Gooey Blueberry and Banana Pancakes: Arguably the Best Way to Start the Day

I Bloomin' Love Pancakes.

They're a little party for your taste buds, aren't they? Unfortunately, when you're trying to lose weight, they can be a definite no-no. The lashings of butter, full fat soft cheese and ladles of sugar in conventional pancake recipes are enough to stop any progress in it's tracks. Over 100 calories per pancake isn't a particularly healthy start to the day, is it.

Well, I guess that's that then. No pancakes for us...

Wrong!!

By making tiny changes, we can cut the calories down to around 150 per portion. (A portion comes in at a whopping 4 pancakes, I should add!) If you fancy some maple syrup on top of your not-so-naughty breakfast treat, that's fine too! Just add around 25 calories per teaspoon of yummy sweet goodness. Thank you, Canada. 

Okay, I'm already salivating. Let's do this!

First things first then slimmers! What are you going to have to find in your store cupboards to concoct this masterpiece of approximately 12 pancakes?

Your kit for breakfast domination

• 100g Plain White Flour is first on the list. As you can see by my purchase, quality is completely up to you!
• 125g Skimmed Milk. You can use semi-skimmed if you can't bear the thought of the red stuff, but remember this will up the calorific content.
• 50g Quark. If you aren't already best friends with this stuff, get yourself acquainted. It is a mild, creamy soft cheese that contains 80% less calories than conventional soft cheese! Did I mention it was also fat free?
• 2 Egg Whites. Get rid of those yolks, guys! You don't need them and they carry the calories. 
• 1 tsp Baking Powder. I like the nifty little Dr. Oetker sachets, personally.
• 1 Ripe Banana. Chop this into teeny tiny little pieces, as that way you barely notice them in your cooked pancake. They provide the lovely sweetness and gooey-ness that gives these pancakes their name.
• 1 Punnet of Blueberries. Set two or three handfuls aside, and chop the rest in half to be added in to your batter mix. 
• Oil, For Spraying. I can't stress this enough, GET A SPRAY BOTTLE FOR YOUR OIL. You'll be amazed at how little you actually need. If you don't have a spray bottle, add oil by the teaspoon. You shouldn't need to add any extra to the pan during frying, but if you do remember that less is more- and it'll help you shave those pounds.

You're going to need to also find yourself:

•  2 Mixing bowls.
• A Sieve.
• A whisk. I don't have an electric whisk and you don't need one either- whisking a perfect excuse for a mini bicep work out.
• A nice big frying pan. You should be able to cook about 3 pancakes at a time.

Step 1. My least favourite part.

• The first thing you're going to have to do is sift together the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. A fun fact about me is that I have a massive fear of flour! I can't bear the feel of it on my skin, it gives me goosebumps and makes me feel all queasy. You know what though? Even I touch flour for these beauties. 
• In a separate bowl, mix together the milk and quark until it is as smooth and combined as you can get it. Add a small amount of the quark mixture to the flour and mix into a thick paste. Slowly mix the rest, making sure you use some elbow grease to smooth out any lumps. 
• Now comes the time consuming part; whisking the egg whites into stiff peaks. If you have an electric whisker, it's your lucky day! If not, don't worry, we can do this together. It takes about 5 minutes of continuous hand whisking to get those eggs to the right consistency, and you'll have a lovely toned arm because of it.

Step 3. Work those biceps!

• You're now going to gently fold your egg whites into your quark/milk/flour/baking powder mash up. You need to do this gently in order to keep those lovely air bubbles in the batter! Fold in about a tablespoon of egg white and, when that is combined, carefully fold in the rest. When it's all mixed together, gently stir in your blueberries and banana. 

  Good news guys, it's finally time to cook!

It's all about the air bubbles.

• After spraying your oil and heating your pan on a low-medium heat, plop large spoonfuls of mixture into the pan. (Remember, you can cook about three at a time.) When lots of little air bubbles start popping on the pancake's surface, it's time to flip. Cook for about one minute more, then remove from the pan and keep them warm while you cook the rest of your batch.
• When you're done, stack them high, top with fresh blueberries and drizzle with maple syrup. Enjoy!

Oh, and one more thing. There is only one way these pancakes can be served:

In your comfy bed with a warm cup of tea on a lazy Sunday morning.

Let me know how you get on, and I'd love to hear about other flavour combinations!

Happy cooking!