by CBCG Athlete Amy VT
Repeat after me: “two eggs” (repeat out loud) “one cup grain” (repeat out loud) “half cup dairy” (repeat out loud) “one veg” (repeat out loud). Congrats! You just memorized the easiest, healthiest, yummiest, and prettiest recipe of your culinary life. You’ve never met a formula that’s more adaptable to your preferences, as well as sheltering-friendly since I’m pozzy you have all the ingredients in the larder. Bust out your griddle and spatula, and proceed as follows:
INGREDIENTS
2 eggs
1 C grain (oats, flour, quinoa)
1/2 C dairy (yogurt, milk, dairy alternative, ricotta)
1 fruit/veg (large banana, sweet potato, 2-3 beets, avocado, 2 handfuls of spinach)
INSTRUCTIONS
Combine the above in a blender or processor. Obvi you should shred a veggie like carrot, or slice a fruit like apple. Add sweetener, salt, and spices to taste. If you’re using a watery ingredient like frozen spinach or citrus, add more grain and one egg yolk. Pulse until totally smooth. Add butter or oil to a griddle on medium-high, and make pancakes like a boss! Tip: flip the nanosecond you see bubbles to retain your pretty color.
EASY!
You’re a magical alchemist! During sheltering, we’ve all made creative strides in the kitchen to avoid going to the store. Chances are you already have the above ingredients, especially since there are countless substitutions. But the hands-down easiest part about this recipe is that you’ve already memorized it. Here’s a variation with high-falutin’ ingredients, as easy as cake:
VT’S PINK PARISIAN PANCAKES
2 quail eggs (OK fine, if you’re out, use regular)
1 C cooked quinoa
1/2 C crème fraîche
1 C shredded beets
1 T kosher salt
1 t nutmeg
1 t clove
3 T agave
Sauce idea: crème fraîche whipped with nutmeg
HEALTHY!
I love tricking children. Specifically, I love tricking children into eating their veggies by hiding them in something that looks cool. I am also vegetable-averse, and can only be coaxed into eating broccoli with accompanying vats of cheese. This recipe craftily engineers every food group in a gestalt that looks and tastes like a carb!
If you have a dietary restriction, making pancakes out of oats, or replacing milk with an alternative is so simple it’s like you’re not even high-maintenance anymore. If you’re vegan, maybe you want to try with a flax egg or whatever you use as an egg sub, and oat milk? Let me know how it goes, you no-longer-high-maintenance vegan, you.
VT’S GF GREEN DINNER PANCAKES
2 eggs
1 C oats
1/2 C sour cream + handful of shredded cheese or parmigiana
Several handfuls of spinach + handful of parsley or basil
2 T kosher salt
1 T pepper
1 t nutmeg
Sauce idea: yoghurt-tahini
YUMMY!
Another clutch benny of this recipe is that you can deftly cater to your taste. For savory recipes, salt and spice will be your tools. For the sweet ones, play around with sugars and sweeteners like maple syrup, honey, and stevia. If there are fussy kids or adults you need to lure to the table, why not add sprinkles? Here’s an old standby that’s gluten-free, sweet, and all-dressed-up:
VT’S GF BANANA DESSERT PANCAKES
2 eggs
1 C oats
1/2 C whole milk
1 large banana
1/4 C nut butter
1 T kosher salt
1 T cinnamon
3 T maple syrup
Toppings idea: chocolate chips, coconut flakes, whipped cream, sprinkles
PRETTY!
I’m obsessed with strikingly bright baked goods that are tinctured with natural color. Beets, turmeric, carrots, and greens are as potent as food coloring, impressing food stylists and children at once. Imagine making a rainbow stack of pancakes, pigmenting the spectrum with raspberries, carrots, turmeric, kale, blueberries, and purple potatoes. Here’s a variation with so much natural yellow that it glows, not to mention naturally reducing muscle inflammation:
VT’S SAVORY THAI PANCAKES
2 eggs
1 C coconut flour
1/2 C cashew milk
1 cooked sweet potato
3 T salt
1 T chili or Sriracha®
2 T turmeric
Sauce idea: peanut sauce with crunchy PB, soy sauce, fish oil, and hoisin
Can you recite the ingredients? Repeat “two eggs...one cup grain...half cup dairy...one veg” until you’ve memorized it, and you’re on your way to hiding vegetables into a rainbow of fruit flavors that are super easy, healthy, yummy, and pretty.