Monday, January 19, 2009

Kid Nutrition...whatever works!

I'm not much of an experimenter when it comes to food. When I'm given a recipe, I make it, I taste it, and I decide whether or not I like it. I never think, "Well, this would be better with a little more paprika-sugar-salt-ginger-cinnamon-cardamom-whatever, or a little less cumin-curry-cilantro-cheese-etc." The thoughts never cross my mind. I'm just not a creative cook. I copy recipes. I put them in the make again pile, or throw them in the garbage. I don't make experiment. Period. Except when it comes to three staples in our toddler-infested house: mac 'n cheese, pancakes, and smoothies.
If anything is in noodle, pancake, or liquid form, my kids will eat it! I add about a cup of canned pumpkin to every box of macaroni. And our smoothies (already chock full of fruit) often have a greenish tint due to the added kale or spinach. And pancakes? I add EVERYTHING. This last Saturday was an especially exotic pancake-for-lunch day. I don't have exact measurements, because I sort of just threw it all in the blender, but here are the main ingredients:
1 can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
2 cups pancake mix (ish)
2 cups water
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 banana
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 cup chocolate chips (just in case some flavors needed some hiding...)
Preheat skillet to 375 degrees F, blend everything together, scoop out about 1/4 cup of mixture onto skillet, cook for about 2 minutes on each side. Top with powdered sugar, syrup, fresh fruit, etc. Super filling, super yummy, do you dare try it out?
How do you get fruits and veggies into your wee ones (or significant others)?

1 comment:

Diane said...

I'm not big on experimentation either. If the recipe calls for a quarter cup, you can be sure I'm adding a quarter cup. Your pancakes sound pretty good. I have to laugh about your adding stuff to food. It reminds me of the time you added something orange (carrots?) to your tuna and Joe wouldn't eat it.