Recipe: Go Faster American blueberry pancakes
American pancakes are light and fluffy and are a great way to get some high-G.I. carbs and protein into your body after a strenuous workout. And of course you get a fantastic vitamin kick with the addition of the delicious blueberries, which are absolutely bursting with nutrients.
Use these pancakes as a great incentive for your long training runs - make the mixture in advance and then cook them as soon as you get home from your run to replenish your glycogen stores as soon as possible.
The art of cooking American pancakes is completely different to cooking our thin European-style pancakes. You need the flame down low and you need to let them cook through slowly.
Serves 4. Prep time: 5 mins. Cooking time: 5 mins.
» 200g self-raising flour, sifted
» 2 tsp baking powder
» ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
» ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
» Pinch of salt
» 1 whole egg plus1 egg white
» 300ml buttermilk or 150ml semi-skimmed milk mixed with 150ml low fat natural yoghurt
» 2 tbsp melted butter or vegetable oil, plus a little more melted butter for frying
» 150g blueberries, fresh or frozen
» Extra blueberries and maple syrup to serve
1. Combine the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt in a bowl.
2. Whisk the egg white until it starts to form soft peaks.
3. Make a hole in the centre of the flour mixture, break the egg into it and then add the buttermilk or milk and yoghurt (or even just ordinary milk if you have no yoghurt).
4. Stir the wet ingredients quickly into the dry using a wooden spoon. Don’t worry too much if it is not very smooth. Add the melted butter or oil and the blueberries and then fold in the egg white.
5. Brush the bottom of a frying pan with a little melted butter and then spoon in the pancake mixture. I like lots of fairly small pancakes, so I use a heaped tablespoon of mixture per pancake, but this is up to you.
6. After a few minutes you will see lots of air bubbles appear on the surface of the pancakes. This means it is time to flip them over. Cook them for a couple of minutes on the other side, and then serve them with extra blueberries on the side and maple syrup to pour over them, or just sprinkled with crunchy demerara sugar.
Energy (kcal) 303
Protein (g) 11
Carbohydrate (g) 47
Of which sugars (g) 8
Fat (g) 9
Of which saturates (g) 2
Salt (g) 2
Fibre (g) 3
» Kate Percy's Go Faster Food brings sports nutrition into the everyday for athletes, with delicious and effective recipes. This recipe is from Kate Percy’s latest book, Go Faster Food for Kids, top nutrition advice for young athletes plus 101 irresistible ‘family-friendly’ recipes. For more information on Kate Percy's Go Faster Food books, please check out her author page on Amazon, or go to www.gofasterfood.com
