Are you working on “breaking-in” a picky eater and need a breather? This may be a simple option.
I created these pancakes as a way to both salvage leftovers and get extra veggies into our daily routine.
If you do have a picky eater – I highly recommend you do three things:
- Don’t give up. It can take even 15 times of introducing a new food for a child to accept it. Ask for help! No shame.
- Give these super-charged pancakes a try! And give yourself (and your sweet little) a break every now and then.
- Keep your joy up. Keep encouraged! Your efforts are not fruitless, they will pay off. We’re rooting for you too!!
Feed with Love
My sister is an incredible Pediatrician. She recommended the following resource for feeding kids. We love it!!
The next time someone “ews” at you for eating veggies with breakfast – make them these. Cheers.
Sweet or Savory V-Cakes
Servings: 5 people
Calories: 380kcal
Cost: $0.80 – $0.94
When sneaking in veggies: choose something delicious, toddler friendly and easy to grab on-the-go!
Print Recipe
Equipment
- large and medium bowls, skillet or pancake griddle, fork, spoon, large spatula, blender or food processor, cheese grater, stove
Ingredients
The Batter
- ½ cup Bob's Red Mill Cassava Flour
- ¾ cup Almond Flour Costco/Sam's bulk
- 3 Free Range Eggs
- 8 oz Almond Milk or preferred non-dairy milk
- 2 tbsp Coconut Oil
- 4 tsp Baking Powder
Veggies that make up the "V" cakes. PICK ONE or TWO (half amounts of each)
- 4 Carrots medium, grated
- 1 cup Cabbage pureed
- ¾ cup Asparagus grated or pureed
- ¾ cup Broccoli pureed
- ¾ cup Sweet Potato pureed
- ¾ cup Pumpkin puree canned or from scratch
- 1 cup Zucchini grated or pureed
Savory and Sweet Spices
- 1 tsp Pumpkin Spice
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1.5 tsp 21 Seasoning Salute (all purpose seasoning)
- ½ tsp Turmeric or Curry Powder
- 1 tbsp Coconut Oil (for greasing skillet or griddle)
Pizzazz of Yum
- 1 cup Cheese, grated or vegan cheese
Instructions
Veggies
- Your preparation depends on what you choose. Yes, prep these before the batter.I highly recommend at a minimum grating whatever veggie you use (cheese grater works). If you're using leftover veggies, I recommend pureeing them before adding to the batter.No, you do not need to cook the veggies before adding them!
Batter Prep
- In large bowl, whisk together wet ingredients (eggs, milk, oil).
- Add dry ingredients slowly, stirring as you go to create a consistent batter. *Don't worry if it's more thick than normal pancake batter! ***Wait to add more liquid until after you've blended in your veggies.***
- Put It All Together
- Mix the veggie(s) into the pancake batter well until you have a consistent mixture.
- Add the cheese to the batter OR sprinkle on top when they're almost done cooking.
- If it's too thick: add a bit more milk **by the tablespoon** to avoid adding too much. If it's too runny, add a little more cassava flour to thicken it up.
- Yes – you can add pureed meat or beans to this as well! Consistency will change so do your best to accommodate the extra ingredients by adjusting milk and flour ratios. The recipe calls for 3 eggs, which should be enough.Possibilities are endless for fillers here!
Cooking
- Cook on a griddle or skillet in remaining coconut oil on medium to medium – high heat (depending on your griddle or stove) for 2 – 3 minutes per side, flip once.
- Do not overcrowd the pancakes. If you're using a skillet, cooking 3 or 4 at a time is plenty.
Fun with Shapes!
- Once the pancakes are done cooking, ask those little helping hands to cut them into fun shapes with cookie cutters! Participating in cooking may help increase food appeal to kiddos.
- Don't waste the pancakes "edges" from cutting! I usually scoop a few of these up and make myself a plate. Alternatively, you could find a good bread pudding recipe to put them in.
Notes
WHOLE RECIPE: Total Calories: 1,730 – 1,900
Total Cost – $4.00 – $4.70 . Grade – A . *Monthly Cost – $270 – $335
Programming Notes:
- Don’t be afraid to use leftover veggies and puree them.
- To make this dish VEGAN – swap out the eggs for flax eggs (1 tbsp flax seed + 3 tbsp water = 1 egg)
- Ground flaxseed is an A grade item!
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Sweet or Savory V-Cakes
Amount Per Serving
Calories 380
Calories from Fat 207
% Daily Value*
Fat 23g35%
Saturated Fat 8g50%
Cholesterol 113mg38%
Sodium 252mg11%
Potassium 527mg15%
Carbohydrates 29g10%
Fiber 5g21%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 14g28%
Vitamin A 3082IU62%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 484mg48%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Carrot V Cakes 
Purple Cabbage V-Cake pre-batter 
Asparagus V Cakes
Costing out those Veggies!
$ – SAVVY: Unsurprisingly, sweet potatoes and carrots take the cake for the most calories for your $. If you’re looking for a less starchy veggie that is super low in cost with more calories, carrots win that category. Surprisingly, zucchini and canned organic pumpkin are almost equally priced! Either way, you’ll end up with an A – enjoy those veggies!!
Diversity on your plate increases nutrient intake, so try new veggies for fun!
Here’s a table with external links for each recipe ingredient (plus a few alternate ingredient ideas). As previously mentioned, prices vary per region, season, city, store and personal preference for brand or specific type of food item.
| Almond Flour | Eggs (Costco) | Sweet Potato |
| Cassava Flour | Goat Cheese (Costco – best $ or Sam’s or TJ’s) | Pumpkin Puree (or TJ’s) |
| Arrowroot Starch/ Flour | Pecorino Cheese (Il Fornato Toscano) | Large Organic Carrots |
| Flaxseed Meal | Almond Milk (unsweetened) check your local store brand | Red Cabbage |
| Coconut Oil (extra virgin) | Cinnamon or TJ’s | Broccoli (extra stems? use them!) |
| Baking Powder (aluminum & corn free) or TJ’s | Pumpkin Spice or TJ’s | Zucchini (a solid garden veggie!) |
| Local Honey or your farmer’s market | 21 Seasoning Salute or THIS (2x the $) | Asparagus |
| Any leftover lonely veggies you got! | Turmeric or Curry Powder | Butternut Squash or TJ’s (seasonal) has amazing deals |
TJ’s = Trader Joe’s . Sam’s = Sam’s Club
