Baby's Favourite Banana Pancakes

Finally getting around to posting this.  I've been tinkering with a few batches, but since we generally freeze them and they  last a while, it's taken time to get it just right.

Please note that there are several substitutions and I have tried no more than one at a time.  So doing all at once may cause a mess for all I know...

Baby's Favourite Banana Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
2 T sugar (optional)
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 c milk (no to dairy? try apple juice)
2 T melted butter (I assume, but don't know, that oil or a veg. butter substitution would work.  Haven't tried this one though)
2 eggs (or just egg yolks, or omit them and add a little more banana, or applesauce)
1 ripe banana, mashed (as ripe as can be!)

Method:

Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Combine the rest of the ingredients in a separate bowl, then add to the flour mixture and stir to combine.  Don't over-mix!

Too wet?  Add a little more flour at a time.

Too dry?  Add more milk a little at a time.

Allow the batter to sit while heating a griddle or pan to med-low/med. heat.  I butter the pan before each new batch, but feel free to use the pan lubrication option of choice.

Drop 1/4 c at a time into hot pan, flipping when the edged are dry and any bubbles have popped.

Should make something in the neighborhood of 16 pancakes, but my batches seem to vary from about 12-18.  Feel free to make smaller or larger for your child's preference!

We serve them up plain and then freeze teh rest, layered between wax paper sheets.  They reheat in about 30 seconds in the nuke, or toaster "frozen" cycle if they are big enough.

Enjoy!  Next up will be our new favourite, Apple Cinnamon Oat Pancakes!






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Using the Apple Method for other baby foods

Using the same method as with The Apples, you can also make:

Pears
Peas
Sweet Potatoes*
Winter Squash*
String Beans
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Carrots**
Parsnips
Beets**
White Potatoes

I could go on but I think you get the idea. If it is more cost effective to buy bagged frozen fruit,m especially when they are not in season, you can also simmer frozen fruit right from the bag until it is thawed and, if baby is new to the game, nice and soft. Then puree as usual.


*I prefer to bake or roast sweet potatoes whole (350 until very soft), scoop out the flesh, and puree. With Winter squash, I cut in half, scoop out the seeds and whatnot, and bake at 350 until a fork can go right through it, then scoop out the flesh and puree. I believe they are more flavorful this way, but boiling is fine. Steaming is also a good option.


**Carrots, as well as spinach, beets, and other foods can contain high levels of nitrates. Some people believe you should not make these foods yourself for your baby. If you like, you can skip making them and buy them jarred or frozen, but I find that fresh carrots are one of the least expensive baby foods and my son will not eat the jarred kind and neither would I. So I recommend waiting until at least 8 months to introduce them and dumping the cooking water and using fresh filtered or purified water for pureeing them to avoid adding nitrates back into the baby food.

3 lbs of organic apples for $3.69 = Cheaper than a jar

The contenders?

3lbs of Organic Fuji Apples (which, by the way, smell amazing) for $3.69 at Whole Foods

vs.

Earth's Best Organic 12-pack of 2nd Foods Apples - $10.99 (12 4oz containers = 48oz).*

You don't likely need to buy anything to make baby food other than the food itself. I'm starting with apples, because they are so easy and most other baby fruit and veg purees can be made with the same method. Also, at 10 months my son is moving away from purees and this is one he still really loves. I'm pretty sure I will be making applesauce for years to come....

So its easy to get started. If you have a blender, food processor, or food mill, you are set to go. If not, then I was wrong and you will need to get one of those things. But the plus side is that you can use any size food processor - even those little bitty ones - and the results are the same. You may find you prefer smaller batches, or you may find that you just have to puree in batches. Peel your apples and core them. Cut them into whatever size chunks you like, as long as they are roughly the same size.

Place them in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and then simmer until they are nice and mashy. Use a slotted spoon to pull the apples from the water and put them in your food processor or blender with as much of the cooking water as it takes to puree them to your desired consistency.

For "Stage1" foods, you will need to add most if not all, and maybe more water. Personally, I believe that "stages" are something baby food companies made up to make sure you spend as much money on baby food as possible for as long as possible. I don't generally add more than I need to to get the food pureed and instead I look at the texture. Boogie started with very smooth purees and moved slowly to chunkier ones. Apples can be pureed as much as you like forever since you will probably give your baby applesauce for years to come.

Spoon the puree into ice cube trays and if they have covers, cover them and freeze. We have some handy dandy Tupperware trays with lids that my mom bought off Ebay for fairly cheap, but they are currently in the freezer full of kale puree (yes, my baby LOVES kale puree!), so alternatively, you can put them in whatever trays are handy and wrap them in plastic wrap or foil to freeze. Just make sure if they are at all liquidy (as most purees are, no matter how little water you have added) that they are level.

I forgot to take pictures of my ice cube trays. Oops...

When they are solidly frozen (overnight is generally about right), pop them out and fill up a freezer bag, label it with the date and contents, and stick it back in the freezer. A deep freeze is super helpful with this as your collection of baby cubes grows!

I ended up with 32 ounces, or thereabouts, which translated into about 32 ounces of food, or about $.12 per ounce. Earth's Best jars work out to about $.29 per ounce. Not bad. If you ar elooking for a "stage 1" consistancy, you will probably add enough water to bring it to about 40oz or more, making your cost per ounce less than $.10.

*I like Earth's Best. This is for comparison only. Because their products are organic, whole grain, and do not contain (to my knowledge) any added sugar or salt, I believe they are a better alternative to conventional jarred baby food. But I believe that fresh, homemade whole food is best.