blueberry lemon chia protein pancakes

monday means peeling back warm, snuggly covers, cupping a hot mug of coffee, setting intentions, and taking on the damn week. i like to take the ‘mondays are great!!!’ approach even when I haven’t entirely convinced myself that’s the case, because it truly does feel better to say hell yeah I've got this and it’s going to be the best day ever. monday also means gearing up to pack meals for work, and I always always always prep pancakes for the week. these protein pancakes are bright, lemony, grain free, and work really well with the ‘mondays are great!!!’ theme. promise. they’re the superheroes of breakfast because they’re packed with fiber from the chia seeds, antioxidants from the blueberries, a little sweetness from the banana, and so much protein from clean + complete protein sources. sometimes I get extra fancy and pack a little jar of almond butter or maple syrup along with them, but 9 times out of 10 I eat them plain, with my hands, because condiments and forks are just too big an ask (re: mondays.)

blueberry lemon chia protein pancakes
makes 10 pancakes
prep time: 5 minutes
cook time: 10 minutes

1 banana, mashed well
3 eggs
1tsp vanilla extract
juice and zest from 1 lemon
3/4c almond flour
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I like SFH Vanilla Pure , but plant-based protein powder will work here, too.)
1tsp baking powder
1tsp cinnamon
1/4tsp sea salt
1tbsp chia seeds
1/2c fresh blueberries

whisk the wet ingredients until smooth. then add all the dry ingredients except for the blueberries, and whisk again until everything is incorporated. then, fold in the blueberries (you don’t want them to burst!)

spray a griddle with coconut oil spray, or coat with a little butter. using a 1/4c measuring cup, pour batter onto the griddle. cook for 2-3 minutes until the top starts to bubble and the pancakes are golden brown on the bottom, then flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

*I like to place cooked pancakes on a cooling rack so that they don’t get soggy while you’re making the rest of the batch!
*You can totally omit protein powder if that’s not your jam. Use 1c total almond flour, in that case.