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Eating for energy

savoury-pancakes
Do you have a chronic illness? Are you looking for a little inspiration to help you build up your confidence, so you can exercise again?
Community influencers on social media have become ever more important during the pandemic. People are seeking real role models from their own communities to inspire and motivate them to get to the other side of the pandemic – a life-changing situation. If you are anything like me, this trend makes sense. For instance, if a very tiny slim nurse tells me to eat less, when it is clear from our conversations that she has never been overweight in her life there’s no connection.
When looking on Facebook recently, it struck me that many of us have felt it is our calling to offer support to individuals like neighbours, or a wider group on-line to make a difference due to the long days of being stuck indoors. One community influencer is Clare who founded ‘Kindness Community Canterbury and Kent’, which has over a 200 strong following. The group started out being informative, highlighting initiatives and helping people during the pandemic across the county. As the group has evolved Clare has set-up group polls to see how the group can become more tailored to everyone’s needs. This impacts her content, so it becomes more focused and not scattergun.
Clare is challenged with chronic illness, so she also started sharing recipes inspired by her situation and this is about eating for energy. It struck me that many of us are probably battling with energy levels at present, mostly because of limited activity at home. Here is a recipe that has inspired me to do a little healthy cooking. Hopefully this will enthuse you too.

Simple, Savoury, Protein Pancakes

MAKES 2-3 

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup or average mug of gram flour (chickpea flour)
  •  ½ a cup or average mug of water or milk
  • Celery OR Kalo Garlic and Herb stock cubes which contain celery
    • Garlic, onion and ginger OR ½ a stock cube and some ginger spice
  • Oil of choice
  • Green vegetables – I used celery with leaves and spinach leaves. Most of us need extra greenery in our diet and spinach works wonderfully in savoury pancakes.
  • Pumpkin seeds
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Pour a generous amount of oil into a frying pan on low-medium heat.

  2. Mix flour and milk/water in a bowl – it’s normal to have a few little lumps left with gram flour, it doesn’t affect the outcome in my experience. Using hot water instead of cold may help reduce lumps.

  3. Leave to stand for about 5 mins.

  4. Chop garlic, onion and ginger for flavouring OR ½ a stock cube and some ginger spice added to ½ a cup of boiled water/or milk.

  5. Fry and soften garlic, onion, ginger and celery OR ½ a stock cube and ginger spice in oil of choice.

  6. Add to the frying pan a small handful of spinach, pumpkin seeds, a pinch of salt, pepper, herbs and spices to your taste. I recommend basil, cumin and turmeric. I love turmeric because of its colour and health benefits including being a natural anti-inflammatory, great for pain and balancing blood sugar. (It’s also a great indicator when cooking, as it will darken slightly to a nice yellow/orange shade which I find often indicates when cooking is almost complete.)

  7. Cover all ingredients with the pancake mix.

  8. Cook each side of the pancake for approximately 5 minutes on a medium heat.

Tips and Suggestions:

  •  For added protein and flavour try adding a small amount of ground almonds to the batter. 

  • I personally like to add vegan mayonnaise and a side salad to the side of my plate (see pictures) with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, to add in essential fats vital for our health.

  • You could also top with cheese (I use Sainsbury’s own make vegan cheese). Or cover half of the surface area of pancake with cheese and toppings of your choice i.e. spinach, olives, tomatoes, mushrooms and fold in half.

  • If you don’t fancy adding turmeric do consider adding sweet some potatoes to your plate for colour, taste and its many health benefits including boosting your immune system.

In order to access the group, please go to: @Kindness Community Canterbury Kent.

Other inspirations Clare has shared are Miranda Hart, ‘Miranda nails it again. Chronic Illness.’ Facebook

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