Green Pancakes

These pancakes are really great if you have leftover spinach that you don’t know what to do with! Not that I wouldn’t buy spinach just for making them, mind you… I decided to double the recipe, which are the amounts that I wrote below – the yield is about 10 to 12 small pancakes. Some kids will love these just because they’re green, but if your kid needs encouragement, consider calling them kelp cakes (if you have a fan of The Octonauts on your hands) or maybe dinosaur pancakes. We really liked these!

2 medium-sized very ripe bananas, peeled
2 cups (packed) fresh baby spinach
2 large eggs
½ tsp. baking powder
½ cup whole wheat pastry flour

Combine bananas, spinach, and eggs in a blender (or use an immersion blender). Blend until very smooth – you don’t want any big pieces of spinach in there. Add in baking powder and flour. Pulse a few times until combined (do not overmix – stir briefly with a spoon if needed). A few small lumps of flour are okay. Batter will be very thick. Set aside.

Heat a bit of oil or butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium/medium-high heat. Skillet is hot enough if a few drops of water sizzle when flicked onto the surface.

Pour desired amount of pancake batter (I used roughly ¼ cup at a time) into skillet and cook until bubbles begin to form on the surface of the pancakes and the bottoms turn golden brown, about 1-2 minutes. Flip and cook until the other side is golden brown, about 1 minute. Serve with maple syrup.