In our house, everything is more fun when it’s a holiday. The entire time we were making these sweet potato pancakes, it felt 
like Hanukkah. Potato pancakes or latkes as they are also known, 
are most commonly eaten in the fall during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Although it’s 
the middle of July and grossly hot outside, the sweet potatoes at this week’s farmer’s market were incredible and I couldn’t help wanting to 
make something with them.
I decided to pump up the nutritional value in my version by making them with 
sweet potatoes. It’s amazing how delicious the natural sweetness from the potato 
and the savory flavors from the onion and garlic marry into such a delectable 
treat. Kenya was digging them in a big and bad way.
Whenever I hand 
him something whole, especially like these big, crunchy circles he 
looks like he’s hit the food jack pot. 
For your little ones who are getting into dipping, I added apple sauce 
which no latke should ever go without!

Sweet Potato Pancakes (Make 20 Toddler Pancakes)

1 Sweet Potato, grated (this came out to be 3 cups)
2 Tbsp Whole Wheat Flour
2 Eggs, beaten
1/4 Tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 Tsp Onion Powder
Canola or Vegetable Oil, for pan searing
Apple Sauce

1. Place the first 5 ingredients in a bowl and throughly combine.
2. Place a large saute pan over low to medium heat.
3. Heat 3-4 Tbsp of oil, or enough to coat the bottom of the pan, in the saute pan for 30 seconds.
4. Add a heaping tablespoon of the sweet potato mixture to the pan. Pat down the mixture with the back of a fork and form into a thin, circular patty (you don’t want them to be thick or they won’t cook through).
5. Cook for 5 minutes or until they begin to turn golden. Flip them over.
6. Continue to cook for 5 more minutes or until the bottom is golden.
7. Place the patties on a paper towel lined plate and repeat with remaining sweet potato mixture.
8. Cool patties and serve.

This weekend my mother said to me, “I was an awful cook when you were 
little”. I admit, part of that statement is true, but there were actually 
some things my mother made for breakfast that I loved. I was a bit of a garbage can as 
a kid, eating anything and everything on my plate, unlike my little brother who 
wouldn’t eat a thing. There were a lot of cereal mornings — I mean a lot. BUT, there were 
also those mornings when my mother would muster the energy to make 
fresh muffins, omelets and my favorite, pancakes. Somehow those times seemed so important and someday I want Kenya to have nostalgic breakfast
 memories of his own.
Yesterday morning I whipped up his first batch of pancakes. I didn’t 
want them to be out-of-the-box Aunt Jemima style, but I also had a busy morning, so 
they had to be quick. 
This recipe is a perfect option. In minutes I had delicious pancakes 
that he could hold and much on while I ran around trying to get our 
morning started. If you know you’re really going to be in a 
hurry, you could also mix the dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls the night before and combine them in the morning.

Whole Wheat Banana Cinnamon Pancakes (Makes 16 Mini Pancakes)

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tbsp Wheat Germ
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Egg
1 Cup Whole Milk
1 Tbsp Oil, plus more for greasing the pan
1 Banana, sliced

1. Whisk the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Whisk the egg, milk and oil in a separate bowl.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until
combined.
4. Heat a non stick pan or a griddle to medium heat. Pour a little oil
(or butter) in the pan and take a paper towel to evenly coat the pan
(make sure not to overly grease the pan).
5. Pour 1-2 tablespoons of batter into the pan to make one pancake and
let it cook until tiny bubbles start appearing and it firms up. You can make
several pancakes in the pan at once.
6. Place 1 or 2 bananas on top of the pancake. With a spatula,
gently loosen the pancakes and flip them over. Continue to cook until they appear
firm and cooked through.
7. Cool and serve.

When I was trying to find a teething biscuit for Kenya, I was shocked at how many recipes contained 1-2 cups of sugar. Do you really want your infant to be jazzed up on tons of sugar. I played around with a bunch of nutritious ingredients and came up with this soft and wholesome cookie Kenya loves.

“Not Too Sweet” Mini Cookies” (makes 22 I inch bars)

1 Egg Yolk, beaten
1 Tbsp Molasses
2 Tbsp Brown Rice Syrup
1 Tsp Vanilla
1 1/2 Tbsp Oil
1/4 Cup Rice Milk
2 Tbsp Oatmeal Cereal
1 Tbsp Soy Flour
2 Tbsp Wheat Germ
1 1/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour, plus more for sprinking

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a food processor, place all the wet ingredients and blend for several seconds.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients.
4. Add the dry ingredients into food processor with the wet ingredients.
5. Process until the mixture forms a ball of dough.
6. Sprinkle extra whole wheat flour onto a counter surface and place dough. Roll or pat into a rectangle.
7. With a knife, make a cut down the center of the dough and more across to create 22 mini cookies.
8. Place cookies on a silpat or parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 10 minutes.
8. Cool throughly on cookie sheet and serve.