3 New Ways to Use Squeeze Bottles | Healthy Kitchen Hacks

Not just for condiments – squeeze bottles will help you (and your kids) eat healthy with less mess.

It’s Healthy Kitchen Hacks Wednesday – the day we share our favorite time-saving kitchen tricks and cooking shortcuts to help you make healthy and delicious meals.

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Now…onto today’s featured Healthy Kitchen Hack:

3 New Ways to Use Squeeze Bottles

It was Deanna who first enlightened me with the fact that squeeze bottles are super handy in the kitchen.

So I picked up one at the $1-section of the supermarket. I found so many uses, I had to buy this set (affiliate link) of six BPA-free bottles. But you can also recycle condiment bottles or honey bears! While there are lots of uses, (I’ll bet you know a few, please share!) here are my favorites:

1. Pancake batter, for fun-shaped pancakes

Not only do I have a bit too much fun making pancake shapes, but my older kids now get creative with pancake batter. From Darth Vader to Pumpkins Pancakes. Use my recipe for Perfect Squeeze Bottle Pancakes below.

The Perfect Squeeze Bottle Pancake batter can be made into shapes like:

Hearts, stars, letters, animals, and faces.

Add natural food colors to the batter to make:

Flowers, fruit (apples, strawberries), veggies (carrots), rainbows, and characters (Yoda, Mickey Mouse)

Pancake batter squirts out of squeeze bottles best if you cut the tip off, to make the squeezing hole bigger.

2. Squeeze sweet toppers

I like to let me kids pour their own maple syrup and spread their own jelly. But sometimes the sugary amounts make this mom cringe! Yet, I’m a firm believer in the fact that each kid needs to learn the ‘appropriate’ amount that satisfies their own taste and their own tummy.

Squeeze bottles make everyone happy:

• Kids get to add their own amounts of sweet toppers
• I know that the squeeze bottle tip will slow the flow of sweet liquids – as compared to the amount they might pour from a jug of maple syrup

Fill squeeze bottles with these sweet toppers:

• Maple syrup
• Honey
• Jelly (thinned with a bit of water)
• Nutella (thinned with a bit of warm milk)
• Fruit purees (also for adding to smoothies)
• Homemade Greek yogurt frosting for making squiggles on pancakes 3 New Uses for Squeeze Bottles + #recipe for Perfect Squeeze Bottle Pancakes via @TspCurry #HealthyKitchenHacks Click To Tweet

3. Leftover wine

While I don’t *often* have leftover wine, when I do, I pour it into a squeeze bottle. Here’s why:

• A 12-ounce squeeze bottle is often the perfect size for leftover wine.
• The best way to preserve wine for drinking the next day is to put it in a bottle that just fits the leftover amount. With less air in the bottle, the wine will oxidize less and maintain it’s original freshness.
• Leftover wine is usually good 2 days after opening the bottle.

After 2 days, wine is usually no longer fit to drink. But it’s perfect to add flavor when sauteeing onions.

Add 2-3 tablespoons of wine after the onions have cooked about 5 minutes. Cook about 2-3 minutes more until most of the liquid has evaporated, but the sparkle flavor remains.

Now, for that Perfect Squeeze Bottle Pancakes recipe…

Perfect Squeeze Bottle Pancakes

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• Author: Serena Ball
• Yield: 8-10 pancake shapes 1x

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Description

This batter is the perfect consistency to go in a squeeze bottle to make fun pancake shapes. Cut off the end of the tip of the squeeze bottle so the tip opening is larger.

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Ingredients

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• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons canola oil

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Instructions

1. In a large bowl (with a pouing lip, if possible) mix together with a fork: flours, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and oil.
3. Mix egg mixture into flour mixture until incorporated.
4. Coat griddle or frying pan with cooking spray and heat over medium heat.
5. Pour the batter into the squeeze bottle using the pouring lip on the large bowl (or pour batter into a smaller liquid measuring cup with a pouring lip).
6. Make a face shape outline (or another shape) first. Let cook for a few minutes until bubbles form. Then fill in the shape. Once a few bubbles pop, flip pancakes and cook for another few minutes before removing from griddle. Repeat with remaining batter.

So please share, how do you use squeeze bottles in the kitchen? Which of these #hacks will you try?