Good morning!
Well, it is official, late night swims make it really hard to fall asleep at night!
Last night Eric and I tossed and turned until about 2am.
This morning, these were needed desperately:
That would be Four O’Clock White and Green loose leaf tea.
But, before I had a cuppa, I clearly demonstrated why I should not be cooking in the kitchen on too little sleep.
Microwave door edge, meet Angela’s head.
Angela’s head, meet microwave door edge.
Was a mere bump on the head going to stop me? Absolutely not. I put that ice pak on my head and cooked one-handed. I was on a girl on a mission.
Remember that juicy orange I had last night before bed? Well, it turns out that oranges do nothing for hunger. They make you get up in the night to go to the bathroom, but that is about it. Of course, I knew this, but I can’t eat much before bed or I get stomach pains. I woke up this morning with a growling tummy!
You know what it said to me?
It said: Banana Pancake Sandwich– in a jiffy!
When my tummy speaks, I shall listen.
In A Jiffy Banana Pancake Sandwich
Adapted from my Healthy Spelt Pancakes for One.
Ingredients:
Pancakes:
- 1/2 cup whole grain spelt flour (other flours would probably work although you might have to adjust the milk amount)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of sea salt
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp Amazing Grass Amazing Meal Chocolate protein powder (optional)
- 3/4 tsp vanilla
- 3/4 cup Almond Milk
Directions: Pre-heat skillet on medium heat and lightly coat with oil (I used coconut oil). Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl and then add the wet ingredients and use a whisk to mix well. Pour a small amount of the mixture onto the skillet and make tiny pancakes, no larger than about 3 inches in width. Because the pancakes are tiny, you will be able to flip them very easy.
While the pancakes are cooking, slice a banana and set aside. Now combine the syrup ingredients in a small bowl.
Reduced-sugar pancake syrup:
- 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
Now assemble the pancake sandwich by layering the pancakes with the slices of banana. Add desired toppings and syrup. I used cacao nibs as a topping, but the sky is the limit! You can also double or triple this recipe, I doubled it this morning and make them for Eric too.
I love, love, love this syrup.
Let me just say I was feeling MUCH better after this breakfast!
I love these pancakes for 1 because it is the perfect amount and I don’t feel sick after eating them like other pancakes.
They tasted wildly indulgent, but they are actually really healthy. For the nutritional info, see this post.
Here is another one of my favourite quotes that I thought would be a good topic for discussion today:
“When I was young, I thought confidence could be earned with perfection. Now I know that you don’t earn it; you claim it. And you do that by loving the wacky, endlessly optimistic, enthusiastically uninhibited free spirit that is the essence of style, the quintessence of heart, and uniquely YOU.” ~ Cecelie Berry, writer
I too used to think that confidence was gained through perfection, but I realized after many years when the goal is perfection nothing will EVER be enough. There will always be something else to achieve or to do before you can finally be content with yourself.
I used to base my confidence on the number on the scale, but even if that number was low, I still wasn’t there yet, so I couldn’t give myself permission to be happy. Some day, I thought. Some day I will be there. Well, you know what? That day never came.
Years went by and I GOT SICK OF WAITING to give myself permission to be happy. I was sick of wasting precious time because I didn’t think that I deserved to be happy yet. I finally had to claim confidence, slowly over time, and to realize that I was good enough as I was in that very moment.
And so are you.
Right now, you are good enough. No, you are more than good enough, you are fabulous, amazing, inspiring, unique, and capable of so much more than you dream of.
Today’s question: Can you relate to this quote? Have you ever claimed confidence or happiness instead of waiting for it?
I’ve tried but I realized that I would probably never be happy with myself if I kept doing things the way I was doing them.
Hope your head feels better! :)
OMG. I hit my head on the microwave (unfortunatley) pretty regularly when I’m tired…sooooo glad to know I’m not the only one.
And re: your question. yes! Yes yes yes! I’ve spent most of my life suffering from depression and finally I just got sick of it and decided I CAN and WILL make myself happy. And that is exactly what I am doing with my life! I was sitting around waiting for happiness to show up, but obviously it doesn’t work that way. We have to be our own lights. And ever since I’ve made that choice, I truly feel HAPPY, which is something I’ve never felt before.
Ilana – that is a great story. I’ve battled depression in the past and I have absolute respect for anyone who can move through it a better person. It is something to be celebrated and a very rich part of the journey. Thanks for sharing that with us!
I love this quote! I have been making a huge effort to live by this idea for a while. I find that, when life is going well, I look for things to obsess or fester about. How’s that for neurotic? Instead, I’m now just trying to make a concerted effort to focus on the good things in each day, even when it’s a struggle.
I tossed and turned all night too! Something must be in the world’s air. :) You and your sinful breakfasts!!’
I totally agree with that quote. Plus, perfection is subjective. I think it is important to take charge of ourselves and make the DECISION to be happy and achieve what we want.
Oh no– so sorry that you had such a rough night! Your breakfast looks AMAZING though!!
I’ve never had a problem with perfectionism…which I guess could be a good thing OR a bad thing, depending! :-)
Ooh, what a great twist on banana pancakes! Banana pancakes always make me think of this amazing B&B I stayed at in Costa Rica where the owner made pancakes every morning and I got to PET A MONKEY while eating breakfast. Yea, it was pretty awesome. ;)
I agree with your quote. “Perfection” is unattainable. We shouldn’t want to be perfect, we should want to be as good as we can be while remaining uniquely us. And that is GREAT! I can be a better “me” than anyone else can. I’m the only one that can be “me”, and I’m great at it :) that’s what I tell myself
Love it love it love it! That quote was just what I needed this morning.
Those pancakes also look fantastic! I will definitely be trying those soon. :)
I hope your head feels better. I actually had to take a college roommate to the hospital once after she broke her nose on the cupboard door. (The house was old and the doors would stick, apparently it opened a little too quickly this time.) At least we were able to laugh about it. hehe
Maybe a silly question, but how do you add a pic to your profile?
Thanks!
Hmmm…there was a website I found a while back about having an avatar (profile pic), but I can’t seem to find it. I will update if I do.
Here it is, thanks to Mara!
http://en.gravatar.com/
Lat night workouts in general make it tough to fall asleep I find.
I love pancakes and they do fill you up and make everything in life better. Have a wonderful day!
Hi Angela – ever since you update last week, the RSS feed won’t update on your website! Any help or tips for me??
Thanks – I miss my updates from you :)
It should be fixed now!
Wow those pancakes look awesome! I’ve been on a pancake kick lately. I’ve been adding a few tablespoons of rolled oats to the mix for some extra whole grains and it gives it an awesome texture!
And yes, I can definitely relate to that quote. Perfection is impossible to achieve and sometimes I still struggle by looking more at how far I have to go and less and how far I’ve come since I’ve changed my life in the last year. I try to embrace the positive changes and huge strides I’ve made, but it’s hard to not get caught up in the few pounds I still have left to lose.
Your pancakes are gorgeous! I love your photos and I know that they probably looked even better in real life!
Your quotes are always great. Where the heck do you find them all?
This one in particular is so wonderful and you said it best yourself. I really think that what I was missing all those years (well, one of many things) was a sense of humour and lightness. Anyone can have discipline and drive, but I think that true happiness and real success comes from being able to smile, laugh and breathe (with relative calmness) when things are looking up or down. Perfectionism is like an assault on everything that makes us special…
I will be revealing the book that I got with quotes in it, in a few more days. I bought a copy for someone so I don’t want to ruin the surprise!
That just looks too pretty to eat!!
I would feel a million times better after a fabulous breakfast like that too!
I have serious confidence problems…I have struggled with it all my life. I wish I could just claim it like you said but I haven’t quite come to that point just yet.
take care of yourself girl!
that pancake stack looks like the perfect breakfast. i think i might head over to whole foods for some spelt flour love later today :)
Those pancakes look amazing!!!!
I am really happy with my life, and I feel blessed for all the great family and friends that surround me, but I still struggle at times with the number on the scale, and how I let it affect me. Thanks for the reminder that I shouldn’t let a number define me!
That breakfast is truly foodgasmic, I’ll need to recreate it for sure! And I definetly believe you have to be confident, not wait for it to happen!
I need to claim confidence. I am just a bundle of confusion. Those pancakes look wonderful…I really wish I could get the courage to do all these recipes.
Oh my gosh, yum! Banana is so perfect on pancakes :)
Those look amazing!!