HB EATS: Simple Pancake Recipe for Babies

Hungry Bear likes to eat EVERYTHING. Ok, so that’s a lie – he very much doesn’t like cold mashed potato and broccoli but I don’t know anyone who does. I’ve been finding it hard making food which both he and us adults can eat. UNTIL, that was, I experimented with pancake recipes for Healthy Living London, and discovered that with a few tweaks, it is suitable for babies! Here’s my simple pancake recipe for babies – enjoy and feel free to add other ingredients to make it even tastier. And don’t forget it’s actually for your baby, not you…

HB started weaning at 5.5 months. He’s now 6.5 months at the time of writing and whilst I was initially hoping to do baby-led weaning, it’s a lot messier than I could ever have imagined and so a lot of food is now smashed up with a fork and he’s spoon-fed. However, there are 2 food saviours which I have up my sleep which kind of incorporate the baby-led weaning idea. The first are banana teething bites whose recipe for these hard sausage-like things I found in Baby at the Table which a friend lent me. I’ve made a batch and keep them in the fridge for that awful time between getting HB ready for food (ie, sitting him in his Oxo Tot high chair, getting him into his dining jacket etc) and actually getting his food to him. He gets SO hangry and even though it takes me minutes to have his food ready to shove into his mouth, the high-pitched squealing takes years off my life. Thankfully, these hard little banana sausages keep him occupied.

Pancakes are also pretty good for this – the only downside being that they require some time to cook. I’ve found that if I put them on just before I get him all kitted out for food, then they’re about ready when I need them. What’s fantastic about these is that you can cook loads in a frying pan at once. I also experimented with different shapes, mainly round and sausage-shaped. He found the sausage-shaped pancakes easier to hold but the amount of food that actually went into his mouth was roughly the same.

With this recipe, you can also add in extra ingredients, such as cinnamon, or pureed apple (be careful not to add too much else you’ll never get proper pancakes). Obviously, please do keep a close eye on your little one when he eats them as even though they’re fairly chunky, they could still bite off more than they can chew.

HB absolutely LOVES these pancakes and whilst a lot of it gets gummed up into a sticky mess

Ingredients

• 1 large mashed brown banana
• 1 cup oats
• 1 cup water or nut milk

Method

1. Blend all ingredients together to form a smooth liquid.
2. Pour small amounts in a non-stick frying pan. Turn every couple of minutes until golden on both sides. Serve once it’s lukewarm.

To note:

• If you’re choosing nut milk, be wary of any allergies your little one could have. Choose one with as few ingredients as possible. Don’t use rice milk (it normally says on the packaging that rice milk isn’t suitable for children under 5 years old as it can contain trace elements of arsenic). One thing I’ve not tried actually, is breast milk! Let me know what it’s like if you do try it out.
• You can keep the batter in the fridge for up to 3 days.