Quick Dinner Recipe: Whole-Wheat Spinach Crepes (Kids Cook Monday)
| May 7, 2013 | Posted by Stacy under Recipes |
Given all the Goldfish crackers, Teddy Grahams, fruit gummies and other highly processed junk that my kids are constantly handed–at school, church, sports practices, playdates, libraries and everywhere else–I always feel really grateful when someone makes the effort to feed them real food. After all, the last thing that they need is more sugar and refined flour. So when my twins’ preschool teacher, Miss Julie, decided to make spinach crepes for their class last week, I seriously wanted to hug her.
Spinach is one of those foods that still doesn’t go over so well at my house, despite repeated exposures. Knowing that, you can only imagine my reaction when Miss J texted a photo of both twins devouring their crepes with happy smiles. I checked my watch: It was 11 a.m., and they had already had their leafy greens. Better yet, they were loving ‘em. They even asked Miss J to give me the recipe. (Perfect evidence of how cooking with kids at school can pay off in spades!).
I’ve always been wary of crepes, but they are surprisingly easy to make. My 5-year-old daughter helped by placing ingredients in the blender and turning it on. You can make the batter and spinach puree in advance so it’s all ready to go at dinner time. The crepes also make a yummy snack. We like them with spinach, but they also are delicious served plain with butter, powdered sugar, or a fruit filling.
Miss Julie’s Whole-Wheat Spinach Crepes
Adapted from Cooks.com
Yields: 8 crepes
TO MAKE THE CREPES:
Ingredients
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup milk (whole, 1 or 2%)
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 tbsp. melted butter
Butter for pan
Directions
- Place eggs and milk in a blender and process until well mixed (about 30 seconds).
- Sift flour with salt and add to egg and milk mixture. Blend until well combined, scraping down sides of blender, if necessary.
- Add melted butter and blend well.
- Allow mixture to stand for an hour (or up to overnight) before using. (NOTE: Letting the batter rest may result in a thinner, more delicate crepe, but it isn’t necessary; I actually skipped this due to time constraints and my crepes came out just fine.)
- Melt and swirl a small pat of butter in center of 10-inch non-stick pan.
- Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto center of pan, then tilt pan to spread batter to the edges.
- Cook until bottom is lightly browned and top of crepe is dry.
- Carefully flip over crepe and cook opposite side until lightly browned.
- Stack finished crepes on a plate and cover with a towel to keep them moist and warm.
- NOTE: If you are in a hurry and have two skillets, you can cook two crepes at once in separate pans.
TO MAKE SPINACH PUREE:
Ingredients
1 tbsp. butter
1/4 of a medium onion, chopped
5 ounces of spinach
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Directions
- Melt and swirl butter in 10-inch skillet over medium heat.
- Add onion and cook until translucent.
- Add spinach and cook until wilted, adding a little water if necessary.
- Add sea salt.
- Place mixture in a blender and puree until smooth, adding some liquid from pan or water if necessary.
- NOTE: I pureed mixture until smooth, but you can leave it more “chunky” if you prefer the texture.
TO ASSEMBLE CREPES:
- Spread a few spoonfuls of spinach puree down center of crepe.
- Fold or roll crepe and place on plate seam side down.
I created this blog to raise awareness and start a dialogue about the various issues involved in school food. By writing about it, I hope to provide parents and educators with ideas and inspiration for making healthy changes in their own schools. Since healthy eating habits start at home, I also address common feeding challenges faced by parents.
Sounds great. I bet that would be fun too with some fresh berries. I want to give a shout out that The Weight of the Nation for Kids airs after school today on HBO (all three parts back to back). If you don’t have HBO it is streaming for free on their website
http://theweightofthenation.hbo.com/films/kids-films/the-great-cafeteria-takeover
Jen — Thanks for the heads up! I saw Weight of the Nation last year…it was great. Would love to hear your thoughts!
Wonderful!
Two modifications: 1 Wheat, and other one is Spinach.…
both are very important nutrietious products..
thanx for this receipe.…