: A dash of cinnamon or baking powder for extra fluffiness.
Instructions:
Blend: Add the banana, protein powder, and egg whites to a blender.
Blend until smooth and completely combined.
Heat: Lightly coat a non-stick skillet with cooking spray and place it over medium heat.
Cook: Pour small portions of the batter onto the pan.
Cook for about 2 minutes until bubbles form on top, then flip and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes until golden brown.
Top: Serve with fresh berries (like blueberries or strawberries) and sugar-free maple syrup.
You can replace the white flour with blended rolled oats or oat flour for slow digesting complex carbohydrates.
For the fat alternative, you can also use non fat Greek yogurt instead of butter or oil in the batter to cut calories while also adding moisture and protein.
And for toppings, avoid high calorie syrups, honey or butter.
Instead use fresh fruit, a dollop of Greek yogurt or sugar free syrups instead.