Hi! I'm Shelby, and two things you should know about me are that I love pancakes, and I'm very into fitness YouTube.
And something I've noticed is that it seems like every fitness influencer on the planet has a signature pancake recipe. So I decided to try five different recipes from some of most popular fitness influencers on YouTube, and see which ones were actually worth making.
For this little experiment, I decided to test for taste, fluffiness, and flippability. Here are my rankings from worst to best:
5. Natacha Oceane's Oat Pancakes
View this video on YouTube
Ingredients:
-1/2 cup oats
-3 eggs whites (3 eggs)
-1/2 cup almond milk
-Sukrin and salt for taste
-3/4 cup blueberries
I had high hopes for Natacha's recipe because it was seriously so simple. Not only were there not a ton of ingredients, but all I really had to do was throw all of the ingredients together (minus the blueberries, which were added later) and whisk!
But even after all my whisking, the batter seemed SUPER runny. I added an extra egg white to try and thicken things up, but that didn't help much. I went into the griddle phase not feeling confident.
And just as I suspected, once the batter hit the pan, it didn't end well. A total runny mess, and the ingredients separated like they hated each other. I tried to mush them all back together in order to create a semblance of a pancake, but to no avail. I even added the blueberries as a last ditch effort.
Annnd flipping went just as well as you'd think. I went through the entire process twice, but unfortunately these cakes didn't even make it to the plate.
4. Blogilates' Two-Ingredient Pancakes
View this video on YouTube
Ingredients:
-2 eggs
-1 banana
-Toppings of your choice
Blogilates has been touting these pancakes for years. I'll admit that a few years ago, I tried them and REALLY didn't like them. But I was willing to give them another try. This was by far the simplest recipe of the five. It had the fewest ingredients, and I literally just had to mash them with a fork and throw them in the pan.
In the pan, the batter was also VERY runny and led to some pretty funny pancake shapes. With that being said, they were surprisingly easy to flip!
Here's what my pancakes looked like vs. Blogilates' pancakes:
Upon my first bite, I was surprised at how much I actually liked the pancakes this time around! But then, once I tried a few bites that weren't slathered in blueberries and peanut butter, I realized the taste still wasn't for me. They were just SO. EGG-Y. I hate the taste of eggs, and without any bits of banana, these pancakes straight-up tasted like mashed egg. As much as I wanted redemption for Blogilates, these still got a thumbs-down from me.
3. Emi Wong's Healthy Greek Yogurt Pancakes
View this video on YouTube
Ingredients:
-2 cups whole wheat flour
-2 tbsp coconut sugar
-2 tbsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp sea salt
-3 eggs
-1 1/2 cups almond milk
-1 cup Greek yogurt
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-2 1/2 tbsp melted coconut oil
Emi Wong's was the only recipe that used whole wheat flour, so I was very curious as to how wheat-y the pancakes would taste. Making the pancakes was a bit more involved (I had to mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately and then combine), but I actually thought it was pretty fun! I felt like I was making traditional pancakes. The batter smelled a bit like yogurt, but in a good way, if that makes sense.
Unlike the first two recipes, there was zero separation of the batter, and the pancakes flipped like a dream! I was thanking the flapjack gods.
Here's what my pancakes looked like vs. Emi Wong's pancakes:
These pancakes were soooo fluffy and yummy! There was a little bit of a wheat flavor, but you could hardly taste the yogurt flavor at all. They felt like a perfect option for when you're craving traditional pancakes but want a healthier alternative with extra protein.
2. MadFit's Vegan, Oil-Free Pancakes
View this video on YouTube
Ingredients:
-2 chia eggs (2 tbsp chia seeds, 6 tbsp water)
-1 tsp vanilla
-2 tbsp maple syrup
-2 cups plant milk of your choice
-Juice of 1 lemon
-1 tbsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-Pinch of salt
-1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (use gluten-free flour to make recipe GF)
MadFit's pancake recipe was by far the most involved, mostly because it was the only one that was completely vegan. In place of eggs, I had to make chia eggs, which I'd never done before. It was actually easier than I thought: Just mix the chia seeds with water, set them aside to activate, and boom! You have a chia egg.
Another unconventional element was that I had to add lemon juice to the milk and mix them together to let it curdle a bit. Mad said that this would make the pancakes really fluffy, almost like buttermilk pancakes.
Here's before and after mixing everything together. The batter had a ton of bubbles and almost reminded me of yeast activating.
Like Emi Wong's pancakes, this batter was super smooth and easy to flip! I also loved being able to see all the chia seeds. It made me feel super ~healthy~.
Here's what my pancakes looked like vs. MadFit's pancakes:
Taste-wise, these pancakes were SUPER fluffy and delicious. They honestly tasted just like traditional pancakes, texture-wise. The taste was a tiny bit plain, but the batter seems great for adding whatever kind of fillings you'd like (blueberries, chocolate chips, etc.). They admittedly have less protein than Emi's, but just barely inched ahead because they're vegan. I love accessible pancakes for all!
1. Linda Sun's Banana Protein Pancakes
View this video on YouTube
-1/2 banana
-1/4 cup oats
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 scoop protein powder
-2 tbsp of almond milk (more if needed)
-1 egg
-1 tsp cinnamon
-Chocolate chips
I loved how simple, quick, and easy Linda's recipe was, much like Blogilates' and Natacha Oceane's. Once I gathered up all the ingredients, I basically just threw them in a blender (sans chocolate chips) and pushed the button. The consistency of the batter was pretty thick, which seemed promising.
The batter made for some decently round pancakes, and they weren't too bad to flip! So far so good! I also loved that I got to add some chocolate chips to change things up.
Here's what my pancakes looked like vs. Linda Sun's* pancakes:
