Food Fight!

OK. So, we need to "healthy it up" some more in this house. Isaac has this thing with food. He may absolutely love something for months and then all of a sudden he hates it. I'm like, "Yesterday you loved it." And he's like, "Yeah, well, I'm tired of it now." That's the phase we're in right now. He complains we have nothing to eat in this house. Everything I mention he suddenly doesn't like. This is a tad on the frustrating side. He's great about eating veggies, though. It's amazing the variety of veggies that he'll eat. Things like squash, zucchini, asparagus, peppers... And he wants onions on everything. He actually likes to eat them raw. He was eating whole onions straight out of the garden this summer. Gross. Fruit is another story. He pretty much only likes apples. Once again, that depends on his mood.

The one things that he's into right now (for how long is a mystery) is pancakes for breakfast. I had been buying those boxes of frozen pancakes that you pop in the microwave. But I ran across this recipe for pancake mix the other day and we tried it this morning. He actually liked them much better. Yay! What I liked about this recipe is that it makes a smaller quantity than the others I have tried. I have 1 kid - so why do I really need to make 48 pancakes? I swapped whole wheat flour for the regular flour to at least get some fiber in there. Then I took some fruit I had on hand and made a sauce for the pancakes instead of syrup. Still trying to get some fruit in his diet. I thought it was good. He didn't like it. He said it was too sour and sweet. What does that mean? Anyway, I'm going to keep fooling around to find a fruit sauce he'll eat. Any input on that would be appreciated, by the way. I thought I'd share the recipes in case anyone else is interested.

Whole Wheat Pancakes: (Makes 4 cups mix)
3 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 c. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir, using a whisk, to thoroughly combine. Transfer to a clean, dry canister fitted with an airtight lid. Store for up to 3 months.
To make pancakes:
Heat a griddle over high heat. Place 1 cup mix in a medium mixing bowl. Beat 1 egg, 1 tablespoon melted butter, 1/2 cup *buttermilk, 1/2 cup milk, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla together and stir into the dry mix until just combined. Let the mixture rest for 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Lightly brush the griddle with canola oil or butter. Pour 13 cup batter for each pancake, leaving 2 inches between each one. Cook until bubbles form on the pancake surface and the underside is golden, about 5 minutes. Flip pancakes and cook until golden, about 2 more minutes. Makes six 4-inch pancakes.

*Note: I didn't have buttermilk so in a pinch you can make your own like I did. Just add a 1/2 tsp. white vinegar to the 1/2 c. milk that is supposed to be buttermilk.

Fruit Sauce:
I simply used what I had on hand. I put a can of apricot halves in light syrup in a pot over medium heat (syrup and all). I added a handful of frozen peaches and about 7 blackberries. I added about a teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of ginger, and 2 teaspoons of sugar. I brought this to a boil. Then continued to simmer until the fruit was really soft. Lastly, I smashed it all up with a potato masher. This is what actually made it into a sauce.