Name a better breakfast than pancakes – we’ll wait. This version is full of protein and fibre, perfect for keeping you full on drizzly autumn mornings.

“When it’s still dark outside, it calls for a warm breakfast – and it’s even better if the whole family will eat them and you can reheat for tomorrow’s breakfast,” says Meadows. “These high protein pancakes can help with stabilising blood sugar throughout the day and keep you feeling fuller for longer. Oats and chia seeds are a great source of zinc, which not only helps the body fight off infections but also supports recovery. Alongside the vitamin C-rich blueberries, these are a great autumn breakfast choice to support our immune systems.”

Ingredients
Makes 12-14 small pancakes

50g oats (gluten-free, if needed)
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp cinnamon
2 ripe bananas
4 eggs
25g protein powder (plain or vanilla works best)
100ml milk (any)
Coconut oil for cooking
2oog blueberries (frozen or fresh)

Method

1. Add the oats, chia seeds and cinnamon to a blender and blend for a few seconds to a coarse flour consistency. If you don’t have a blender you can mix the ingredients in a bowl, it will just be a slightly different texture, but still very tasty.

2. Add bananas, eggs, protein powder and milk to the oat mixture and blend again until all mixed. You want a runny batter consistency so add more milk if needed.

3. Heat a frying pan on a medium heat, sightly cooler than you would use for more traditional pancakes. Add at least 2 tsp of coconut oil, making sure the oil doesn’t get too hot and smoke.

4. Pour the mixture in to the pan, carefully creating small pancakes about 12cm across. Don’t make them too big as you won’t be able to flip them so err on the conservative side. Pop four or five blueberries on top of each pancake.

5. Once you start to see the pancakes crisp slightly round the edge, gently flip over. They will still be quite raw on top so you do need to do this carefully. Cook on the second side for a few minutes. You want a light golden brown appearance.

6. You can either keep the cooked pancakes warm in a cool oven under foil while you prepare the next round, or serve up and eat hot straight out of the pan.

7. Once ready, stack up on a plate. These pancakes are also delicious with natural yoghurt, maple syrup, more fruit or just by themselves.

8. These can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for three days. They reheat in the pan in a few minutes or can be eaten cold on the go.

3 nourishing autumnal breakfast ideas to brighten up dark, wet mornings