Hello everyone!
As a mother, I’m always on the lookout for nutritious and delicious meals that my little one will enjoy. My 4-year-old daughter, Sarah, is a pancake enthusiast. And when I say enthusiast, I mean she could happily eat pancakes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, seven days a week if I let her!
This love for pancakes has led us on a culinary adventure of sorts. We’ve experimented with countless variations of pancake batter, toppings, and fillings. From strawberry-filled pancakes to chocolate chip-topped ones, we’ve tried it all. But amidst all this creativity and experimentation, there’s one recipe that has become our go-to. It’s simple, it’s healthy, Sarah loves it and most importantly, her dad can also make it in a jiffy!
We perfected this recipe when I was to go for a 4-day long trip alone and I was putting together a meal plan for the 2 of them. Sarah loves the pancakes but she also loves getting us to decorate them with her chocolate sauce bottle. And she rarely makes it easy, like you can see with the demand for a ‘girl’ on pancake.
Today, I’m excited to share our super easy and incredibly delicious base recipe for oats pancakes. This recipe is not just a hit with Sarah, but it’s also sugar-free, eggless and packed with the goodness of millets and oats, making it a win-win situation for both of us.
Basics: Eggless and Whole grains
This is a basic recipe for an eggless oats banana pancake. There are many variations/additions possible to the batter.
- I use a mix of oats and millet – you can use only oats or only millet too. Keep it all whole grains.
- I’ve added half a regular banana – you can add in more fruits or dried ones (cranberries go great) or powdered nuts.
- We use simple syrup topping, but on rare days I do go a bit fancy with fresh strawberries, cream and chocolate chips. (Question on the side: Have you ever been strawberry picking? or any other harvest festival. I feel that’s one of the best activities to do with toddlers and young children. It helps them connect with the source of their food and build healthier relationships with soil)
Just start with the basics and see where it takes you. So, without further ado, let’s dive into the world of eggless millet and oats pancakes!
Eggless millet and oats pancake
Ingredients (1cup = 240ml; 1tbsp = 15ml; 1tsp = 5ml)
- 2 tbsp rolled oats
- 2 tbsp millet flour I used jowar/sorghum
- 1 tbsp wholewheat flour
- 1 tsp chia seeds optional
- 2-3 tbsp mashed banana ripe (or use 1 tbsp sugar)
- ½ tsp cinnamon powder
- 3-4 drops vanilla extract
- 1 pinch baking powder
- ¼ cup almond milk/ regular milk/ water
- Ghee/Butter for cooking
Instructions
- Add all the dry ingredients into a bowl. Mix well.
- Add in milk/water and mix into a thin batter (but not too runny). Keep aside to rest for 5 mins.
- Heat the pancake pan on medium heat.
- Dot a little ghee/butter on each mould.
- When hot, add the batter to each. Cover and cook for 2 mins till you see the bottom leaving the pan.
- Open, add a little ghee/butter on top of each pancake. Flip and cook until the other side is also cooked and golden brown.
- Remove and decorate as desired!
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- The entire 5 tbsp flour base can be of oats or millets or whole wheat. I prefer keeping 1 tbsp of wholewheat flour as the gluten binds the pancake well. But for a gluten-free pancake, replace it with millet/oat flour.
- Use oil instead of butter/ghee for a vegan recipe. Since I normally make pancakes for my toddler, I make these in ghee.
Toddler Breakfast Ideas
Beyond pancakes, other breakfast favourites in our home are:
- Cheela/ Savoury Lentil pancake
- Chocolate Oatmeal
- Baked Oats
- Toasts with cherry tomato salad as topping
- Parantha with cheese
What are some of your easy toddler meal recipes? It would be great to exchange ideas!
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