Homemade Baby Food: Pancakes

These pancakes are so good, my husband actually sneaks bites of them off of my daughter’s high chair tray. They are made with egg yolks and breastmilk/formula, because egg whites and cow’s milk are common allergens that we haven’t introduced yet. There’s no added sugar, but the breastmilk and bananas are sweet enough to make up for it. (In case you weren’t paying attention, they have boob milk in them, and my husband still sneaks bites of them. They are that good!)

When feeding your baby, introduce one food for several days before moving to the next one. That gives you time to watch for allergic reactions or tummy upsets. When cooking for your baby, try to avoid using a recipe with more than one new ingredient. If you were to introduce several foods at once, and your child was to have a reaction, you would not know which food was the culprit.

You can use vanilla for baby food, but only if you are cooking the food. Because vanilla does have alcohol in it, you can bake with it, but can’t put it in something uncooked (like popsicles).

Ingredients
1 cup flour – I use King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour.
1/3 cup wheat germ
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
2 egg yolks
1 cup breastmilk or formula
4 tbsp plain yogurt
1 banana, pureed

Directions

Step One: Mix dry ingredients

Mix the flour, wheat germ, and baking powder.

Step Two: Add in the wet ingredients

Puree the banana. Toss it in, along with the vanilla, breastmilk/formula, and yogurt.

Separate the eggs, and add in the yolks only. (The whites are a yummy source of protein for mommy, if you want to whip them up for yourself!)

Step Three: Add fruit (optional)

You can also add other diced or shredded fruits if you want. For example, you can peel, core, and dice/shred an apple. Cinnamon is also pretty good to add if you go with apples. Blueberries, strawberries, pears, pineapples, etc. are other fruits that are fun to add. Have fun with it! In the fall, you can also add pureed pumpkin. Yum!

Step Four: Heat oil in a pan

That’s pretty easy. I use a nonstick pan and a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil, and I cook over medium-high heat. The trick is to heat it until water dripped on the pan sizzles. If it’s not hot enough, you will end up with really flat pancakes. If you have a griddle, that would work nicely as well.

Step Five: Cook your pancakes!

Use a tablespoon to scoop out batter and drop it in circles onto the pan. You can make them any size, but smaller ones are easier to flip. I make ours about the size of a coffee cup. That’s a good serving size for Charlotte. Try not to flip them over until the bottom is brown. It’s best to only flip them over once. Flipping them over several times can make them tough.

That’s it! I tear them into pieces for Charlotte and serve them plain.

The next time I’m feeling adventurous (i.e., The next time I feel like mopping and an extra bath time), I might top them with a fruit puree. I would not put syrup or sugar on them. At this age, there’s no reason to waste room in their little tummies on junk.

You can keep them in the fridge for 48 hours, or you can toss them in a freezer bag and save them for later. You can put wax paper between them, or put the pancakes in individual sandwich bags (that you then put into a freezer bag). It’s really nice to be able to grab just one pancake when you need it. This recipe makes about 15-20 little pancakes.

Check back for more baby food recipes and tips!

What’s your favorite recipe that you prepare for your little one? I would love to hear everyone’s ideas!