Confession time: I was the parent who said that I would never add secret vegetables to my kid’s food. That is, until my kid became a picky eater and decided that anything with vegetables was automatically “yuck”.
In the past, I’ve made the mistake of adding secret vegetables to her food, and then after she has a bite and declares it “yum!” and I reveal the secret ingredient, she pushes it away and won’t eat another bite. To other parents of picky eaters: I feel you. (These pancakes may only have a small amount of beets but any food I can get my kid to eat that isn’t white bread or white rice is a victory in my house.)
So recently, I made Pink Pancakes (the secret ingredient is beets!), adapted from a recipe in Jessica Seinfeld’s Deceptively Delicious cookbook. The verdict: my 3-year-old precious picky eater declared it “YUM!”
Recipe: (makes 6-8 pancakes)
Note: You don’t need a recipe to make this as long as you remember that pancakes have approximately a ratio of 1 cup of mix per 1 cup of liquid. My pancakes have a lot of wet solid ingredients so my ratio favors the liquid side; adjust to your own liking. I added the egg, beet, and applesauce to a measuring cup first and then added the milk up to the 1 1/4 cup line.
I also had pre-made beet puree by steaming the beets with a little water and then pureeing with my immersion blender (and I save my veggie purees in 1/2 cup baggies in the freezer, a tip I picked up from Jessica Seinfeld’s book). You could also use a jar of baby food or other puree to your taste.
I add a little sugar to my pancake mix because I prefer to serve it without syrup or a fruit compote.
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup beet puree
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- ~1/2 cup milk (more for thinner, less for thicker pancakes)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- (optional) 1-2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 cup dry pancake mix (I used buckwheat)
- (optional) butter
- (optional) chocolate chips
Directions
- Beat together the wet ingredients and spices (eggs, purees, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar) in a large bowl until everything is well mixed.
- Add your pancake mix and stir until just incorporated. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes (while your pan is heating up to medium). (Add butter to the pan and let it melt.)
- Ladle your pancake mix onto your hot pan. (Optional: while the bottom is cooking, quickly add your chocolate chips to the top of the pancake in whatever pattern you want.)
- When the top of the pancake starts to bubble (anywhere from 2-4 minutes for me), flip over and cook for another 1-3 minutes until set.
