I set out to make the age-old lunch struggle easier. So far, things are chugging along nicely in my house with lunch. But alas! I've now run into a breakfast problem. Never a dull moment, eh? In the 0.3 seconds that we have in the morning before everyone needs to be out the door, a hiccup in breakfast (and the subsequent meltdowns, etc) can wreak havoc on the morning.

My daughter is going through a picky phase with breakfast. She'll want the same thing for days and then it's like a crime to even suggest it. I'm not a short order cook and I don't long to be, so this kind of struggle is a bad one for our house. I've reread Maryann Jacobsen's 10 Things You Should Never Say To Your Child About Food many times lately because I find myself worried that my daughter isn't eating enough breakfast before running off to school. I have found myself saying things like "you haven't eaten enough. Eat two more bites or you'll be hungry at school" even though I know that she is the best judge of her own hunger. I am a work in progress. Ugh.

Anyway, we have been in a pancake-loving phase. Pancake batter is easy enough to make in advance (at night) and it keeps in the fridge for a few days. Truth be told, I'm a buttermilk pancake fan too so they're a win-win. When I make pancakes, I make them silver dollar size. It's how my mom made them when I was a kid. But my husband likes them big, and that's how he served the kids this morning.

Unfortunately, the pancakes were not greeted so warmly so we staged an intervention. My husband sliced the pancakes in strips and I placed sliced bananas on top, rolled them up and speared with a kebab. Tada! They tasted great, breakfast wasn't wasted, and the stick was convenient for carrying in the mad dash to school. Instead of telling my daughter what she had to eat, I reminded her that the next meal wasn't for a few hours, so she might want to take the pancake kebabs with her. It worked.

Place sliced bananas on top of pancake strips

Got other handy breakfast recipes to share? I'd love to hear them...

Banana Pancake Kebabs

Spear rolled up banana pancakes with kebab stick

1 c whole wheat flour
1 c buttermilk
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg
2 TB vegetable oil
1 banana, sliced thinly the long way

Mix all ingredients together. Pour desired pancake size into a hot, buttered pan. Flip pancakes when tiny bubbles appear on top. This recipe makes pancakes for my kids for three mornings and I keep it in an airtight container in my refrigerator so it's easy to just pour in a hot pan.

Cut cooked pancakes into strips and place sliced bananas on top. Roll up and spear with a kebab stick. Yum!