Zucchini Pancakes

     Actually they are not merely zucchini pancakes, but whole wheat zucchini flax pancakes. Putting that as the title made me feel a little too hippy-dippy though. I guess when it comes to cooking I can get that way sometimes. I should probably just embrace it!

    Those who share my struggle of having a child who's a picky eater have probably come across many ways to sneak vegetables into their children's food - spinach smoothies, sweet potato mac and cheese, etc.  I've given lots of yummy concoctions a try, but I've found that pancakes really offer a great blank canvas. The two variations I make the most are pumpkin pancakes and these zucchini ones, but I've also done carrots, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, bananas, and blueberry puree. I usually make them with whole wheat flour, and add in things like wheat germ or flax meal when I have them on hand.

     Though I say that I'm "sneaking" in the healthy stuff, I try to never add things into my kids' food that they don't know about. In order to try to teach them good eating habits that will last into adulthood, if I'm adding veggies or other healthy ingredients in a creative way, I make sure that they are aware and even have them help me make the recipe. My six year old may not ask me for zucchini at snack time, but he does ask me to make zucchini pancakes for breakfast. I'll take what I can get!

  So if you or your children are pancake lovers, I encourage you to get creative and see what you can come up with! And if you are looking for some other ways to get a few extra veggies into your kids, I've got you covered with a few recipes from the archives:

Broccoli Cheddar Biscuits
Kid Friendly Chili (with  red beans and pumpkin)
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes
Spinach Parsnip Muffins (whole wheat of course!)


    Whole Wheat Zucchini Flax Pancakes 

1 egg
1 cup milk
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons flax meal
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 medium zucchini, shredded


Beat the egg and mix all ingredients together until smooth.

Grease a hot griddle or large pan. Ladle batter onto the hot surface. When bubbles form on the surface of the pancake, it's time to flip.

Top with your favorite pancake toppings. My son likes syrup, my husband went with peanut butter, and as you can see from the pictures, I went with some homemade gooseberry/blueberry jam!