Making pancakes are a great activity to get your little ones involved in. They can help to add all the ingredients to the bowl, whisk it up, and then its down to you to cook it. They can even help to get all the toppings ready to put on the table. It's going to be messy, but hey, that's part of the fun isn't it?
(Deep breath ... sigh ... )
As a mum myself, I understand it probably is another thing on your "to do" list, possibly after a long busy day, and it would be a lot easier to make them yourself. But think of it this way, yes there will be mess to clear up afterwards, but if we can accept the mess, you will be able to enjoy seeing their happy little faces, and feel proud of the memories you are helping them to create.
You can also use this as a good opportunity to introduce new foods/vegetables they may otherwise refuse, by putting them on the table and letting them explore them whilst everyone tucks into their pancakes.
Nutritional Benefits?
Yes … Pancakes are made using eggs, which contain lots of important nutrients including protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, Folate, Choline Selenium, Iron, Iodine and some carotenoids too such as Lutein & Zeaxanthin. More to come on this subject in my next blog all about Eggs & nutrition.
Pancakes also need milk - another important food that contains lots of beneficial nutrients including protein, calcium, iodine, Vitamin B12, phosphorous, magnesium & potassium - great for bone strength.
But pancakes can also be a vehicle for lots of sugar; be mindful which toppings you pick, and how much you use if going for the more sugary toppings such as maple syrup / chocolate spread / marshmallows. Try to balance it out by adding fruit, to enhance the nutrition.
Why not have savoury ones to start with as a dinner, followed by some slightly sweeter ones using fruits as a natural way to sweeten them so we're limiting the amount of added sugars in our diet.
Recipe
Ingredients:
2 eggs
300mls whole milk
100g Flour
Oil / butter for the pan
Method
Crack the eggs into a bowl (which the kids love doing!). Add the milk, and the flour and whisk until smooth.
Turn the oven hob onto medium/high and get a paper towel and place a little oil or butter on it, and wipe around the frying pan. Leave the pan to get hot (test it by dropping a drop of mixture onto it … if it sizzles, its ready to use).
Once the pan is hot enough, spoon one ladle into the pan and move the frying pan from side to side until the mixture covers the base of the pan. Leave it to cook for 1-2 minute & use a spatula to turn it over (or flip it yourself if you’re feeling adventurous!). Cook for another minute and place on the plate. Pick a topping to put on top, roll it up ..and tuck in!
Toppings:
Place toppings in the middle of the table and let the family decide what they would like on their pancakes. Your little ones will love having the independence to choose, and using family members as role models to mimic from:
Strips of ham with grated cheese
Fried mushrooms + grated cheese + spinach (finely chopped) + crème fraiche or natural yoghurt
Garlic mushrooms + Crème Fraiche
Roasted vegetables with pesto + crème fraiche
Squeeze a wedge of lemon + 1 tsp honey or 1 tsp sugar sprinkled on top
Peanut butter & Raisins & sliced banana
Strawberries + Blueberries + natural yoghurt
Banana + Blueberries + 1 tsp honey
Scoop of ice cream + strips of mango
I have an allergy to Wheat (or Gluten) and Milk, can I still have pancakes?
Yes! we just need to adapt the recipe a little bit to remove these foods. Try the following recipe taken from the Allergy UK Website:
Recipe - Gluten (& wheat) & Dairy free Pancakes
Ingredients
1 egg
150 ml dairy-free milk e.g Oat milk, Almond Milk, Soya Milk (try to make sure it has calcium added to it rather than "organic" versions, so your child gets the full nutritional benefit).
150g gluten -free self raising flour
Oil or dairy free butter to wipe around the pan
This recipe works better for making smaller pancakes, also known as scotch pancakes. Follow the same recipe as above, but you will find the mixture is a bit thicker; instead of filling the pan with a ladle of mixture, use a tablespoon to add smaller "blobs" into the pan (3-5 per pan depending on the size) and cook for 3 minutes each side, or until they are cooked.
Feel free to send me your pancake ideas, or let me know how the activity went with your little ones ... did they enjoy it?
Happy pancake day everyone x