Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Protein Pancakes

Whew, that’s a mouthful!  I wanted to call these Chocolate-peanut-butter-banana-best-effing-protein-oat-pancakes-ever but I figured that would be a tad much. 
 
How was everyone’s weekend? I hope it was filled with lots of sleeping in, strong cups of coffee, and Golden Globe parties. Our weekend was definitely filled with the first two things, but sadly we didn’t get to watch the Golden Globes. We don’t have cable and for some reason NBC wouldn’t let me live stream it on Apple TV. Blasphemous! There’s so many movies that I want to see that were up for nomination. Lion, Moonlight, Manchester by the Sea, Fences, and Florence Foster Jenkins are all on our list to watch in the next couple of weeks. 
 
During the week, breakfast is usually always on the run. If I’m prepared I’ll do overnight oats in a mason jar, boil some eggs, or just grab some fruit if I’m really short on time. That’s why I treasure the weekends so much. There’s nothing better than slowly rolling out of bed, the smell of strong coffee waking us up, and thomas and I cooking something we’ve been craving all week. Typically I always want something hearty like Eggs Benedict or shakshuka which contradicts my upbringing. When I was little, I had a sweet tooth like none other. Give me an Eggo or a fat stack of chocolate chip pancakes and I would be set! So on the rare occasion now when I want something on the sweeter side for breakfast I revert back to my childhood and want either waffles or pancakes submerged in maple syrup. 

So when Thomas first made these “healthy” pancakes made of oats I scoffed at the idea. How could those be anything like the pancakes I know and love?! Man was I wrong! The batter is so naturally sweet from the ripe banana and the vanilla protein powder gives it the perfect consistency. By themselves these are protein packed and fairly healthy! This weekend we fattened ours up a bit by adding amazing Norwegian milk chocolate, crunchy peanut butter, and banana slices. Choose any toppings your little heart desires and I can promise that you won’t go back to eating normal flour-y pancakes. 

My Best Friend Shelby got us this adorable plate for Christmas!  

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Protein Pancakes
 Serves 5
Ingredients 
 -1 cup quick cooking oats 
 -1 1/2 scoops vanilla protein powder 
 -3 eggs 
 -3 bananas (2 for the batter, 1 for topping)
 -2/3 cups of milk 
 -coconut oil for cooking 
 -Toppings: peanut butter (we like crunchy), chopped chocolate or chocolate morsels, fresh fruit 
 
 What to do
 – Put the oats, protein powder, eggs, 2 bananas, and milk in a blender and blend until a smooth batter forms. We like the batter pretty thick because as it cooks it evens out, but if you like it thinner just add a little more milk! 
 – Heat a tablespoon of coconut oil on a griddle or in a small frying pan over medium heat. Once hot, pour batter into the pan making either a small or medium sized pancake. If you have a griddle this would go a lot faster, but since we only have a small cast iron skillet we just make one at a time. 
 -Once both sides are golden brown, transfer to a plate and top with peanut butter, chopped chocolate, bananas, and any other topping you like! If you want a big stack like we have pictures, just keep layering 🙂

A huge glass of milk or cup of coffee is also a must with this. Enjoy!