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Protein Pancakes Hit ‘Shark Tank’ — Protein Cookie, Cupcake, Brownie Recipes, And 238,000 Instagram Posts Prove Popularity [Video]

By Paula Mooney
Published on: 02:02 PST, Jan 6, 2016

The concept of protein pancakes might be a foreign idea to some folks, but not workout fiends. In a new video clip from Shark Tank, the $42.95 protein pancakes shocked some of the sharks, as reported by Entertainment Weekly?. However, the ABS Protein Pancakes makers showed off their “Authentic Beauty and Strength,” as well as a set of ripped abs to the sharks. It convinced them to think of their protein pancake packs as protein powder, which can be pricey, instead of comparing their protein pancakes to the cost of Bisquick.

As witnessed on Instagram, the hashtag #proteinpancakes enjoys 238,089 posts as of this writing. Plenty of those posts show the delicious ways people are creating their protein pancakes, with recipes that prove they are swapping out unhealthy ingredients for less fattening fare. Instead of a ton of white flour, butter, and maple syrup, the protein pancake recipes usually contain protein powder or protein pancake powder as a base.

Then, folks generally add bananas or sugar-free maple syrup — and lots of times pourable egg whites to the mix. Fans of almond or coconut milk might add it as a liquid base, while others think of different fare to add to their protein pancakes to fix their sweet-tooth cravings.

The ABS Pancakes business owners featured on Shark Tank are currently running a Shark Tank special that cuts the price of their protein pancake powder, which is a good thing. That’s because the sharks were taken aback by the high price that the two trainers and photographers who run the protein pancake company had to charge for their protein pancake mix.

While the sharks liked the packaging of the protein pancakes and some of them — like Mark Cuban — enjoyed the taste, most of them bristled that one package of protein pancake mix from ABS Protein Pancakes costs $42.95. Nevertheless, the entrepreneurs explained that they used high-quality ingredients, including gluten-free stuff, and along with a co-packager, those factors drove the price of their protein pancakes upward toward $42.

The Shark Tank folks stuck with the duo that explained how protein pancakes can help build abs instead of taking them away like regular white flour pancakes tend to do. The ABS Protein Pancakes had been for sale for less than one year when the makers hit Shark Tank — 11 months, to be exact — and at that point had already swelled towards $100,000 in gross sales.

On YouTube, requests about protein pancakes and how to make them drove the ABS Protein Pancake makers to create the above instructional video, which walks viewers through making the protein pancakes. With high-protein contents and low-carb ingredients, the protein pancake recipes are winning fans who want to lose weight and look great and feel better. But the $42.95 price was shocking to the sharks.

“Forty-two dollars for pancakes? What’s wrong with you?”

Not to be outdone by protein pancakes, the hashtag #proteincupcakes is making headway, with 3,221 posts showing protein cupcakes on Instagram. Those protein cupcakes also come along with recipes, with some folks eschewing the almond milk (since lots of almond milk products aren’t really made with a lot of almonds that the makers can verify — and might use only 2 percent almonds, as reported by the Daily Meal) and going straight protein powder instead. For example, Instagram user Stephanie_Buttermore posted her recipe for protein cupcakes.

“Protein cinnamon roll cupcakes

So I was experimenting today with cupcakes that are made ONLY with protein powder (no almond flour, oat flour, oil, or almond milk). Generally you add these ingredients to prevent the cupcakes from being too dry but these turned out great! So these are for people who are on a very strict diet that would like to curb their sweet tooth a bit? -4 scoops vanilla whey
-2 tbs psyllium husk powder (fiber) -2 tbs of cinnamon -1/2 tbs baking powder & 1/2 tbs baking soda
-2 cups of water (i just added enough water to make a thick batter consistency”

The #proteincookies hashtag enjoys 18,251 posts on Instagram, along with a plethora of protein recipes as well.

There are protein brownie recipes as well, with #proteinbrownies gaining 7,006 posts.

[Image via Shutterstock]

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