Tackling glycemic index with Mancakes and syrup slather!

Being an endurance athlete and coach, there are very few times when food isn't on my mind or when I'm thinking about what my next meal will be.  I'm fortunate to have a background in nutrition along with doing a few years of Health Consulting during my stint in Nashville.  This means I usually make good choices and eat well most of the time.  This twist on a breakfast fav evolves from when I was working with a person with Diabetes that also loved pancakes and syrup (which are both high on the glycemic index). I tried to include ingredients in both that included longer chain carbohydrates, proteins and yes, fats so the glycemic load of the food was less of a spike for the insulin. Now I've never tested this in a lab, but the concept should hold true.  And with the syrup being the consistency more of a spread, less can be used thus not over-pouring the syrup. 

Alright down to business and although I whipped these up for years they never had a name until recently.  I like to call these, "Mancakes" because they aren't your typical wimpy 4 inch white-baddered Bisquick BS!  They are full-plate, full-belly lumps of love. The Mancake name I have to give credit to a bike rep, Steve, as we were whipping up b-fast before a race in Gunnison one early morning and it's stuck ever since.

Since the first inception of this concoction I've never had a recipe. And really when I'm in the kitchen, I rarely measure things so I'll try to be better here to help you out.  Really with a badder like this, it's more of tossing things in that you like and testing the consistency that allows you to pour it on the griddle.

With what seems to be the recent gluten-free movement whether it be for true sufferers of celiacs or an athlete looking to avoid the inflammatory effect of gluten; it's enlightened me to try different combinations of flours since my orginal inception in the early 2000s.   So my recent concoction came from the fact I had waaaaay to many Bob's Red Mill flours in my lazy susan at the house so I decided to whip up some pancakes to take care of business.  


I honestly can't say this version came out gluten-free, but that hasn't been my goal lately with the craze of all the gluttards going crazy out there as the next fad to jump on in hopes to lose weight. My goal has been variety! And this GF craze has made so many more options on the shelves of the local food store a reality.

Dry Mix Options: (start at 1 if you are just getting started & move down as you get more serious about less processed foods or just feeling explorative!)
1. pre-blended buckwheat pancake mix (like Kodiak cakes or similar)
2. higher quality Gluten-free flour mix (I like the flavor blend of Pamela's brand)
3. the fun option of tossing all you have in a bowl
Brown Rice, teft, spelt, soy, potato starch, millet, quinoa, corn, sorghum, garbanzo, almond, etc. and the list goes on.

Mancake ingredients optionals: (choose 1-3 of these)
- ground Chia seed
- baked sweet potato
- pureed pumpkin
- rolled oats ** extra liquid for this
- chopped fruit (prefer banana, blueberry, or diced red apple)
- cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice (sprinkle on once in pan while pancake bubbling!)
- nuts (walnuts or pecans are a fav, slivered almonds good too!)

Actual recipe...getting down to business.
1 egg
1 C milk (I prefer almond or coconut or rice) (adjust amount based on extras for consistency)
1 Tbsp oil (usually cold pressed EVOO or Coconut)
1 C dry mix
1/4 C of each Mancake optionals
   Pre-heat large pan or griddle on Med heat. Whisk together wet ingredients then mix in dry til just blended.  Add optionals stirring enough to distribute within mix.  Check consistency to make sure still not too thick an pours easily but not runny. Adjust with more liquid if needed. Pour batter into large plate-sized servings to cook (c'mon why make little pansy cakes here, we're talking "Mancakes")

While pizza-size cakes cook whip up some of my special syrup.... 
Maple Slather
1/3-1/2 C real maple syrup (no high fructose corn syrup HFCS stuff, only ingredient should be PURE MAPLE SYRUP and the darker the better!)
1-2 Tbs Natural Nut butter (I prefer Kettle brand Almond butter or almost any version with just 1-2 ingredients....the nut and maybe salt.  Raw versions are really great choice too.)
1 tsp Cinnamon (goes especially well with the diced apple fruit choice from above.)

Fill small pot with 1in water and place on stove eye. Find small bowl that is heat-safe and fits in small pot just prepped with water. Place all syrup ingredients in bowl and then in water (making sure water doesn't displace into syrup since just used here as heat bath). Heat syrup bath on Low to Med heat stirring periodically to combine warmed syrupy goodness.

Slather up the cakes with a scoop or two of the nutty syrup lovin and enjoy with a stout cup of joe!  Now get out there for a big trail ride or this can be a great post long run brunch like it was today.

Project: SHAPE.COM “READY, SET, RACE!”

So I teamed up again with Cristina Goyannes after her successful prep and completion of the Tour de NoCO for another multi-day cycling adventure, the YSC Tour de Pink. The event boasted over 11k ft of climbing in just shy of 200 miles.  Not soooo, bad I thought until she conveyed the challenge as I pulled up the website; "we have 6 weeks and I'm writing a blog series for Shape Magazine for the lead in."    

Well it just so happens challenges in my professional career of coaching up the ante to perform just like my athletic prowess.  So we got on it with a discussion of what activities and bike riding she'd done since early July besides go live it up at the Tour de France.  And the answer presented the toughest part of my job, juggling busy lives to squeeze in some fitness.  That is always the case as the training the easy part with most of my clients, it's all the other things in life that I really have to make sure to consider.  

Anyways to let the cat out of the bag, Cristina finished the YSC TdP successfully and to the extent she tweeted to me some proof the work paid off and she was waaay better off than she'd expected. 

For easy reference from the article series, here are the direct links to the Training plan and Workout descriptions. 

I've also linked the Shape Mag articles below so you can experience just the tip of the iceberg of what we discussed on her coaching calls leading in.  

Shape Magazine - Ready, Set, Race!
Post 1 Why I Ride 
Post 2 First Big Training Weekend
Post 3 Meet the Man Behind my Plan 
Post 4 Don't Let Travel or an Illness Derail your Fitness 
Post 5 Find the Best Bike for You
Post 6 Training?! Nah it's more like Exploring on a Bike
Post 7 Mental Tips to Get Ready to Roll
Post 8 Common Mistakes that Prevent Workout Success
Post 9 Pre-Race Jitters: Am I Ready for This?
Post 10 Tour de Pink Recap: More than a Pedalfest

Thanks for checking it out!