A Perfect Waffle

A perfectly crisped waffle covered in strawberries
and a light drizzle of pure maple syrup

For the last few days I have been craving waffles! So, last night I indulged my craving by making whole wheat & oatmeal waffles accompanied by a simple, yet delicious egg bake.

Look at all of those nooks and crannies! :)

This meal was so delectable that it doubled as my lunch today!


Whole Grain Waffles

Preheat your waffle iron.

In a large bowl whisk together dry ingredients:

2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 cups oat flour (grind up rolled oats in a blender)
4 tbsp ground flaxseeds
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tbsp sucanat
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt

Make a well in the center of the mixture and add the wet ingredients:

2 cups skim milk
4 egg whites, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp maple extract

Whisk together until just moistened. Do not over mix, batter should be lumpy.

If desired, add 1 cup of berries.

Pour 1/2 c waffle batter onto preheated waffle iron and cook according to manufacturer's guidelines.

Makes 8 waffles.

Farmer's Markets

This morning I woke up to the dreary, damp, gray weather that can be common as Fall transitions to Winter in Minnesota and I was reminded of a beautiful Saturday morning that we spent at the Mill City Farmer's Market this Summer.






Unfortunately, this coming weekend marks the end to most of the regular Farmer's Markets in Minnesota. We love attending the Farmer's Market on Saturday and Sunday mornings and I am always saddened by the end of the season.

Here is a glimpse into the wonderful day that we spent as a family at our favorite Farmer's Market.

Hazelnut Ice Cream

This weekend Matthew is getting baptized. As you can imagine, we are super excited and cannot wait for the service. Afterwards, we are hosting a lunch/BBQ at our house for 20+ relatives. Here's what is on the clean eating menu (pictures to come early next week):

• Turkey Burgers
• Turkey Brats
• Steak Burgers
• Bakery Buns
• Burger toppings: pineapple, avocado, romaine, tomato, red onion, etc.
• Spinach and mixed greens topped with chevre, dried cranberries and walnuts with balsamic vinaigrette
• Yukon golds, sweet potatoes and onions, seasoned and grilled
• Guacamole, salsa and hummus with chips, baby carrots and celery
• Fruit
• Homemade Apple Pie
• Homemade Ice Cream

Thinking about ice cream made me relive a recent delicious homemade ice cream experience. A couple weeks ago I made the Raw Hazelnut Ice Cream from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen. It was super creamy and ultra delicious.

The hazelnuts gave it a really cool cream soda color and an amazingly complex and rich taste. In fact, this ice cream was so flavorful and rich that I could only eat 1 scoop per sitting - which was perfect for me because I tend to overeat ice cream if I have it in the house.

Chocolate Cravings

Most nights I get completely ravenous around 8:30 PM. Usually Allan grabs a bowl of Panda Puffs and organic 1% milk and sometimes I follow suit and grab a bowl of homemade granola. But some nights granola will just not do - all I want is chocolate.

However, my desire to loose the rest of the baby weight (13 lbs) is usually much stronger than my desire for chocolate, so I came up with the following compromise:

1 cup of fresh raspberries

+

I took 1/4 square of Baker's Unsweetened Chocolate and melted it in the microwave for 15 seconds. Then added a little drizzle of agave nectar and stirred it up. Raspberries with dark chocolate sauce... HEAVENLY!

Baker's Unsweetened Chocolate is 100% cacao and needs a tiny bit of agave or maple syrup to balance out the bitterness. But the combination is a beautiful evening snack.