Wednesday, June 2, 2010

What's for Lunch Wednesday: Sweet Potato Pancakes

Day 153.

If you've been reading this blog for long, you know that I'm a proponent of healthy school lunches and that I am appalled at the lack of quality available to most American elementary school students in their cafeterias. Also, it's my goal to reduce the amount of garbage my family produces, so I've decided to make all of their school lunches no waste meals.

When I came across this bento-themed meme at What's for Lunch at Our House, I knew I would participate. So here's what's for lunch at our house.

Main compartment: Romaine lettuce, carrot curls, cucumbers cut into butterflies, strawberries and white cheddar cheese cut into bunnies, and a hard-boiled egg molded into a bunny shape.
Sides: strawberries cut to fit compartment; sweet potato pancakes in leaf and tree shapes.

Not pictured: salad dressing and honey-cinnamon butter

Time invested: 20 minutes (plus boiling time for eggs---pancakes were leftovers)

 The sweet potato pancakes I made were a healthy version of a Southern classic. I omitted the eggs and butter, replacing them with banana and applesauce, eliminated added sugar, and opted for almond milk instead of cow's milk.

Sweet Potato Pancakes with Honey-Cinnamon Butter

What You Need:
  • 1 sweet potato, cooked, peeled, and mashed
  • 1 large banana, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 1/3 cup applesauce
  • 2 cups milk (I used almond milk...feel free to use whatever milk you prefer)
  • 1 2/3 cups flour (I used all unbleached white flour, but you can substitute whole wheat for even healthier pancakes)
  • 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp baking powder
  • non-stick cooking spray for the pan

 
How it's Done:
  1. Preheat your griddle or skillet on medium heat.
  2. In a food processor, or using a mixer, beat sweet potato with banana and applesauce. Add milk slowly and beat to combine.
  3. In a separate, large mixing bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking powder.
  4. Add liquid to dry ingredients, stirring only long enough to make sure all the dry ingredients are wet.
  5. Drop by 1/3 cupfuls onto a greased skillet and cook 3 minutes on first side, flip, and cook until done (about 3 more minutes).
  6. For the butter: In a food processor, combine 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter with 1/4 cup honey and 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon. Process until combined. Store in refrigerator.

14 comments:

Yenta Mary said...

Oh, man, those look good! I, too, use soy milk and whole grain flours and such when I make pancakes -- it's a great place to hide them. Who says you can't eat well and still have fun???

foodfloozie.blogspot.com

M @ Betty Crapper said...

Your children are very lucky. That is a great looking lunch.

How did the texture of your sweet potato pancakes compare to regular pancakes made with eggs & oil?

Michelle said...

good question :) the texture was identical. You'd never know the egg and oil and sugar were missing from these pancakes.

Lisa said...

Very nice! How do you get the egg to look like that?

Michelle said...

Thanks Lisa. I bought egg molds from Amazon marketplace. You stick a hot, peeled, hard-boiled egg in the mold, close it up and put the whole thing in cold water and leave it there for about 10 minutes. It shapes the egg. It's fun! :o)

Adventures said...

following you back thanks for the follow and boy does that look good.

adventuresofthedomesticatedmama.blogspot.com

Jacquie said...

wow that looks really yummy! I need to make that recipe.

Shannon said...

That looks so good! I need to try those pancakes for my kids, they love sweet potato.

Thanks so much for linking up this week! :o)

Mommyof2girlz/StephD said...

Stopping by What's For Lunch Weds. The recipe sounds delish and the box looks awesome. Love the bunny strawberries :)

Out of the Box into the Kitchen said...

what a creative idea! looks wonderful!

Ferreh Hiatt said...

Thanks for sharing your school lunch ideas. Our school year is almost over here, but my goal for next year is to send good lunches with my kids because the school lunch is so bad. I need plenty of ideas!

Alie said...

Wow, so healthy and yummy! Thanks for the recipe.

Unknown said...

The bento box looks so cute! And oh how I love sweet potato pancakes! Everything looks really tasty!

Unknown said...

That lunch box looks so cute and yummy. Wow!

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