Carrot-Zucchini Pancakes

My little munchkin is a picky eater.  I know some people insist that children are capable of eating all sorts of foods if you just expose them to variety and don't cater to picky tendencies, but I am fairly confident that these people either do not have children or have children who are good eaters.  I am hoping that over time and with enough patience on my part the munchkin will be a better eater than I was as a child, but in the mean time her diet is very limited, and the only vegetables she'll really eat are sweet potatoes and white potatoes.  Not very impressive!

But one thing she does love is pancakes, so I was intrigued by a recipe I saw on Weelicious.  I love reading this blog because she has great ideas for healthy recipes that are both kid AND adult friendly, and I'll even forgive her insistance that kids will eat anything you put in front of them because when the munchkin pushes things away, at least I'm left with something that I don't mind eating myself!  And after initial rejection by the munchkin, on try #2 she actually ate a couple of bites!  It's a really interesting recipe - it is the texture of a regular breakfast pancake but packed with zucchini and carrots.  We were expecting something more like a latke, but in my opinion this was a pleasant surprise, especially since no frying was needed.  And despite the lack of resemblance to the latke, they taste great with applesauce.  So far they reheat well from the fridge in the microwave, and I'm guessing they would freeze well, too. 

I made a couple of modifications to the original recipe - I doubled most of the quantities, and also used half whole wheat flour for some extra nutrition.  Let me know what you think!

Carrot-Zucchini Pancakes
adapted from Weelicious

2 carrots, grated
2 small zucchini, grated
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
Canola oil spray

Grate the vegetables using a food processor (or by hand if you're up for it!) and set aside.  In a small bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, and salt.  In a large bowl, whisk together the milk and egg.  Add the grated veggies to the milk mixture and toss.  Then add the flour mixture and mix well.

Spray pan or griddle and heat on medium.  Once the pan is hot, add batter 2 tablespoons at a time and flatten into pancakes with the back of a spoon.  Flip once the edges look dry and the first side is golden brown.

Makes approximately 15 pancakes.