Zucchini Pancakes

Pat and I got up extra early this morning to fit in some weight lifting at the gym before work. I haven't done a real weights session (aside from some random free weights) since I broke my elbow in June. It felt good to be working some of those neglected muscles, but I had to stop a few times when I felt shooting pain in my left arm. All in all though, I'm glad to be back in the saddle!

Wednesday is my work from home day, so when we got back from the gym I decided to deviate from my usual morning oatmeal. I saw a few zucchinis on the counter, and was inspired to make zucchini pancakes!

I used this Multi Grain pancake mix:

I really like this mix because its made with milled flax seed and soy protein. Flax seed is very good for you; evidence shows that it helps reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. So eat up! You can find flax seed at most grocery stores and it can be added to smoothies, oatmeal, cereal, salads, etc.

One serving of these pancakes has 10 grams of protein, 20% of your daily fiber, 15% of your calcium, and 15% of your iron! Instead of using oil as the recipe calls for I used organic unsweetened apple sauce.

Here's my batter:

Then I used my box cheese grater to grate some zucchini:

I used about 1/3 of a zucchini. Then mixed in to the batter:

And made my pancakes!

A little taste-testing:

And breakfast is served...zucchini pancakes with Vermont maple syrup and a glass of skim milk.

I really liked the shredded zucchini in the pancakes. The consistency was lighter and tasted refreshing. This is a good way to sneak some veggies into breakfast.

Now I'm fueled up to run some intervals on my lunch break. Today its 9x400 at a 5k pace.