More Babyfood Ideas

I'm a member of a baby board made up of other moms to April 2008 babies. It's a great way to get ideas and advice from people going through exactly what I am. One of the ways it has helped me tremendously is in the homemade baby food category.

I am a huge advocate of filling our kids' tummies with healthy foods. When I taught, I called these "brain" foods. And I will say that through fun lessons and experimentation we got even the pickiest of eaters to try everything we made. It is so important to set the foundation for the future of healthy eating for our kids. And, in my family, where Hannah has inherited the genes for cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, it is important to start from day 1.

I'm blessed that Hannah is a great eater. She has quite the palate for all things healthy. I have be honest, though. One day I was being lazy and did not feel like preparing a healthy meal. I grabbed a box of macaroni and cheese, and whipped it up quickly. Hannah would not touch it! It was then I realized I've created a monster! She prefers healthy, homemade meals hands-down. The way I benefit, though, is that I might as well eat a healthy, well-balanced meal if I'm already making one for her!

Anyway, on a recent thread on my baby board, a mom posted a recipe for veggie pancakes. I couldn't wait to try them, so I got to work while Hannah ate lunch. I had some carrots, peas, and green beans, but you can use any veggie (can't wait to try this with spinach, broccoli, and cauliflower). The original recipe was a from-scratch pancake mix, but I had some Bisquick on hand and just used that. They turned out to be delicious! I even had two for lunch. Hannah was eating while I made these, but I wanted her to try one. After lunch I gave her a couple of bites, and she went nuts. She signed and said "more" incessantly until she had wolfed down two as well...after eating a full meal! These were a huge hit, and I got another couple of servings of veggies in her - win-win!

Veggie Pancakes

1 1/2 cups Bisquick

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

1 1/2-2 cups veggie puree

I mixed the ingredients together and made these as I would any pancake. They are sweet, so you could absolutely top them with butter and syrup. But they were so flavorful that we ate them without accompaniment.

Enjoy!