Your mom probably told you as a kid that breakfast is the most important  meal of the day and you better believe she was right. Waking up to a hearty healthy breakfast will get your metabolism revving and give you energy for the day. It's a proven fact kids are smarter if they eat breakfast, therefore adults should be too (or at least you'd think so). For me, breakfast is the one meal I go to sleep looking forward to. Often times I think to myself, I can't wait to wake up so I can eat breakfast! It's kinda funny though, as a kid I was not really in to breakfast foods. Sometimes I ate cereal, but that's about it. Nowadays, my most common cravings are big fluffy pancakes with butter and syrup, gigantic muffins loaded with nuts and dried fruit, waffles with all the toppings, and good old bagels with Nova and cream cheese.

People are creatures of habit - I know I sure am! Usually I eat the same thing every morning for breakfast, even on the weekends. Sometimes I'll go through phases where for 3-4 months I'll eat one thing, then one day I will switch it up for a few months and eat something completely different. Right now (and for a while) my go-to breakfast is Hearty Bran Protein Pancakes. This recipe is by no means mine completely. It was revised from my friend Wendy's recipe. When I took a trip to Wyoming in February to snowboard and visit, Wendy made me these amazing pancakes. We topped them with peanut butter and I was hooked!

I've put anything I could think of on top of these suckers - from slivered almonds and sugar-free maple syrup, to cashew butter, to almond butter, to spray butter. What I top them with regularly is crunchy Peanut Butter and Sugar-free Strawberry Preserves. Be forewarned, these pancakes are hearty, you'll need a nice glass of Almond milk or mug of coffee to wash them down. Enjoy!

What's your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  

Hearty Bran Protein Pancakes

Prep time: 7 minutes - cook time: 3-4 min. - makes 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 3 large egg whites
• 1/3 cup oat bran
• 1 bloop half n'half or unsweetened almond
• milk dash of sea salt dash of cinnamon
• 1/2 scoop Vanilla Whey Protein Powder

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk egg whites lightly.  Add milk, salt and cinnamon; whisk until evenly combined.  Remove whisk, wash and put away.  Next, add oat bran and whey protein.  Mix with spatula until smooth.  If batter is too thick, add a splash of milk or water.
2. Pour batter in to a small greased skillet over medium-high heat.  Let cook for 1-2 minutes.  Flip over and cook the other side for another 1-2 minutes until golden brown.  Remove and top with whatever toppings are your favorite.

Nutrition facts for Pancakes without toppings (via nutritiondata.com) Calories: 190, Calories from fat: 24; Total fat: 3g; Trans Fat: 0g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 314 mg; Total Carbohydrate: 24g; Dietary Fiber: 6g; Sugar: 1g; Protein: 30g; Iron: 2.0mg