WEEK 08: Pancakes

This has been a great post-birthday week. The boys have been a little wacky on napping, but we really are enjoying our second year! They've added wheat germ, tomatoes, and pancakes to their list of firsts this week and liked every bit of it.

FOOD DESCRIPTION
I finally put the ingredients that I bought for healthy flour to work this week and made some whole grain pancakes. I didn't introduce syrup or any toppings although real maple syrup, butter, fruit jellies, peanut butter, and other spreads would be great. We also didn't do these for breakfast, as I'm not so inclined to get up that early yet, but rather had them for lunch. I some times get the question about "when" and I will tell you that I always think ahead when planning my day, or especially something new. I put the boys down for their morning nap and went right to work making pancakes and preparing other small fruits and vegetables for meals in the refrigerator and freezer.

PROCESS

• Whole Grain Pancakes I made the pancake recipe from page 330 of Ruth Yaron's book Super Baby Food, including the Super Flour mix from page 289. It was an easy recipe, mixing dry ingredients and adding eggs, milk and oil. I followed the recipe exactly and made them four at a time on my skillet. I moved them to cool on wire racks (after tasting one for myself, of course). Once they were cool, I kept one aside for lunch taste test and packaged up the rest with wax paper in a freezer bag. Be sure to let your pancakes bubble all the way on the first side before flipping. Also, watch for your skillet to get too hot as you're cooking. It's often the right temperature to start, but soon gets too hot and your pancakes will come out looking brown. Don't mash them down or keep flipping them over as they will get tough.

PANCAKES
Mix in this order:
2 cups Super Flour
2 teaspoons baking soda (or baking powder)
2 lightly beaten eggs
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons oil (or melted butter)
Healthy Extras (I did not add any, but plan to next time around.)

SUPER FLOUR
2 tablespoons soy flour
2 tablespoons wheat germ
2 tablespoons brewer's yeast
(put all of the above in a two-cup dry measuring cup)
Top off the measuring cup with whole wheat flour.

Don't overbeat the batter. Heat your skillet until hot and just a few drops of cold water jump and sizzle. You don't want them to just lie there or evaporate instantaneously. Pour about 2-3 tablespoons of batter on the pan. Cook until the surface is filled with bulbbles. Flip and cook the other side 1 to 2 minutes more. Do not continue flipping or press down on the pancake or it will be heavy and tough.

• Spinach & Tomato Sauce With the addition of tomatoes this week, I decided to blend some together with spinach and garlic powder. This made a yummy sauce that I've served as a puree on a spoon and plan to mix with some whole wheat pasta for a single dish meal as well.

WHAT I LEARNED
A great way to have pancakes ready for breakfast is to make a batch ahead of time and freeze them for up to 3 months. They can heat in the oven or toaster oven for just a few minutes or just a few seconds in the microwave. To keep them separated and fresh when frozen, I placed 3 of them on a folded piece of wax paper. I had 4 of these groups to freeze, making 12 total pancakes in my freezer bag. See the example below.

REACTION
The pancakes were a great finger food addition to lunch and provided a nice, healthy alternative to bread, bagels, or crackers. I felt great about the ingredients and both boys liked the taste and texture.

SUMMARY
I'm excited about these new pancakes and look forward to thawing and serving for breakfast with a yummy topping soon!

Please share your thoughts or ideas.
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