Spelt Pumpkin Waffles

SERVES 10

I am an intriguingly strange combination of very eager and very lazy.  Between the hours of 9am-6pm, I am overly keen/borderline obsessed with maximising the nutritional content of all of my and my family’s food.  I am constantly thinking of ways to add more fibre, more protein and more micronutrients to our already-loved classic dishes.  However, between the hours of 7am-9am I am lazy.  I mean, I seriously cannot get myself going in the mornings and can barely think clearly, let alone DO much.  So for me, making waffles from scratch before school is an absolute no-no.  I do everything I possibly can the day before so that I can keep the morning doing and thinking to an absolute minimum.   All of our clothes are neatly laid out at the ends of our beds.  The kids homework is actually on the floor by the front door by 6pm (which drives my husband crazy), all in preparation for the manic morning ahead.  And these waffles are made weekly and loaded in the freezer, ready to simply pop in the toaster at exactly 7.43am each and every morning.    

Not only is it a seriously delicious and nutritious breakfast, but it takes exactly 90 seconds in the toaster in the mornings, and that is just my kind of pre-school brekkie!  It is a truly fabulous way to start to the day, as it is high in fibre and protein, and full of complex carbohydrates that will keep us all satisfied until lunchtime.  My kids like to eat them dry straight from the toaster, but I like to load the waffles up with a dollop of Greek yogurt and top with some berries.

One serving (without the yogurt) provides 248 calories, over a quarter of my recommended fibre intake, 9g of protein and a huge 51% of my daily Vitamin A requirements.

INGREDIENTS 

· 200g Wholegrain Spelt flour
· 1 tsp Baking Powder
· 1 tsp Baking soda
· 1 tsp Cinnamon
· 20g Milled Flaxseeds (I used Linwoods)
· ½ tsp Salt
· 30g Unsweetened Protein Powder (I used “That Protein’)
· 3 Eggs (or flax egg)
· 2 Bananas
· 120g Canned Pumpkin Puree
· 100g Grated Sweet Potato or Carrot
· 170ml Milk (I used Almond Milk)
· 3 tbsp Maple Syrup
· 1 tsp Vanilla extract
· 80g Organic Coconut Oil — melted
· Optional - 100g Berries

METHOD

· In a large bowl, combine the first 7 (dry) ingredients.
· In a medium bowl, mash the bananas (and berries if using) and add the grated sweet potato/carrot.
· Add the eggs to the banana mixure and whisk together.
· Add the pumpkin purée, melted coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract.
· Whisk again until fully combined.
· Pour this liquid mixture into the dry flour mixture and mix well.
· Slowing add the milk a little at a time until thoroughly combined, even though it will still be a bit lumpy due to the banana.
· Preheat your waffle iron.
· Spray with a little non-stick oil and spoon the batter carefully onto the heated waffle iron and close the lid.
· Depending on your waffle iron, it will take approximately 10 minutes for the waffles to cook and crisp up nicely, but do keep checking so that they don’t dry out and burn.
· Once the waffles are done, slice into sticks and transfer them to a cooling rack to cool before you pop them in the freezer, or enjoy immediately.
· TIP — Don’t actually stack the waffles on top of each other or they will lose their crispy-ness.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Calories — 248
Fat — 12g
Carbohydrates — 31g
Fibre — 7g
Protein — 9g
Vitamin A — 51%
Iron — 10%