Charlie and Olive have switched places — now Charlie is the good eater and Olive is the picky one! Alas both kids seem to have inherited my pickiness.

Olive is eating very little lately, and in an effort to try to get her to eat more, I whipped up these healthy, gluten-free pancakes that are a great way to sneak in some veggies. The kids ate these better than plain pancakes, and I preferred them too! They were a HUGE hit and the 10 I made yesterday are all gone (ok I ate 4 of them). I’m going to have to make a second batch today because I like to freeze them to always have some on  hand for quick breakfasts.


Ingredients:

1 zucchini
1 sweet potato
1 very ripe banana (I freeze them when they become super ripe and that’s what I used for this recipe)
3 eggs
1 cup flour or pancake mix (I used Arrowhead Mills Organic Gluten-free Pancake Mix)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tb maple syrup (optional)
butter to cook your pancakes

Directions:

Chop your zucchini and sweet potato. Cook your sweet potato by your method of choice — steam, microwave, or boil. Steaming preserves the nutrients best, but when you’re a busy mom, the microwave is often your best friend. I also toss the zucchini in there for just a minute, but you don’t have to. Put the sweet potato, zucchini, banana, and water into a food processor and puree. In a large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients, and mix well. Then add your puree and mix to combine all the ingredients. Heat some butter in a pan and spoon the batter into the warm pan. I make three about the size of my hand at a time. This recipe made 10 pancakes.

You can also add more bananas, which act as a natural sweetener. You can mix up the veggies too — carrots, pumpkin, and squash would work well. I’m going to throw in some spinach next time since Charlie and Olive like spinach. These freeze well, and you could turn this into muffins too by adding a teaspoon of baking soda. I tend to wing it when it comes to recipes most of the time, so you may have to add more water depending on how thick/thin you want your pancakes, and the amount of veggies you add. Top them with maple syrup, honey, fresh fruit, butter, jam…. have fun coming up with your own creation!

Enjoy!