Be good to your kids’ teeth this Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day goes hand-in-hand with candy. Colored candy hearts and chocolate abound! As tempting as it may be to indulge your kiddos in something rich and sweet this Valentine’s Day, remember that sticky, sugary treats are not good for their teeth. They can indulge a little bit, just be sure to have them brush their teeth after their candy hearts.

As an alternative to a box of chocolates, we found this sweet and adorable recipe for a breakfast your kiddos are sure to love on Valentine’s morning.

Love Bird Pancakes

Steps:
1. Mix up pancake batter for 6 pancakes

2. For the cream topping:

• 8 oz ricotta cheese
• 1 Tbsp of whipping cream
• 2 Tbsp of maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3. For the decoration:

• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Mini chocolate chips
• Carrot
• Mint leaves
• Pretzel sticks

4. Mix the batter and make 6 pancakes

5. Cut out the small bird shapes with a knife. (you can make a template from cardboard).

6. Wash and dry the berries. Remove the stalk of the strawberries and slice them. Peel carrot, slice and cut small triangles. Pluck mint leaves.

7. Mix the topping ingrediants and spread on top of the bird pancakes. Arrange on a plate. Put a strawberry slice for each wing, a chocolate chip on the eye and a carrot triangle as a beak. All around the birds, place strawberry hearts (strawberry slice with the middle cut out in a V to get a heart). Make a flower with pretzel stick, mint leaves and strawberry slices and blueberries. See picture for reference.