The tale of the green pancake… 
Food issues. We have them! When our little came to us she weighed 22 pounds at just shy of 5 and she only ate fast food chicken nuggets and anything chocolate. Fast forward a few months and she will eat PB &J sammies. I would buy organic PB and organic jelly and find the good bread on the buy now die later shelf at my grocery store. I would make a ton and freeze them. Pull one out and toss it in her lunch box. It is perfectly fine at lunch! We also got her eating pancakes with chocolate chips. Spaghetti on certain days. Hamburgers with extra ham and ketchup. Not sure where she thinks the ham comes in but it is still funny to hear her order it at a restaurant.
She will get on kicks where she will consume massive quantities of items such as green grapes, cucumbers or apples. I kind of go with the flow and keep them well stocked for snacking! Anyway back to the green pancake. I have become an expert in hiding fruits and veggies in food. The perfect example is the pancakes. Really by the time you toss it the chocolate chips and toss on the syrup, you can not tell what is actually in the pancake. For example, my little and I made pancakes for the week. Side note….pancakes will also freeze well. Make them in bulk and put them in a freezer bag and they will be good for weeks. Makes giving your kid breakfast in the morning easier when you are pressed for time! Pull them out as you need them and nuke it for 30 seconds. POOF! I actually say poof when I give it to her!
So back to hiding food…I hide all sorts of stuff. Last night I added some organic baby food. (Organic because it was on sale and I had a coupon…I am not THAT mom that only serves organic but try to when budget allows) It is easy to do. Just pour or squeeze your secret food of choice and add water to the consistency of pancake mix. Now when I bought it I looked at the label and it was the usual suspects like apple, kiwi, spinach, pear, and kale. I opened it up and poured it right in the mix. Much to my surprise, it was green. I mean that kind of green that looks like it comes out the other end of a baby. So what did I do? I added more mix and then some applesauce to even the color out and hoped she would not notice.
Picture her sitting on the country helping me pour in the batter a scoop full at a time. This is her MO. She will “help” with the first one and then run off and eat it leaving me to make the rest of the 1,357 pancakes myself. So picture her scooping the greenish mix into the pan. She spilled a little her finger and licked it off. I thought for sure my game was up. No syrup to cover the taste. I waited for the “ewwww” face. Waiting. Waiting. Pancake cooking. Waiting. Nothing. In fact, she “accidentally” spilled some onto a spoon and started eating it uncooked. WHAT! It is a miracle. A light shown, the birds hushed their chirping, the angels wept…Ok. Not that bad but in the life of a foster momma we celebrate (if in our hearts only) the small advances forward. So the first pancake cooked, cut up and served. Little child happily eating it. Momma at the stove cooking the rest of the batch thanking God even in the little things like eating green pancakes.
Loved this post so much. I wish I had learned to hide veggies a long time ago. I waited too long and now my teen catches on way too quick.
That’s a great idea to use baby puree in pancakes and other recipes. Thanks for sharing!
That is a very smart way of adding veggies to other foods. I have seen some veggies added to stuff that were so big, no hiding them.
Wow, who would have thought?! My son is super picky and it is so hard to get him to eat new things! I am definitely going to have to try these green pancakes. Thank you so much for sharing!
Good idea, lots of creative always to incorporate veggies in the diet.
I love this. I’ve been hiding food in pancakes, cakes, muffins, waffles etc since my first was born. I took a course on childhood nutrition and the Doctor said you shouldn’t “hide” the vegetables… I don’t think she had ever had a head to head with a toddler of a piece broccoli before! Hide them! Show them! I don’t care as long as they EAT THEM!
Once you have determined the best pancake setting for your equipment make a note of it. In the future you’ll be surprised at how quickly you will be able to turn out perfect pancakes
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