So hopefully we're all good to go for Pancake Day next week. Are you stocking up on extra eggs, flour and milk? Here are some super easy recipes if you need a reminder of what's involved.

But I really don't understand why so many people keep pancakes as a once-a-year treat. In our house, Pancake Night is a much more regular occurrence, and it can be a terrific way to get your kids eating more fruit and veg.

Even if you're not a confident cook, pancakes are one of the easiest things to whip up. Making the batter can be done in a couple of minutes, and you can even make it in advance and store it in the fridge until you're ready to use it. If you find that it thickens a bit, simply thin it down a bit with a little milk. Don't be put off by the pressure to flip either – you can cheat a bit with a special pancake flipper like this one from Lakeland. I've got one, and it comes in handy for lots of other things too.

And to make Pancake Night extra healthy, I serve them with little bowls of chopped up fruit and veg. This tends to be whatever's in the fridge and needs using up: raw carrot, celery, grapes, cucumber, mint leaves, raw peppers etc.

Then the children use these as accessories to make a little scene or a face on their pancake. They usually sneak in a little peanut butter, honey or Nutella as glue to stick on the accessories.

And once they've finished playing with their food, they eat it, and before you know it our five-a-day target is in the bag. I find that thicker, American-style pancakes make the best base for an artwork, but crepe-style works well too if you want to stuff your pancake and roll it up. Pancake Night is a real treat, so don't just save it for Tuesday.