Zucchini Pancakes Are Still Pancakes, Right?

Even a toddler will like the underdog vegetable in this format

Marie Elena Martinez
Heated

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Zucchini fritters with fresh parsley and sour cream on a plate on a blue concrete background.
Photo: Andrey Zhuravlev/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Pancakes.

Just typing that word on my keyboard makes me salivate, Pavlovian style. So, if that’s the case for a grown-ass adult like me, imagine what the word “pancakes” can do to a kid.

My daughter Grace, who is 2, relishes breakfast. As a kid, I never really gelled with the meal, probably because I just preferred to sleep in and start with lunch (and, to be honest, I hope Grace follows suit), but I did always really like pancakes. And she’s no different.

In the mornings, around 6:30 a.m.— you know, the average time mothers of toddlers transform into short-order cooks — she can often be heard request-yelling pancakes as I’m trying desperately to drown out her crib cries and get approximately four to six more minutes of sleep. When I get out of bed feeling alert and ambitious enough to make her some pancakes, she eats like she’s going to baby jail. Usually, it’s straight off the griddle, her two little hands on either side, no syrup necessary. It’s glorious to watch a child enjoy food like that, so it’s rare I decline her request.

Fast forward to dinnertime. Besides pasta, there are few things my daughter begs me to cook for her. She’s meh on chicken and meat…

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