Talk about MIA...

Holy crap...it's been a really long time.

Shortly after my last post my dad unexpectedly passed away. After that I had a really hard time feeling motivated to take care of myself. I also felt little motivation to keep up with this little blog. Plus, this past semester was rough. And I started working full time, which meant very long days between classes and work. When I got home I had to use whatever energy I had to study.

Initially I sporadically went to the gym and ate well on and off...mostly off. It was hard and it took me a while to get back into my groove. Even then it was a struggle. I would go a while doing well and taking care of myself, but then would fall back into bad habits. I even tried paleo for about a month, which is something I never thought I would be able to do. I'm proud of myself for doing it, but again it just lead to me falling into my bad habits. I did really well for that month or so. I don't know if I just felt deprived without realizing it, but for the past month or so it's been pretty bad. And it didn't help that a fairly stressful semester ended  and I just didn't want to do anything. Lately I just have not felt like myself, and I'm definitely not happy with the toll it's taken on my body. SO, I've decided to make a change and get back to my normal self and start taking care of myself again. It doesn't matter how many times we fall, so long as we get back up and dust ourselves off. So if you're like me and you're struggling to get back up, just do it! It will be hard at first, I won't lie. But it's so worth it in the end. In an attempt to get back to my normal ways I've decided to take a break from paleo...who knows, maybe once I've had a break and feel like I've got a handle on my eating habits I will give it another try. There are a few things I've taken away from my paleo trial though:

• Fat is not the enemy. Previously I would shy away from anything that seemed too fatty. I would rarely use nut butters (even though I loved them). I would rarely use oil, butter, etc to cook with. I would avoid fatty meats. Now, I really do have a different view of fats and I'm no longer scared of them. 
• Avoid overly processed foods. The less ingredients the better. There's so many chemicals and things added to foods now-a-days that our body just doesn't know what to do with. Now, I'm trying to find moderation with this as well. With paleo, there's a very strict view of how pure everything you eat should be. But there are certain things that I'm willing to compromise on. Like sriracha. I absolutely love sriracha, but according to paleo you can't have it. It's all about balance, especially right now when I'm just trying to get back into my groove. 

Anyways, enough of my talking...I thought I'd share a recipe for some amazing protein pancakes I made before my paleo trial. These were so delicious, my god just thinking about them has got me drooling. 

PB&J Protein Pancakes

Ingredients:

For the pancakes:

• 1 scoop protein powder
• 2 tbsp peanut flour (or PB2)
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• 1 banana, mashed
• 2 egg whites

For the toppings:

• 2 handful of berries ( I used blackberries and blueberries, but any work)
• 2 tbsp peanut flour (or PB2, peanut butter/nut butter)

Directions:

1. Add protein powder, peanut flour, and baking soda to a bowl.
2. Add the banana in chunks. Mash it all together while trying to mix it the best you can. 
3. Add egg whites and stir well. 
4. Cook pancakes like any other pancakes!
5. While pancakes are cooking, put your berries on a plate or cutting board. Use a fork or masher to mash the berries very well. Combine mashed berries to form a fruit spread. 
6. Once pancakes are cooked, spread some of the fruit spread on each pancake. Stack them pancakes.
7. In a small bowl add peanut flour and enough water to make a consistency you can pour. Pour the mixture over those bad boys. 
8. Enjoy!

These pancakes are so fluffy and delicious, hands down the best protein pancakes recipe I've ever tried. This recipe was adapted from a recipe posted by @the_starving_artist on instagram.

Hopefully now that I have the summer off I will be posting a lot more on here. At least that's my goal :)

With love,

Tuffy