Make by heart ‘beet’ protein pancakes
VALENTINE’S DAY X FEBRUARY HEART MONTH PROTEIN PANCAKES
Treat yourself or loved ones to these beautiful and heart healthy beetroot protein pancakes.
Beets are highly nutritious and packed with essential vitamins, minerals, and plant compounds with anti-oxidant properties. Their high nitrate content support a healthy blood pressure and many studies have shown that beets can effectively help lower blood pressure (nitrates are converted to nitric oxide by the body, which helps blood vessels relax and dilate). Beets also contain lots of fiber (one cup of beetroot contains 3.4 grams of fiber)and pigments called betalains, which possess several anti-inflammatory properties.
Don’t have beets? No problem! You can replace this by equal amounts of other vegetable or fruit purée!
An ode to beetroot
The star of this show is the humble yet vibrant beetroot.
I LOVE beets. They’re one of my favourite veg.
Beets are highly nutritious and packed with essential vitamins, minerals, and plant compounds with anti-oxidant properties. Their high nitrate content support a healthy blood pressure and many studies have shown that beets can effectively help lower blood pressure (nitrates are converted to nitric oxide by the body, which helps blood vessels relax and dilate). Beets also contain lots of fiber (one cup of beetroot contains 3.4 grams of fiber)and pigments called betalains, which possess several anti-inflammatory properties.
Beets are such a vibrant and versatile ingredient too. Their earthy but sweet flavour profile means they’re very well suited for both savoury and sweet dishes. And they pair so well with so many interesting ingredients.. goat’s cheese, horseradish, nuts, dill, fennel, star anise, blood oranges, radicchio, balsamic vinegar and more!
Mix in a blender, food processor or veg chopper:
2 eggs
1/3 cup beet puree (or other veggie/fruit purée of choice) - I used pre-steamed beets
1 big scoop of protein powder (unflavoured if you want them savoury) - depending on the type of protein powder you're using, you might need to add a bit more or less (I used Revolution Foods vanilla protein)
Pinch of salt
The great thing about these is that you can have them savoury AND sweet! I topped with:
2tbsp coconut yogurt mixed with 1tbsp milk and beetroot powder. If you don’t have beetroot powder, you could also use the leftover juice from the precooked beets, or freeze dried raspberry or cranberry powder.
Or top with raspberry jam, berries, or pomegranate seeds. Goat's cheese would also work well with the beetroot.