Anya Bell
BAHons, Prekure - Health Coach, Nutritional Science
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked pumpkin or butternut squash (roasted or steamed), skin peeled off
- 1 egg
- 1 cup plain flour (your preference)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 Tbsp butter, melted
- Spice Mix – 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp cardamom
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Milk, or dairy free milk of your choice
Instructions
1. Make the pikelet mix
In a large bowl mix the cooked pumpkin, flour, baking powder and baking soda, egg, spices, salt, melted butter and vanilla. The wetness of the pumpkin should make the mix wet enough, but you can add extra liquid (milk, yogurt, buttermilk, etc) if you want a runnier consistency. We like chunks of pumpkin, but you may prefer to puree your pumpkin.
2. Cook the pikelets
Heat a heavy based pan to a medium heat and lightly oil it. Drop in spoonfuls of the pikelet mix. Allow to cook for 1-2 minutes. Check the base and when it is golden flip the pikelet to cook the other side. Keep the heat gentle as they can take a while for the middle to fully cook. Alternatively these can be cooked in a waffle pan.
3. Serve
They should be ready when lightly puffed and bounce back when you press the top. Transfer to serving plate or straight to the plate. Serve hot and fresh, or pop them in your lunchbox for later!
Recipe Notes
- This is a great way to use up leftover pumpkin
- Save the pumpkin skins from roasting: Sprinkle with spices and roast again until crisp, then dip in cinnamon sugar, or give them to your family dog!
- Family Style service: Making all the components of the meal available to everyone to serve themselves in any order or quantity they prefer (being mindful of sharing what is available with the people who also need to eat). Serving meals family style is a proven method for children to learn to eat a wider diet through positive mealtime experiences and autonomy.
- Experiment with different flavours: Use different spices, or serve these savoury by changing the spice mix and removing the vanilla. Serve with fresh or frozen seasonal fruit, yogurt or cream, flash it up and serve with a side of bacon!
- Experiment with the veggies: These would work well with carrot or parsnip, although you may need to add a little sugar to the pikelet mix.
Cinnamon is more than just a spice. It is also an anti-cancer food with the potential to decrease cancer cell viability and be beneficial to our overall health.
To learn more about other spices which have potential anti-cancer properties, please see our article Anti-cancer foods – The Healthiest Herbs and Spices (Part I).
Anya has been feeding hungry learners for many years and her focus is on developing healthy, informed, responsible and positive relationships between children and their food and eating.
Anya has studied Nutrition, with a focus on children and adolescents, and through her work as a cook and nutrition advisor in the early learning space, she has been able to practice and teach positive eating relationships (University of Idaho and Ellyn Satter Institute) through a lens of Reggio Emilia and Te Whariki.
With a family of five, Anya focuses on humble, nourishing and sustainable family meals that are satisfying, tasty and don’t break the budget. Just as our great-grandparents once did.
Anya is currently developing menus and food education for Libelle Group. When she is not in the kitchen, browsing food ideas or reading cookbooks, Anya loves wandering in nature with her dog, Charlie.
You can find Anya at Anya Bell.
