How To: Protein Pancakes

So apparently I’m really into pancakes. Unfortunately pancakes are not the most figure friendly breakfast, especially when you are trying to tighten up for summer. I have been working hard since the beginning of the year to eat a lot of protein and build muscle onto my weakling vegetarian body, and one thing I have found helpful is to eat a protein-packed breakfast. 

THE PROBLEM: What is a girl to do when all she wants to eat for breakfast is pancakes or oatmeal? So sweet, so carby and so lacking in protein.

THE ANSWER: PROTEIN PANCAKES!!!!!!!!

I have seen recipes for protein pancakes on blogs in the past but all attempts at recreating them at home have resulted in hopeless charred piles of nastiness. It wasn’t until I discovered ToneItUp.com and the Tone It Up Protein Pancake recipe that my faith in my pancake-flipping ability was restored. I love the Tone It Up girls, Karena and Katrina, and the amazing community of girls they have developed. I am currently doing their annual Bikini Series, which is a free 8 week program with workouts and nutrition tips to get girls into shape for the summer.

I have been eating protein pancakes almost every day for 2 months now and I haven’t gotten sick of them yet. They are surprisingly easy to make!

All you need is:

 

• 1/2 a banana
• 2 egg whites
• 1 scoop of protein powder 
• 1/2 Tablespoon flax seed meal
• Cinnamon

I like to mix the banana, egg whites and protein in a blender to ensure even distribution, but you can mix by hand if you prefer.

 

I then stir in the flax seed, cinnamon and any add-ins I might choose. Another thing I love about protein pancakes is that they can be so versatile depending on what kind of flavor combination I’m craving.

Some of my favorite protein pancake add-ins are:

• fresh or dried fruit
• nut butter and/or nuts
• shredded carrot and almonds (to make CARROT CAKE PROTEIN PANCAKES!!!)
• crumbled up Lara bars (for COOKIE DOUGH PROTEIN PANCAKES!!!)
• chopped dates and pecans (for PECAN PIE PROTEIN PANCAKES!!!)

After all my ingredients are added I pour the batter into a greased skillet on LOW heat. It is important to cook protein pancakes cook low and slow, if the heat is too high they burn on the outside but stay raw on the inside.

After 2-3 minutes, flip carefully.

Sometiems I make one big pancake, and other times I make mini pancakes (which are easier to flip) and can be turned into pretty little pancake stacks. 

My delicious breakfast this AM was something I like to call a Strawberry Short-stack, made by layering greek yogurt and fresh strawberries with my pancakes.

One recipe for protein pancakes makes one serving and packs in about 30g muscle-building protein which keeps me full much longer than my previous standard breakfast of oatmeal. Of course its not a REAL pancake, but its a healthy substitution that looks and kinda tastes like a real pancake so its perfect for sugar-junkies like me!

 

 

Great Swamp NJ Devil 5K

GREAT SWAMP NJ DEVIL 5K 2012

Today I ran my 4th 5K this year and PR’ed by 3 minutes! I woke up excited to have a Sunday off work and excited to get my race on. I fueled with some gluten-free pumpkin pie pancakes before heading out to Basking Ridge, NJ for the 11am race start. There were two options, a 5K or a 15K. The 15K started an hour later to avoid overcrowding on the narrow out-and-back course.

 

It was windy and chilly this morning due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Sandy tomorrow, so I shivered and did some dynamic stretching until the gun went off. I don’t usually listen to music when I run but I loaded Taylor Swift’s new album onto my MOTOACTV watch and I really think it helped me run faster (did I already mention that I PR’ed by 3 minutes?!) I love my GPS watch that I stole from my mom, it’s way lighter than my old Garmin 350 and locates a signal much more quickly, plus you can load music onto it!

 

 

 

 

 

The course was really flat and there were only about 150 participants. There’s something really nice and intimate about smaller local races. Maybe it’s because there is less of a competitive atmosphere? After the race started I quickly found my groove and kept a good pace throughout. T. Swift really kept me pumped and the race was over before I knew it…

I was completely beat since I really pushed myself to increase my pace, but luckily it paid off!

 

Woot woot! My next race is a 5-miler on Thanksgiving Day! I also signed up for my first half-marathon this week, the National Half Marathon in Washington, D.C. on March 16th!

Talk to you soon! I hope everyone stays safe with Hurricane Sandy!

Pumpkin Pie Pancakes

It’s official. I have eaten so many pumpkin pie pancakes that I am sick of them. I wasn’t sure it was possible but there comes a time, after about the 136th pancake, that the thought of eating pillowy fall-themed morsels becomes merely tolerable instead of the exciting prospect it usually is. The only reason I was able to eat 136 of these babies in the first place is because this recipe is that good. Try it and I’m sure you will agree! In fact,  I’m sure I will be hankering for some more of these bad boys in a couple days, after I no longer have the aroma of pumpkin spice emanating from my pores.

Vegan Pumpkin Pie Pancakes

yields one serving of 2-3 pancakes

• 1/2 cup flour (I have used both regular All-Purpose flour and Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free AP flour and either works fine)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup almond or soy milk
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup

In a medium bowl mix dry ingredients together. In a seperate bowl  stir the pumpkin, milk and maple syrup together until smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir together until fully combined. Use 1/4 cup measure to put batter onto a skillet coated with canola oil. Cook one pancake at a time on medium-low heat until batter begins to bubble at the edges and then flip with a spatula. Cook the other side of the pancake until it is no longer raw in the middle (1-2 minutes) and repeat until all the batter is used up. Serve with maple syrup, almond butter or whatever you choose! 

We’re Back!

Has anyone seen this movie? I used to watch it all the time when I was a kid.

Welcome back to Well-Fed Redhead! I took a rather lengthy hiatus to get my behind in gear after finishing culinary school and my internship in San Francisco. To briefly summarize the last three months of my life:

1. I moved back to NYC.
2. I got a low-paying job at a well-known international vegan restaurant that never had any customers.
3. I quit that job because it couldn’t support living in the city.
4. Upon realizing I was destitute and that my lease was up, I packed up my apartment and moved back to my parents house in NJ.
5. I got a new job in my hometown at a super meaty restaurant that cures its own bacon.

Now that my life has settled down a bit I want to get back to blogging and plan to use this blog for recipe development and as a wellness journal. My job keeps me pretty busy so I will probably only be posting a couple days a week, but the great part of having practically no audience is that I have no pressure to blog every day!

What has been on my mind lately:

1. Running! I finished physical therapy in April after a whole year of not being able to run. Now I have ran 3 5K’s and 167 miles! I’m kind of obsessed now and think about running all the time. Yet somehow when I’m actually running I still can’t wait for it to be over… (pic from Dailymile.)
2. HENRY. Is Henry ever not on my mind? I plead the fifth but it should be known that I am obsessed my cat. In the best cat-lady way possible. Since we last spoke I have had a failed experiment with making raw cat food from scratch. I have also spent hundreds of dollars on vet bills because my precious feline so selflessly took it upon himself to develop chronic asthma while I was away in San Francisco. Yes, cat inhalers do exist. On a positive note, Henry has lost two pounds!
3. Coffee. I am officially re-addicted. What is your Starbucks order? Recently I am all about iced coffee with soy milk and one pump of pumpkin spice. It’s a mouthful to say but I love it!
4. Pitch Perfect! I just saw this last night and it is my new favorite movie. Everyone go see it immediately or we can’t be friends.
5. Pancakes! (Hint: this may or may not be related to tomorrow’s recipe)

I have a delicious fall-inspired recipe to share tomorrow. GET EXCITED!

Gracias Madre

This was my last weekend in San Francisco. I have four more days at my internship and then I’m heading back to the Big Apple. As much as I love California I’m ready to go back to New York and start my life!

I had one more restaurant I wanted to try before I left town, so yesterday I headed down to the Mission District to eat at Gracias Madre. Gracias Madre is a 100% vegan and 100% organic Mexican restaurant that I have heard really great things about.

When I first walked into the restaurant I was struck by how large and earthy it felt. The table and chairs were all made of unstained wood and the place is huge. I chose to sit outside since it was such a beautiful day yesterday.

There were precious little saltshakers with Himalayan pink sea salt!

It took me a while to decide what to order but I finally settled on the tamales stuffed with zucchini, corn, onion and jalapeno. I ordered mine mojado, which means in a mole sauce.

I like the idea of mole sauce but I’m not sure I actually like it… The tamal came drizzled with cashew cream and with a side of delicious mushy black beans, pico de gallo and spicy pickled veggies. It was good but I kind of wish I’d ordered something else, it didn’t really hold up to the tamales at Millennium.

For dessert I got the Mexican Wedding Cookies with pecan-based dulce de leche ice cream.

The amazingness of this dessert completely made up for the anemic impression the tamale gave me. The ice cream was perfect and the cookies were like pecan shortbread covered in powdered sugar (what’s not to love?).

After dessert I headed over to Mission Dolores. Walking around the Mission area there are tons of beautiful murals all over the place.

Mission Dolores, built in 1791, is the oldest standing mission.

 

The Spanish settlers converted many native Ohlone Indians to Christianity within these walls.

 

Faustino and Obdulina were two of the first Ohlone Indians to be baptized at the mission. Pretty cool, right?

I just have one more week with this little dirty monster before I head back to New York and my own big mushy man! I can’t wait, I miss this face so much!

Ana Mandara

San Francisco held this event the past two weeks called Dine About Town where upscale restaurants offer limited three-course menus for only $34.95.

Friday was the last day of Dine About Town (and it was also the day that a certain someone was coming IN to town to visit me) so I made sure to make reservations at one of the participating restaurant

I chose Ana Mandara, an upscale Vietnamese restaurant in Fisherman’s Wharf. Neither Dan nor I had ever been to a fancy Vietnamese restaurant before so it was a first for both of us. We felt kind of like impostors since the dining room was full of rich looking businessmen and families! When I arrived, the host said that usually they only offer the Dine About Town menu Sunday through Thursday but since I asked so nicely (and probably look so poor) they said we could do it eve though it was Friday.

The first course was an appetizer sampler that came with steamed Vietnamese chicken and shrimp Dumplings, fried wontons filled with Dungeness crab, cream cheese and sweet chili and an organic local baby greens salad with a ginger dressing.

Lucky Dan got a double helping of dumplings and wontons and I got two salads! Dan said that the dumplings and wontons were out of this world; he even said it was probably the best restaurant food he had ever eaten! I really liked the salad, the dressing was delicious but not overpowering and the lettuce was so fresh!

We got to choose a main course out of four options. I chose the Curry Tofu and my shrimp loving man ordered the Barbecue Jumbo Prawns.

This picture’s not great but my dish was, the curry was flavorful and the tofu was well cooked. I find often when I order tofu in restaurants it is either very plain and mushy or over fried, this wasn’t.

For dessert I had mango and passion fruit sorbet. They were delicious but if it was a contest, mango won. The sorbet came garnished with a cute (and tasty) little tuile!

Dan ordered the Flourless Coconut Rum Cake, which he said was only okay since it tasted too eggy.

Overall we had a good experience at Ana Mandara and would probably go back again if we could afford it. For now, it’s a little out of our price range…

• Appetizer: 5/5
• Entrée: 4/5
• Dessert: 3/5
• Service: 4/5
• Atmosphere: 5/5
• Total: 21/25

5 reasons this weekend was so great!

1. On Friday morning I found a stray kitten on the street outside my apartment. He is pure white, has blue eyes and he’s deaf. Did you know 60-80% of white cats with blue eyes are deaf? And if a white cat has one blue eye and one green or brown they are often deaf in the ear closest to the blue eye? Anyway he is very cute and I love him already and want to take him home to New York to be Henry’s little brother.

2. My boyfriend came to visit me. Wheeeeeee! I missed him so much and I’m so happy he’s here for a whole week!

3. The weather was so great this weekend! Fog shmog, it was beautiful and sunny and warm.

4. We went to Golden Gate Park and Haight Ashbury, the hippie capital of the country.

This clock always reads 4:20, you know why.

5. There is a lemon tree in the back yard!

It was just one of many ingredients in dinner Saturday night.

vegan froyo and other awesome things

Vegan Froyo.

With homemade mochi.

THERE IS A GOD!

I have already visited Fraiche multiple times and they can expect me back for countless more visits. I was super stoked to find this cute little froyo shop near the placing I’m staying in San Francisco. I have been dreaming about vegan frozen yogurt for so long, and finally my dreams have come true!

Fraiche doesn’t only serve yogurt, they also have freshly pressed juices and organic eggs as well as real frozen yogurt. It obviously caters to women with money to spend since all girls like froyo and the Whole Foods loving trophy-wives will love their local/organic options.

Alas, I am not a trophy wife, just an impoverished vegan with a froyo addiction. I loved the flavor and the texture of their soy yogurt; to me it is a perfectly good substitute for the real deal. I also loved that their toppings all looked fresh and on the lighter side, mostly fruit and granola. The highlight of my experience was the homemade mocha cut into little rustic cubes! Fraiche’s convenient location on my way home from Millennium is both a blessing as a curse as I will most definitely be back to spend a pretty penny on their designer deliciousness.

Other awesome things:

1. California watermelon. Swoon. (This mini seedless baby was from Yosemite!)

2. The Plant burger from The Plant Cafe. Best veggie burger I have ever had in my entire life. I can’t wait to go back and try some of the other items on their menu! I also really hope my return flight to Newark flies through Terminal 2 since they have a location there as well.

3. This book. I found it in the room I’m staying in, it was awesome.

Greens Restaurant

I was lucky to have the day off from my internship on Saturday since that meant I got to spend time with my parents who were in town for the weekend! Since I knew they were coming, and that they would probably need to eat at some point, I made reservation for Saturday brunch at Greens Restaurant in the Marina neighborhood of San Francisco.

Greens Restaurant was recommended to me by multiple people as the go-to restaurant for veg-friendly fare in San Francisco (second to Millennium of course!). They pride themselves in having a local and completely vegetarian menu, I was happy to see that they had a few vegan options as well.

When we first entered the restaurant I was struck by how big and airy the space felt. It used to be a military warehouse that was converted into a restaurant in 1979.

We were seated at a table next to a huge window with a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

I ordered Jasmine Green Tea, which came in a precious teapot. My first cup was really great but after that it got way too strong, I should have removed the leaves!

We started with fresh, seasonal mixed fruit. The blueberries and cherries right now in California are divine. Check out that yellow cherry!

For my entrée I ordered Mesquite Grilled Brochettes, which were skewers of tofu, mushrooms, red peppers, corn, onion, zucchini and squash served with a zesty cilantro sauce. On the side was a mélange of rice with toasted pumpkin seeds and some slaw. Mm, I would definitely order this again! I especially liked the sauce and the skewers made the dish more fun to eat. I thought that the tofu cubes were a little on the large side though, it would have been nice if they were half the size.

My mom ordered Yellow Finn Potato Griddle Cakes with manchego cheese and chives. Served with eggs over easy, romesco sauce, salsa verde, olives and side salad. My mom said that the egg was very fresh and cooked to perfection.

My dad had the Greek Pizza, which was topped with spinach, feta cheese, olives, shallots and roasted tomatoes (I think, I can’t really remember and it’s not on the menu online…). It looked great and got two thumbs up from Papa Dearest.

The best part of the meal, in my opinion, was dessert!

I got a trio of sorbet with a vegan shortbread cookie. The cookie was so good, I really want to know how they made it since shortbread typically has 1000 pounds of butter in it! The sorbets were rhubarb, strawberry and coconut. Rhubarb was the winner in my book, but coconut came a close second.  I was sad when my dessert was over, I couldn’t get enough!

My dad ordered a Meyer lemon ice cream sandwich that came topped with blueberry compote. I’ve noticed that Meyer lemon seems to be a big foodie trend right now! My dad said this dessert was fantastic and he had no trouble polishing it off. I would be lying if I said I didn’t steal some of his blueberries, though…

Watch this:

Overall, I loved Greens and I would definitely go back!

F the East Coast

Hi everyone! Sorry for the hiatus, I was super busy with the end of school!

“Fuck the East Coast”
Grafitti in San Francisco’s Mission district

I am currently in sunny San Francisco for my month-long internship at Millennium Restaurant. This is my first time in the Golden State and I am loving it so far. I could definitely see myself living here some day.

I’m fortunate to be staying in a pretty swanky area of San Francisco. I knew nothing about the city before I came and lucked out booking such a nice place online. I get to wake up with sun pouring in the huge bedroom windows every morning… it is bliss.

I am also kept company by two cuddly kitties and a pint-sized pup. The Patron Saint of Cats looks over me as I sleep, befitting for a cat lady such as myself.

I just finished my first week interning at Millennium and I’m really enjoying it. Working in a restaurant is like Friday Night Dinner every night but with more than one dish per course. It’s intense, but I like intense. Chef Eric Tucker (who is also a NGI Grad!) is a lot less scary than I imagined him to be!

Millennium is definitely more relaxed about dress code than the Natural Gourmet. Tons of the staff have piercings and no one wears hats (which I am relieved about since my cap kept shrinking in the wash and was beginning to cut off the circulation to my brain). I also had to go out and buy black pants to wear since I looked like such a dweeb wearing my hounds tooth eyesores.

Last week I trailed at the pantry station (salads and desserts), worked the prep shift a couple times and accompanied the chef to a catering event. I’ll have more to say about it once I’m further into my internship!

The staff gets to order complimentary meals after their shift, which is a perk I did not know about beforehand! The food is so good, it really is the best vegan food I’ve ever tasted.

A raw salad with sea vegetables, avocado, miso dressing, wasabi sauce and spicy cashews. I have dreams about this salad it was so good!

A polenta dish with a Bolognese sauce, fava beans, sautéed greens and the best pesto of my life.

My favorite dish was the huitlacoche tamale, which I don’t have a picture for. I’ll have to order it again so I can show you guys!

I’ve had two days off, I’m excited to go back tomorrow! I wonder if I’ll always feel this way about work?