Cooking: Mama's Sneaky Waffles

                           

Need a good weekend waffle recipe but you feel like they are just not that healthy?  Well, I just made some of my Mama's Sneaky Waffles and the kids (and my husband!) had no idea what was in them.

Carrots!  Flaxseed!  Omega-3's!  Oh My!

Hubby is our weekend waffle maker around here and he has perfected his recipe. So, I started with his basic recipe and I changed a few things around to make them a bit...well...more Mama friendly!


1 3/4 cups of whole wheat flour*
1 cup shredded carrot or minced if you want to keep it hidden* 
2 cups of almond milk
2 Lg organic brown cage free eggs*
2 TBLSP sugar
6 TBLSP organic virgin coconut oil 
1 tsp whole ground flaxseed meal*
1 TBLSP baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

(See red index below for all items with an *) 

Start with the dry ingredients first and mix together in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl add eggs, vanilla and beat together then add carrots and oil to the wet bowl.  Slowly mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients (leaving the almond milk for last.) Once everything is mixed together continue stirring while you add in the almond milk.  The coconut oil solidifies once it gets cold so you want to blend everything together before you add in the cold milk.  Or you can avoid this all together if you let the milk and eggs come to room temp before.

Since I was putting my own spin on our weekend waffles I decided to make them a bit differently, so I turned them into "snowflakes." If you'd like to do this, the pictures below shows roughly how much batter you want to use so that they stay small and the edges are jagged.  Each one will turn out differently. These are perfect "toddler size" because they can hold them in their hands once they cool off. I've even packed the small ones in lunches. Great for pre-schoolers or kindergarteners! 

(*When I pack them for school, I leave off the butter and syrup or any other typical toppings, like yogurt, apple butter, peanut butter, etc. to avoid a big mess, and I just do them plain for lunches. The kids still love them that way!) 

  

Don't those look cute? Don't mind my waffle maker. We got it as a wedding gift and it has gotten used a million times since then. It's very well seasoned!! 

If you want to make them the regular size, but you don't want to make a mess on your counter, you want roughly this much batter (about 1/4 of a cup):

  

Index:
Flour*  If you are using regular flour use a bit more (2 cups.)  The whole wheat flour makes them thicker than regular flour, so you still might need to add a bit more liquid to thin out the batter a bit.
Shredded carrot* I have a juicer so I made carrot juice with about 3 large carrots. Then I used the carrot pulp  ("minced carrots") for the waffles. Feel free to shred the carrot with a food processor or cheese grater if you do not have a juicer.
Eggs*: I buy the organic brown cage free eggs with added Omega 3's. Do you use an egg substitute to make them vegan?  Please let me know in the comments section what you use! 
Ground flaxseed meal*  A Little Goes A long Way!! If your family is used to eating ground Flaxseed Meal in your food then feel free to add as much as you want. If you are not used to eating flaxseed meal, start with 1 tsp and work your way up. It tends to overpower the recipe if you use too much. I found that out the hard way. 

If you are going to use flaxseeds in your food make sure you get ground flaxseed or flaxseed meal. Our bodies can not digest a whole flaxseed, and it just passed it right though. So, unless you chew up each individual seed (unlikely), you are not getting all of the benefits of the flaxseed. I like Bob's Red Mill products because the prices always seem reasonable. I think I bought this at Target but I've also seen it at Sprouts.

You can sneak just about anything into your waffles. I like to keep them sweet or else they might taste funny with toppings. However, you can do savory waffles too and serve them with ranch dip or sour cream. 

Sweet add in's: Apples, carrots, bananas, peaches, pears, prunes, sweet potato, etc.

Savory add in's: Zucchini, bell peppers, squash, garlic mashed potatoes, herbs, etc. 

Along with the flax seeds you can add hemp seeds or chia seeds, you can even add small pieces of nuts like almonds, peanuts, pecans or walnuts. Go crazy and have fun!

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Simple Snacktime Solutions for Kids

Kid food.

This can rule your life if you let it. Sometimes we think it's "easier" to buy a bunch of prepackaged "kid meals" like lunchables, toddler meals in the baby food isle, etc., to have quick meals ready to go and those do have their place for once-in-a-while meals, but for everyday eating it's best to make stuff at home. Small children are still growing and the last thing they need is to be pumped full of sugar, sodium, chemical pesticides, GMO, non-organic foods (meaning foods that are full of chemical pesticides.) Almost everything you will buy in a package that is designed to sit on a shelf for any period of time will contain most if not all of these yucky things listed above.

A tiny, growing body doesn't need any of that. In fact, it's hurting them in the long run to be honest.

I will be adding to this list of snack ideas so please check back!  A lot of it is homemade, most of it is organic and some of it will be store bought items like crackers, animal cookies, cereal, bread items, etc. But the majority of the snack ideas listed will be fresh, organic, homemade goodies.

Your child will thank you someday.  ;-)

1. Toddler TV Dinner! 
This is a simple snack version. I used some cold, organic chicken bites we BBQ'd earlier in the week, sliced organic apples, sliced organic colby jack cheese and a side of homemade ranch for dipping. Place everything into cupcake cups and turn an ordinary snack into a picnic! My mom found these Cars movie cupcake cups and we've been using them for snacks ever since. I LOVE using cupcake cups for snacks. It's fun, festive and it helps to keeps things separate for your little one. Toddlers love groups and stacks and rows. They will like this! (EDITORS NOTE: My lil guy just turned 3 so he can eat large slices of apples, etc. as well as use a "big boy fork" like the one pictured. It's a dessert fork so it's the perfect size for little hands. Make sure you use what is best for your child.)


**Blog post in progress... Please check back!** 

In the meantime check out my board on Pinterest all about kid food called:  Play With Your Food!