I love a good three-ingredient recipe.  But sometimes the end result of these triads is a waste of their individual parts.  Case in point: the cottage cheese pancake.  This gussied-up, protein-packed version tastes like a weekend treat and hits the table in minutes thanks to the blender.

OK, so here's the problem with three-ingredient cottage cheese pancakes: they don't rise.  That's because they lack baking soda.  The hallmark of a good pancake is the presence of tiny bubbles coming to the surface of the batter, letting you know it's ready to flip and finish on the other side.  Baking soda acts with an acid (here, I use white vinegar) to produce carbon dioxide, resulting in these bubbles, and a light, fluffy pancake.  This is especially important when the flour in question is comprised of oats.  Oats lack gluten, another component that lends structure to baked goods.  

In addition to a leavening agent, these pancakes feature cinnamon, a bit of sugar, and coconut flour.  Coconut flour adds some heft to an otherwise runny batter.  It's a great product to have on hand for gluten-free baking - I brought these cupcakes to my in-law's for Christmas and they were a hit!  

The recipe below clocks in with fewer than 500 calories, 40g of protein, and 7.5g fiber per serving for 4 generous pancakes.  I mixed them up in a single-serve Ninja, and used a second cup to whip up a quick smoothie with water, lemon, ginger, parsley, spinach, and strawberries.  Hey, the blender was already out, so why not?  If you're going to be nice and share (doubt you'll want to), top each serving with some peanut butter or slivered almonds.  

Gussied-Up Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Author: Nicole Rodriguez, RDN

Special Equipment: blender, non-stick pan or griddle

Ingredients:

2 XL eggs + 1 white

1/2 C. cottage cheese (I used Stop N Shop brand, made with no added salt)

1/2 C. Old-Fashioned oats

1 T. coconut flour (I used Trader Joe's brand)

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. white vinegar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon (more or less to taste)

1 tsp. sugar (I used demerara)

Preparation:

Add all ingredients to blender (I used the single-serve attachment of the Ninja) and mix until smooth.  Heat nonstick pan or griddle.  When hot, pour 1/4 of batter onto pan.  Watch for bubbles to form and edges to set before flipping over.  Cook on other side 1-2 minutes longer, watching for pancake to rise.  Transfer to serving dish and repeat with remaining batter.  If your pan is large enough to cook two pancakes at a time, go for it - each pancake is 6-8 inches in diameter.

Enjoy!