Whole Grain Waffles with Blueberry Syrup

This morning we decided on waffles for breakfast. And since I have a huge bag of blueberries in the freezer from Costco, I thought it might be fun to make blueberry syrup to go with them. My girls each ate two whole waffles! I'd say these were a quite a hit.

Whole Grain Waffles with Blueberry Syrup
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. oats
1/4 c. ground flaxseed
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
3 eggs
1/4 c. oil
2 T. honey
2 c. buttermilk
1 c. milk

Mix dry ingredients, then add wet ingredients. Mix and pour into a hot, greased waffle iron.

Blueberry Syrup

2 c. frozen blueberries

1/3 c. pure maple syrup

1/3 c. water

2 T. cornstarch mixed with 2 T. cold water

1 t. almond extract

In a saucepan, mix all ingredients until hot, thick, and bubbley. Serve over waffles.

I have a feeling I'll be making this syrup a lot. It was amazing. Enjoy!

Honey Oat & Flax Pancakes

My girls decided on pancakes this morning. We used whole wheat flour, oats, honey, and flax. They turned out delicious. 

 Honey Oat & Flax Pancakes
1 3/4 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. oats
1/4 c. ground flaxseed
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. milk
2 eggs
2 T. oil
2 T. honey

Mix dry ingredients and then add wet ingredients. Mix well. (Add more milk if it needs to be thinned out.)

Cook on a hot, greased griddle.

I ate them with syrup and blueberries. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Fig Newton Cookies

I love figs and those crunchy seeds. Today when I realized I didn't have any raisins, I used dried figs and the end result was great! These chewy cookies really do remind me of fig newtons.Whole Wheat Fig Newton Cookies

1/2 c. butter, melted

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1 egg

1/4 c. milk

1 t. vanilla

1 & 1/2 c. whole wheat flour

1 c. oats

1/2 c. ground flaxseed

1 t. baking soda

1 t. cinnamon

1/8 t. salt

1 c. packed chopped dried figs

Cream together butter and sugars. Add egg, milk, and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients.Bake in a greased cookie sheet at 350 F for 10-12 minutes.Enjoy!

Quinoa Cakes

Lately I've been very intrigued by quinoa but until recently, I only used it in place of rice. So when I came upon this recipe from Monica Bhide's website I was eager to try it. Now I have a new favorite! These little patties are so good and satisfying. They are great for breakfast, lunch or dinner.Quinoa Cakes (adapted from Super Natural Every Day)

1 c. dry quinoa, cooked
4 eggs
1/2 t. salt
2 T. dried chives
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. grated extra sharp cheddar
1/2 c. grated parmesan
1/2 c. oats or oat bran
olive oil

Pour cooked quinoa into a bowl.

Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Form into 12 patties. Heat about 2 T. olive oil and cook patties for about 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden.Even though this meal is meatless it's very satisfying.I love to cut them up and eat them in salads. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Bran Muffins

My little girl gets so excited when we make muffins for breakfast. We did a lot of experimenting with healthy ingredients and finally found this recipe. These muffins are so good you won't believe they have 8 grams of fiber each!!

I've adapted the original recipe (which came from the side of our cereal box). Oh, the places one finds great recipes! :)Peanut Butter Bran Muffins

1 c. Kellogg's All Bran Buds

1 1/3 c. milk

1 ripe banana, mashed

1/3 c. peanut butter*

1 egg

1 c. whole wheat flour

1 c. oats

1/2 c. ground flaxseed

1/2 c. sugar

2 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1/4 t. ground nutmeg

1 c. chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate chips)

*If using unsalted peanut butter, add 1/2 t. salt

In a bowl, combine cereal and milk. Let soak about 10 minutes.

In a mixing bowl combine banana, peanut butter, and egg.Stir in soaked cereal.In a separate mixing bowl, combine remaining dry ingredients (except chocolate chips).Combine the two mixtures, adding chocolate chips at the end.Divide among 12 lined cupcake tins.Bake at 375 F for 16-20 minutes.I love these muffins. Tasty and moist! They make the perfect breakfast or snack.Enjoy!

Oatmeal Banana Cookies

This recipe is adapted from one I got from my mom. These little cookies are so good and are full of healthy ingredients. Oatmeal Banana Cookies

1/2 c. coconut oil (or butter), melted

3/4 c. sugar

2 eggs

3/4 c. buttermilk

1 1/2 c. mashed, overripe bananas

1 t. vanilla

3/4 c. whole wheat flour

2 1/2-3 c. oats

1 1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1/3 c. ground flaxseed

1 c. chpped walnuts (optional)

Combine coconut oil, sugar, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, and bananas. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Drop onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 F for about 10 minutes.

These make such a great snack or even breakfast. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pancakes & Buttermilk Syrup

It's officially fall now and one of my favorite things about this time of year is pumpkin recipes. I saw this recipe on a tv show called Hey Kids Lets Cook and WOW it's a keeper! My whole family loved these spiced pancakes.

Pumpkin Pancakes

1/2 c. whole wheat flour

3/4 c. all purpose flour

3 T. sugar

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. ground ginger

1/2 t. ground cloves

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1 c. milk

2 T. oil

1 egg

1/2 c. canned pumpkin

Combine dry ingredients, then add wet ingredients. Mix well, and cook pancakes (about 1/4 c. batter at a time) on a greased griddle.

Buttermilk Syrup

1/2 c. butter

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. buttermilk

1 t. honey

1/2 t. vanilla

1/2 t. baking soda

Combine butter, sugar, buttermilk and honey in a saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring, until boiling. Stop stirring and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and baking soda. Serve warm.Enjoy!

Breakfast Apple Crumble

Yesterday I really wanted apple pie for breakfast. Weird? Maybe. But since apple pie isn't the most nutritious food, I made a breakfast version. It totally hit the spot.

Breakfast Apple Crumble

4 extra large gala apples

2 T. all purpose flour

1/3 c. sugar

1 t. cinnamon

1 T. lemon juice

1 c. oats

1/3 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. whole wheat flour

1/4 c. ground flaxseed

1/4 c. (1/2 stick) butter, softened

pinch salt

Peel and core apples and cut into thin slices.

Add flour, sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice. Toss together.

Pour apples into a pie pan and set aside.

In a bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, whole wheat flour, and flaxseed. Cut in butter and add salt until the mixture is crumbly.

Pour the oat mixture on apples and spread evenly to cover all the apples.

Bake at 375 F for 30 minutes or until top is nicely browned and apples are tender.

I ate a big bowl with milk. If you serve it as a dessert it would be delicious with ice cream!

Enjoy!

Whole Grain Cookies

Yay for cookies! I love 'em. This recipe came from a neighbor and it is outstandingly good for being whole grain. You could feed these to your kids (and your husband, for that matter) and they'll never even know they're eating healthy cookies.

Whole Grain Cookies

1/2 c. butter, slightly melted

1/2 c. coconut oil, slightly melted

1 c. white sugar

1 c. brown sugar

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

1 t. salt

1 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

1/4 c. ground flaxseed

2 c. whole wheat flour

2 c. oat bran, oat flour, or oats (I used oat bran)

1 c. (or more) chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine butter, oil, and sugars.

Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well.

Add salt, baking powder, soda, and flaxseed.

Finally, stir in flour and oat bran.

Add chocolate chips.

With a cookie scoop (my favorite tool) scoop balls of dough onto and ungreased baking sheet.

Bake at 400 F for 8 minutes. Makes about 48-50 cookies.

The finished product is a golden brown, chewy piece of heaven.

I've heard things about coconut oil that suggests it's actually a very healthy fat. It's a naturally occurring fat that contains no cholesterol. I'm not going to promote it or pretend that I know much about it but it's interesting to learn about. You could probably use all coconut oil in this recipe but I'm not sure how they would turn out. If anyone tries it let me know! :) Enjoy!

P.S. Any kind of chips would be great in these cookies: butterscotch, white chocolate, cinnamon, etc. Go crazy!