Sometimes you just love to rip into a big stack of pancakes on a Saturday or Sunday morning – but trust me, you will pay the price. Pancakes are very high on the Glycemic Index, which means that insulin levels will surge, and those carbs will be packed onto your body as stored fat…undoing all of the good work you did during the week. So try this substitute this weekend – I had these last weekend and drizzled them with melted natural peanut butter. You could also use sugar free syrup or jelly and some real butter to top these tasty high-protein pancakes. The casein in the cottage cheese and the fiber in the oats will keep you feeling satisfied, and burning fat, straight through to lunch.

1/2 cup low (or no) fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup steel cut oats
1 whole egg and 3 egg whites (any size egg)
Dash of cinnamon
Blend all ingredients in a blender, divide batter into four equal pancakes and cook in a frying pan or griddle on medium-high heat. Flip when bottom is golden brown.

Be creative – add some blueberries in after blending or on top, strawberries would work great as well!

Getting rid of your gut does more than just improve the way you look – you’ll also have a healthier heart to show for your efforts!  Cutting your carbohydrate intake by a third will help you lose fat while significantly lowering your triglycerides, a key predictor of heart disease.  Scientists at the University of California at Davis found that cutting carbs to less than 40 percent of your total daily calories deactivated a triglyceride-producing gene called stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase (SCD).  The greater the reduction in carbohydrates the less active the gene became.  Start today by switching to an open-faced sandwich or skipping bread altogether in favor of a high-fiber, high-protein tortilla like I recommend in The Burrito Diet.