As a kid, I would wrinkle my nose at anything that seemed ‘healthy’. Good nutritious food had to be slipped into my diet without me noticing it, which was kind of tough, cause the kitchen was my playground. I remember mom having to hide the kokum bottles, as they would be wiped out in one afternoon! I just loved that sweet, sour, salty flavour. That’s all I would want to eat, anything without it didn’t qualify as food!
Cooking for kids can be tough. And so when I was asked to design a menu for kids, I decided to post some too. The catch, when cooking for kids is to give food interesting names. 🙂
This recipe was created for a friend’s 5-year-old who hates fruits and loves drawing or rather doodling. The same recipe can be created as a savoury version too, add salt and pepper instead of honey and add veggies like sautĂ©ed carrots, peas and coloured bell peppers instead of fruits.
STAINED GLASS BARLEY WRAP
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 egg white
- 3 tablespoons barley flour (at the end of the recipe I tell you why barley flour is good for your kids)
- 1/2 cup almond milk (you can use any milk of your choice, it’s perfect for lactose intolerant kids or vegans)
- Pinch of cinnamon powder
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- A handful of chopped pineapple, papaya, strawberry and blueberries
- Coconut cream, soya cream or ice-cream
- Honey
METHOD:
1. Blend together the egg, barley flour, milk and honey. I prefer not to use the yolk in this recipe as it could give an after taste. Taste the mix and add adjust the honey. If you are a vegan, you could use sugar or palm sugar instead of the honey and avoid the egg by adding 1/4 teaspoon baking powder. And let it stand for 20 minutes.
2. Chop up the fruits. And set them aside by their colours.
3. Pour the flour mix into a squeezy bottle.
4. Heat your skillet and draw a couple of circles of the batter and then fill it up with squiggle to create a pancake with open spaces.
5. Cook both sides and set it aside.
6. You can either make your own coconut cream from thick coconut milk and sugar or buy it ready-made. Also feel free to use ice cream, full-fat milk cream or soya cream.
7. Load your pancake up with fruits of your choice. Use as many different colours as you like. I’ve used pineapple, papaya, strawberry and blueberries. Wrap the pancake around the fruits, drizzle with honey and serve with a dollop of cream.
WHY BARLEY?
- It’s a whole grain
- It can be easily digested
- It is non-allergic
- It has a high protein content and vitamin B1
- It is rich in fibre and encourages the growth of friendly bacteria
- It is rich in trace minerals like copper, chromium, molybdenum, manganese, magnesium, niacin, phosphorus, selenium