Author: Nutrition 4 Fighters

My mission is to provide recipes that are healthy, tasty and cost effective. 

Over Christmas I was doing a lot of cooking for all the family. As a tradition, I like to make breakfast pancakes, but as one family member had a gluten sensitivity, it threw up a dilemma. What was going to give the pancakes both the desired texture and taste, without using typical gluten containing products?

Enter Spelt and Buckwheat. Although Buckwheat is gluten free, Spelt is not. For those with a gluten sensitivity, Spelt is often tolerated far better due to how much easier it passes through the body. This is likely due to it being more water soluble and having a high fibre content. 

As well as being a good option for my family member who suffers with a gluten sensitivity, these two alternative flour options also have important health benefits.

Buckwheat may reduce the risk of disease in the body due to it being high in antioxidants. Due to it being rich in fibre just like Spelt, Buckwheat can also support you to have an healthy heart. 

Aside from it being a great source of fibre, Spelt contains other micronutrients that support different functions in the body. These include vitamins and minerals such as thiamin, copper, manganese, niacin and phosphorus, vitamins B2 and B3.

Ingredients (serves 4)

3/4 cup of buckwheat flour 

3/4 cup of spelt 

3 x medium bananas

3/4 cup of semi skimmed milk 

1/4 cup of honey 

1 x tsp of Ceylon cinnamon 

3 x tsp of baking powder 

1 x medium egg

1 x tsp of coconut oil 

Directions 

• Combine all dry ingredients in large mixing bowl and stir well
• Blend bananas, honey, egg and milk together in a blender
• Slowly add wet mix to the dry mix thoroughly stirring
• Heat coconut oil on a non stick pan till melted on a low to medium heat
• Add a palm sized amount of mixture. Allow it to cook until small bubbles start coming through
• Flip the pancakes and cook roughly 1 to 2 minutes on the other side
• Remove and enjoy – try serving with blueberries and plain Greek yogurt

Calories per portion – 326kcal

Protein (per portion) – 18.52g

Carbohydrates – 120.8g

Fat – 4.6g

These super simple bars are a great alternative to your average shop bought protein bars. They’ve also got some good numbers on the macronutrients in each bar so can easily be slotted into your meal planning as a decent high protein snack.

I’ve used whey protein but feel free to swap out for a vegan option. I’ve chosen whey due to its concentration of Essential Amino Acids, (EAAs), especially the branch chain amino acids (BCAAs) leucine, isoleucine and valine. There are however some good vegan options that contain a very similar amino acid profile. Any questions or recommendations about this needed, please drop me a comment and I’ll try and help how I can! 

Ingredients

• 170g x oats
• 130g x peanut butter 
• 45g x honey
• 50g x unflavoured whey protein powder
• 35g x sultanas or raisins
• 150g x fat free Greek yogurt 
• 50g x 85% dark chocolate
• 2 x tbsp of cacoa powder
• Grease proof paper

Method

• Combine oats, protein powder, raisins/sultanas and cacao powder in mixing bowl and mix thoroughly

• Roughly break up the chocolate and add to the mixture, mixing evenly

• Mix the honey and peanut butter in a microwave safe dish and pop it in full power for 20/30 seconds. Remove and stir together.

• Add honey and peanut butter to the dry mixture and again evenly and thoroughly combine

• Place grease proof paper into a baking/pie dish and poor in mixture. Use the back of a large serving spoon to press down the mixture as evenly and compactly as you can

• Place in the fridge for 1 hour to overnight. The longer the better really, as makes it easier to cut up the bars.

• Cut the bars up and store in the fridge.

(Look at the below numbers and divide by number of bars)

Protein: 125g

Carbohydrate: 209g

Fat: 113

Calories. 2358(kcal)

These melted chocolate pancakes are a sweet treat favourite for me. They’re a perfect post workout choice or just great when I’m needing to manage a sweet tooth craving!

They’re a simple way to get a good dose of protein and carbohydrate in whilst also keeping your calories quite low. This could be an ideal option for someone cutting weight but seriously craving some sweetness in their diet. 

Ingredients 

• 2 x medium eggs
• 1 x medium egg white
• 1 x medium banana
• 25g of 85% dark chocolate
• 1/4 tsp of baking powder

Method

• Crack two eggs into a blender

• Crack third egg and separate the yoke before adding the egg white to the two previous eggs

• Add the whole banana and baking powder

• Blend thoroughly

• Heat non stick frying pan with few squirts of low calorie frying oil

• Poor desired size of pancake worth of mixture out onto the pan

• Allow to cook on low heat for around 2/3 minutes or until bubbles are coming through the mixture

• Break up one square of chocolate into small pieces and place in centre of the mixture

• Roll over the pancake and roll completely into a log

• Press down gently with spatula across the rolled pancake to ensure inside is cooked

• Role onto plate, slice and enjoy!

Calories & macronutrient breakdown

422kcal

23.3g protein

29.7g cho

Fat 15.1g