Brunch is totally mainstream these days, but I don’t think that was always true. In the past ten years, we’ve become very familiar with brunch, sort of akin to how “googling” something or someone is totally normal.
I love brunch, the wonderful marriage of breakfast and lunch that often involves a tasty libation. I’m totally on-board. What I wish would gain great popularity is Brinner. I have no idea if that’s actually a term, but let’s go with it.
Brinner, the happy marriage of breakfast and dinner. AKA Breakfast for Dinner. It should most definitely be a thing.
But you should probably know I have this thing where I think breakfast should be healthy. It’s the first meal of the day and you should probably start it off on the right foot. For me, it’s usually a smoothie with banana, mango, spinach, kale and protein powder. I drink it on my way to work, and it keeps me full for a long time without feeling sluggish.
So if we’re having breakfast for dinner, that doesn’t mean we have to go crazy and eat tons of bacon, pancakes and eggs drenched in maple syrup. That’s ok sometimes, but for days like today, let’s keep it light and full of protein.
Now, all that aside, what is more beautiful than a stack of pancakes?
Well… a stack of these pancakes…
Vanilla Coconut Protein Pancakes
2 tbsp spelt flour
2 tbsp almond meal
3 tbsp protein powder (I used Garden of Life Raw Vanilla Protein)
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp chia seeds
1 tbsp shredded unsweetened coconut
1 egg
2-4 tbsp almond milk
Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Then add wet ingredients (start with 2 tbsp of almond milk and add more accordingly. Every protein powder is different so to avoid getting batter that’s too thin, adjust accordingly) and stir together.
Heat a pan and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Pour 2 tbsp of batter to form each pancake. Cook a few minutes. Once it starts to bubble on top, flip and cook an additional minute or two.
You’ll get exactly 4 pancakes if you measure (and use a spatula to scrape the bowl). Serve with you toppings of choice.
I served it with some extra coconut and a maple syrup/yogurt combo (2-3 tbsp greek yogurt + 1 tbsp maple syrup + water to thin it out). Deeeelish.
Nutrition-wise, they’re not too bad either.
There’s almost 30 grams of protein in there! Note: these stats are only for the pancakes, not any of the toppings. The fat comes mostly from the almond meal and coconut. But don’t be scared of fat! It does a body good.
Ok so please tell me you’re going to help me make Brinner a thing and tell everyone about these protein pancakes. Yes!
Do you ever do breakfast for dinner? What’s your favorite Brinner item?
Foodologie 
I must try these! And top them with some PB of course.
love this recipe. these look incredible. These are my type of pancakes! not the boring buttermilk ones…going to try to make these this weekend! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
oh – brinner! haha! I love this idea. – me and my girlfriend joke about Linner all the time…when we have lunch too late and it ends up being an early dinner and food is random. 🙂
xo
Marla
http://www.marlitaontherun.com
Love it! Weekends especially the schedule gets thrown off. With 11am breakfast (err brunch), 3:30 lunch/dinner/linner is totally normal… and yep, random.
Thanks for commenting!! Running over to check out your blog now 😀
My question is, pertains to the nutritional facts, is that for 3 stack of pancakes or just 1 pancake?
Hellooo! The nutrition information is based on the entire recipe (3 pancakes), but might vary a bit based on the type of protein powder you use. Hope this is helpful!
So making these, I have all of the ingredients!
do it! do it!
Just showed the hubby (he makes the pancakes around here) and we are also upping our protein intake. Thanks for sharing! Looks sooo good!!!
I hope you guys like them! I’ve been trying to up my protein intake too. This was a great way to do so without meat!
I love egg dishes for dinner. I usually steer away from pancakes since they’re typically high in carbs and low in protein. Yours sound perfect…I’d love them topped with berries 🙂
Agreed! Pancakes are usually too unhealthy for me. But this is a great alternative. Berries on top! YES!
Is 1 serving = the 4 pancakes?
Yes.
Recipe looks good! What other flours can you substitute for the spelt and almond meal?
All purpose and whole wheat work. I’ve also done half buckwheat half all purpose.