Carrot and Beet Pancakes

I’m always looking for ways to incorporate more beets into our weekly meals when staying with my father. Parkinson’s is a challenging disease; one of the ways I deal with impotence of the disease is trying to boost nutrition into my dad’s daily life.

Beets help blood flow and are brain-healthy. So beets go into breakfast smoothies and raw grated beets go into salads. These pancakes are a new way to use beets.

The first time I made them, I served them with a potato, turnip and pumpkin puree (spiced with tumeric and cumin). Yum!
And an arugula, tomato salad with green onion and CMF vinaigrette.

I’ve since made them for teatime, which is my dad’s favorite late afternoon interlude and oftentimes he wants tea rather than dinner.

I think they’d also be a lovely brunch option.

Variations:

  • Add ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes to give spice them up
  • Serve with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt or puree the yogurt with a clove of garlic and ¼ cup of cilantro, mint, or parsley.
  • Serve with sweet potato puree, a cauliflower and potato puree
Carrot and Beet Pancakes
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Servings
4
Servings
4
Carrot and Beet Pancakes
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Servings
4
Servings
4
Ingredients
Adjust servings:
Units:
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
  2. Peel and grate beets (should be about 1 1/3 cup). Put in a mixing bowl.
  3. Peel and grate carrots (1 cup). Add to beets. Mix in egg, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper.
  4. Add flour; stir to blend well.
  5. Generously brush a baking sheet with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes or until edges begin to brown.
Recipe Notes

Variations:

  • Add ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes to give spice them up
  • Serve with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt or puree the yogurt with a clove of garlic and ¼ cup of cilantro, mint, or parsley.
  • Serve with sweet potato puree, a cauliflower and potato puree
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Spinach Pancakes

These pancakes from weelicious are yummy and fun. Move over green eggs and ham! I always love an opportunity to punch up the nutrition in breakfast and this is a perfect example. I also love tempting kids to eat something they might not otherwise want to. So without hinting at the reason for the green, I simply made them for brunch on a St. Patrick weekend and everyone, even the littlest guest, all of 18 months, ate their fill.

Because I usually don’t have buttermilk, I mix 1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or white wine vinegar) and let it sit 10 – 15 minutes before making the recipe.

 

Spinach Pancakes
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Spinach Pancakes
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Ingredients
Adjust servings:
Units:
Instructions
  1. In a blender, combine the spinach, buttermilk, egg, and oil and blend
  2. until smooth.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients.
  4. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined.
  5. Heat a large pan or griddle over medium heat and grease with butter or expeller-pressed canola oil.
  6. Pour about 1 tablespoon of the pancake mixture onto the griddle, cook about two minutes.
  7. Flip the pancakes and cook for one minute longer and serve.
Recipe Notes

Modified from Weelicious.com: Spinach Pancakes

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Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes

These cupcakes are hugely popular with all our friends and family. The hint of cinnamon, the richness of cocoa and the bits of chocolate make every bite delicious. The zucchini adds moisture and putting a vegetable boost into dessert is good for a mother’s heart.

They are so yummy, they don’t really need frosting. But I’ve made them so many times over the years, I’ve served them differently pending on what I had in the refrigerator: a cream cheese icing (blend cream cheese sweetened to taste with honey, real whipped cream with a tablespoon of cocoa folded in and sweetened to taste with powdered sugar or a chocolate butter cream icing.

For a super duper chocolate treat on a special occasion with a chocolate glaze (melt equal parts semi-sweet chocolate and butter or coconut milk). For these, I bake the cupcakes in a mini-muffin tin.

In general I do not use cupcake liners, they just go straight to the landfill.

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes
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Servings
8 cupcakes
Servings
8 cupcakes
Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes
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Servings
8 cupcakes
Servings
8 cupcakes
Ingredients
Adjust servings: cupcakes
Units:
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Grease muffin tin with butter or coconut oil.
  2. Whisk together flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
  3. Beat together sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer until thick and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes.
  4. At low speed, mix in flour mixture until just incorporated. Stir in zucchini and chocolate chips.
  5. Pour into muffin tin and bake until tops spring back when lightly pressed, 25 - 30 minutes.
Recipe Notes

Source

Epicurious: Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes

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Sweet Potato Pancakes

This is one of my favorite pancake recipes, delicious and leaves the belly feeling full and happy. Whenever I have sweet potato on my weekly menu (either to roast or cook stovetop), I add an extra sweet potato to have for these pancakes or for Sweet Potato Oatmeal. If I’m not going to use it immediately, I freeze the puree. You can also use butternut squash or pumpkin puree (canned is fine) instead.

Sweet potatoes
Sweet Potato Pancakes
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Servings
4
Servings
4
Sweet potatoes
Sweet Potato Pancakes
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Servings
4
Servings
4
Ingredients
Adjust servings:
Units:
Instructions
  1. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients.
  3. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
  4. Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat and lightly coat with butter or oil. Pour about 1 tablespoon of the pancake mixture onto the griddle, making as many pancakes as will fit and cook for 2 minutes.
  5. Flip the pancakes and cook for one minute longer.
  6. Top with homemade cranberry sauce, pureed mixed berries or pear compote
Recipe Notes

Serve with maple syrup and chopped nuts on top.

Weelicious: Sweet Potato Pancakes

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Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancakes

Pancakes made with white flour have a high glycemic index value. This means the starch is converted into sugar and released into the bloodstream quickly. It will spike your blood sugar, setting off a roller coaster as your body releases insulin as to restore balance.

Make your pancakes more nutrient-dense using whole-wheat flour, oats and apple, and always add a bit of fat from nature (chia, ground flaxseed, Greek yogurt, coconut oil or a bit of grass-fed butter)

Oats provide fiber and digest more slowly. This stabilize blood sugar levels and keeps you going longer, feeling more satisfied and energized.

Make extra to freeze for busy mornings, making a pancake “sandwich’

  • Mix 2 tablespoons cream cheese with a bit of  honey and fresh or dried berries
  • Spread nut butter and banana or other fruit
apples with cinnamon
Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancakes
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Servings
12 4-inch pancakes
Servings
12 4-inch pancakes
apples with cinnamon
Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancakes
Print Recipe
Servings
12 4-inch pancakes
Servings
12 4-inch pancakes
Ingredients
Toppings
Adjust servings: 4-inch pancakes
Units:
Instructions
  1. In a bowl whisk together 1 cup buttermilk and oats and let the mixture stand for 15 to 20 minutes. (You can mix the night before).
  2. In a large bowl whisk together egg, brown sugar, and apple.
  3. Stir in flour, the baking soda, salt, cinnamon, 2 tablespoons oil, and oat mixture, until well mixed.
  4. Heat a griddle over moderate heat, brush it with butter or coconut oil. Drop the batter (approximately 1/4 cup) on the griddle
  5. Cook the pancakes for 1 to 2 minutes until it starts to bubble. Flip and cook or golden and cooked through.
  6. Serve with topping of choice
Recipe Notes

NOTE:

  • Add 1/4 - 1/3 cup chopped nuts and/or 2 tablespoons of raisins for increased fiber and nutrient density
  • Exchange cinnamon for cardamom or a pinch of allspice or nutmeg

Adapted from Epicurious: Apple and Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancakes.

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