It’s difficult to write publicly at sad times that lend themselves to private introspection, but because I have a means to speak publicly, I almost feel a civic obligation to do so.

News of the shootings in Connecticut hit home with so many of us.  Between written, televised, and online media outlets, and social media in particular, we’re all aware of the tragedy and the varying responses to it.  In some cases, though, there are responses so much more powerful than any of us know, and I believe it’s my job as a writer who shares pieces of myself with whoever chooses to read, to reach out with thoughts and information that I find valuable.  I hope others will continue to do the same.

As I sit in my living room with my husband and dogs, writing on my own personal blog, enjoying the scent of fresh pine that permeates my home this time of year, with the only light in the room coming from my computer screen, the gray sky outside, and the lights on my Christmas tree, I feel a twinge of guilt for the peace I feel, recognizing how many others are in mourning, in pain, in situations that may prevent them from feeling peace during the holidays – or at any time – ever again.

There are two issues at play here that I think warrant close examination.  There are actually many, many more, but I’ll leave those for other and later discussions.

First, this feeling of devastated helplessness is not exclusive to any specific time or place.  While our hearts are softened and our senses are heightened to questions about the state of humanity and issues of law after a major tragedy, we must recall that there are always tragedies, that people are always suffering, and that there are far more families who deserve our love, support, and compassion than just those involved in such a major moment of devastation.  Simultaneously, we must remember that the suffering of others in no way belittles that being experienced by those involved in major events, or vice versa.

Second, we must remember that feelings of guilt are not productive, but that the urgent feeling of the need to do something is essential and is worth acting upon.  What I think I can best do is help spread an important message that will, hopefully, lead to necessary reform.

We need to examine current institutions for dealing with mental illness and the challenges parents face raising mentally ill children.  Such tragic events as the Newtown massacre spark many varieties of ideological and political debates, but regardless of our views about issues like the role of God in schools and government, metal detectors, and gun control, we all need to carefully examine the institutions that deal with mental health issues in this country, as poor mental health is regularly a large factor in such horrific events.

While I have personal and strong feelings on this subject, my words are far less poignant than some others.  The most touching, pressing account I’ve read so far is “Thinking the Unthinkable,” a brilliant personal testament from a torn mother who desperately wants help she cannot find for her beautiful, brilliant, and frightening young child who suffers from a currently undiagnosed mental illness that leads to violent outbursts.

I ask that you read this dear mother’s words, consider them, and, if you feel compelled, share them and use them to help create a dialogue with those around you that addresses/examines the issue of mental healthcare in the U.S.  I don’t know what will happen from there, but I very much hope that engaging in an open conversation about this difficult, but pressing, subject will be a helpful first step to something positive.

As I stood over the water in Brooklyn Bridge Park, overlooking the city of Manhattan, listening to the sounds of water ferries, jet skis, and barges, eyeing the progress of the construction of the new tower that will complete the memorial to 9/11, I was struck with a sense I haven’t felt in quite some time.

I took the year off from teaching so that I could fully prepare for my comprehensive exams in the fall and spring, and I had planned to use this time to also get some writing done. For the first time in five years, other than the occasional blog, I planned to work on non-academic writing. I call myself a playwright, yet I haven’t finished a play in years. I call myself a blogger, but I rarely sit down to blog anymore. I’ve produced immense amounts of writing over the past four years, but mostly to be turned in to a professor and read by very few eyes. As someone who has always wanted to be a writer, it seems so logical to take part of the unstructured time granted by my PhD program in – get this, English – to actually do some writing for fun. Great idea in theory, but the practice has been much, much more difficult than anticipated.

It seems my problem with non-academic writing hasn’t been only due to lack of time; it is also connected to the fact that I apparently don’t want to write. Feel free to gasp; I do every time I consider this possibility. Still, the fact of the matter is remains: when I set aside time to sit down and write, I don’t have the urge, and while I remember the day when I disciplined myself to keep a pen in hand for a full hour regardless of my mood, those days have long since passed – or at least it has seemed that way recently.

And then it happened. I travelled to New York with two friends for a conference on the state of the academic profession, and the morning after the conference, I found myself standing in DUMBO (down under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass).

I imaged how different the view of the Manhattan skyline would’ve been for Edith Wharton, laughed at a friend’s joke that alluded to Whitman’s “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry,” and felt “the mist / and Liberty” which Marianne Moore says “dominate the bay.”

Artists began rushing through my mind. Jack Kerouac was inspired by this site, for God’s sake, and who wouldn’t want to follow in those footsteps?

And that’s when it hit me, the state I might forever, or at least for today, refer to as dumbo: a moment of longing to put pen to paper, jotting down sights, sounds, thoughts, visions both real and imaged, creating something – who knows what – anything on paper. The sad ending to this story is that I didn’t have any writing instruments on me, nor did I have the requisite few hours to spare, but the ignition was lit simply through the proof that the desire, the physical yearning to write, is far from extinct within me.

So here I am, back in Atlanta, putting fingers to keyboard (a decent alternative to pen to paper, when necessary), taking my first step in a long time. Not vowing to write regularly, recognizing that some days I absolutely will not want to write, I determine to keep a pen and paper on me at all times, and I choose ahead of time to heed the feeling of being in dumbo, so that when it occurs, I take time, if only a few minutes, from whatever it is I’m doing, and give in to my heart’s call.

So…it’s been a few months.  Meh.

You see, when I started this blog, I openly admitted that it was about my process of learning to be healthy.  Inevitably, two things happened.

1. I fell off the wagon.  Who doesn’t?  

After a long year of losing loved ones, wedding planning, graduate thesis writing, and attempting to completely overhaul the way one views, prepares, and eats food, a little burnout is bound to ensue.  Or perhaps burnout is the wrong word.  The right word is probably something more like honeymoon.

Oh yes. Honeymoon.

I physically went on one of those, you see, to Bora Bora.  It was amazing and you can read about it here…and here.

Bliss

You’ve heard the phrase “the honeymoon is over,” yes?  It usually refers to a point when a relationship becomes difficult and the struggling couple must come to terms with the fact that they’re no longer in the easy, fun phase – it’s time to step up their game and work hard to make this massive life change actually work effectively.  This isn’t exactly what I went through, as John and I have been together for over six years and are well aware of the need to put effort into ensuring our relationship stays strong and vibrant.  What I experienced was this same disillusioned feeling with pretty much every other aspect of my life.  Especially food and exercise.

Let's do this ALL the time, please. Thank you.

Certainly, I’d picked up some good habits during my healthy time that I didn’t let go.

Vegetables!

But my desire to learn and experiment lay dormant as my body wanted to sit, be lazy, and order in, as if it wouldn’t let go of the feeling it had lounging leisurely over meals that someone else prepared in the paradise that is Bora Bora.  Your body and mental state wouldn’t want to leave this either.

Mahi Mahi in Vanilla Sauce Cooked on a Hot Lava Rock

I don't even know what was in it, but I want one. right. now.

2. After starting notjustacarnivore, I tried to take on too much at once, and I eventually became overwhelmed.

Learning to be healthy is certainly wonderful and necessary, and during my sort of hiatus, I missed it, I yearned for it, but I somehow couldn’t pull myself off the couch to go to the grocery store, buy healthy food, and cook it.  I couldn’t imagine cooking and eating healthily as being simple because, when I started this whole process, I simply did too much.

Taking on too many things at once...

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I went from cooking maybe twice a month to cooking every day, multiple times a day, from scratch, with only fresh, whole ingredients, documenting my every move (and food construction) in photo form so I could later write about it, constantly reading food blogs, health food articles, and books to ensure that I was up on all the latest trends and information, all the while exercising, attempting Couch-to-5k, knee pain, re-attempting Couch-to-5k, more knee pain, recognizing that I needed to start doing weights again, not wanting to do weights again, withdrawing from all forms of exercise simply to avoid doing weights again . . .

Deep exhale.

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Then summer ended, the wedding passed, school started back, and…to be cliche for a moment…the honeymoon was over.

Sad.

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I’ve spent the last few months trying to get a lot of things back on a functional track.  How can I manage to cook and be healthy while also working as a full-time graduate student and teaching university-level classes?  How can I please my husband’s tastes and my own?  How can I work exercise into my routine without letting it dominate my schedule?  How can I work to ensure I maintain steady, healthy mental and physical functions?  And most importantly, how can I do all of this without overdoing any of it?

Balance

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I didn’t allow myself to blog for a while because I wanted to straighten out some of these issues on my own.  Privately.  Now that I have somewhat of a grasp on it (although let’s be honest, it’ll always be a struggle), I can return to my blog baby, but in a slightly modified way.

I probably won’t post every day.  Sometimes I’ll post twice daily; sometimes I’ll go weeks without posting.  My blog may not always be about food and fitness; it’s about learning to live healthily, so I’ll return to that mission, exploring the most essential aspect of healthy living: balance.  And we’ll see where it goes from there.

After all, it’s my blog.  I can do what I want with it.

Oh, blogging, how I’ve missed you.  Literally, I was doing school work earlier today (what else would I be doing, after all?), I fell asleep, and dreamed about blogging.

Yes, this is dedicated to my blog. So?

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If I had time to go to the beach, I would write this in the sand to my blog, to my readers, to cooking, and to ordinary, non-academic life.

I get very little cooking done right now.  I should let John take over notjustacarnivore for a little while, since he’s been cooking for me nearly every night while I read, write, and research.  That could be a blog title in itself.  An academic blog title?  I think I need the semester to end now.

The one form of cooking I’ve managed to make time for recently is baking.  I. love. baking.  Which is a nice reminder that you’re still waiting for my recipe for chocolate chip pumpkin muffins from, uh, a month or two ago? Wow.  Just bare with me until the semester ends.  Maybe I’ll find the school/blog/life balance someday.  In the meantime…

Wait no more, my friends!  You know you want these.

Yummm!

Recipe: Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• ¼ cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup Smart Balance Omega 3 Oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon vanilla stevia
• 3/4 cup lowfat almond milk
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Blogging.  Wow.  That felt good!

]]> https://www.notjustacarnivore.com/healthified-chocolate-chip-pumpkin-muffins/feed/ 0 827 https://www.notjustacarnivore.com/cinnamon-spice-pumpkin-butter/ https://www.notjustacarnivore.com/cinnamon-spice-pumpkin-butter/#comments Fri, 14 Oct 2011 13:57:39 +0000 http://www.notjustacarnivore.com/?p=816 Have you ever noticed that most of my posts begin with a colon in the title?  What are your feelings on this subject?  Does it bother you, or are you fine with it? This convention is an easy pitfall for me when blogging.  Why?  I’m getting my PhD in English, people.  This is what we […]]]>

Have you ever noticed that most of my posts begin with a colon in the title?  What are your feelings on this subject?  Does it bother you, or are you fine with it?

This convention is an easy pitfall for me when blogging.  Why?  I’m getting my PhD in English, people.  This is what we do.  Look at nearly any article in my field and you’ll see “Quippy Title: Explanation of the What the Paper Actually Says.”  It looks something like this.

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This is how I live; it’s what I know, and somehow, I’ve translated my academic habit into the blogosphere.  Not cool.

Today, I defy convention!  That’s right, I’m a rebel. “Spice It Up: A Zesty Recipe for Pumpkin Butter” has turned into a simple, normal title that simply describes the food.  Weird how easy this can be.

Cinnamon Spice Pumpkin Butter

Bloggers, myself included, have been going crazy over all things pumpkin recently.  Personally, I don’t want it to stop, and I have quite a few more pumpkin recipes to roll out within the coming days.

Among my favorite fall reads have been Ari over at The Diva Dish and Angela at Oh She Glows.  Not only are they amazing, fun, talented bloggers, but their recipes rock, and they’ve both had a recent excitement about (or at least mention of) pumpkin butter.  Angela even has a seasonal header and I pretty much can’t stop staring.

Once I read their pumpkin butter posts, I just couldn’t get it out of my head.  John thought it sounded pretty stellar, as well.  So, as a surprise for him on Monday (I had the day off), I made a big ole batch of pumpkin butter, loosely based off of Angela’s recipe.

*Note: In response to a question someone asked after this week’s fall-themed What I Ate Wednesday post, there is no butter in pumpkin butter.  Maybe it’s a Southern thing?  Or maybe everyone does it.  I don’t know.  Fruit butters tend to have jelly-like consistencies, except they’re usually thicker and smoother.*

I really wanted to make this recipe my own, but I accidentally went a little too far with the cloves.  Cloves (when thoroughly ground) can be an amazing spice, but must be used MINIMALLY, or they’ll overtake your food.

Frenemy

To offset the flavor, I started adding more apple juice and more pumpkin, which eventually led to the need for more spices, even though I’d already overdone them once.

The result: a unique, delicious pumpkin butter in a large enough quantity to give as a gift to lots of amazing folks.

Turns out I needed one more can of pumpkin

While this recipe had a little too much clove and nutmeg for pumpkin butter I’d want to eat daily, I actually think it’s a really great sort of “specialty item.”  This weekend, I’m buying small jars, putting the pumpkin butter into them, and giving them as gifts.

You see, this is a really good pumpkin butter, there’s just too much spice for it to be something you want a whole big jar of.  But in smaller quantities, I’m enjoying it far more than regular pumpkin butter because it’s unique – there’s something more to it.  It’s zesty, if you will (which just so happens to be the name of the guy who has done such an awesome revamp to notjustacarnivore).

Give it a try as a quick an easy gift for your holiday, and enjoy it yourself!  The recipe makes plenty to keep at home and give to your friends, family, and coworkers.  Everyone who has tasted it has loved it, and it should last in your refrigerator for about three weeks.

Recipe: Cinnamon Spice Pumpkin Butter

Ingredients

• 3 15 ounce cans pumpkin puree, approximately 5 1/4 cups or fresh
• 1 cup apple juice
• 1.5 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon liquid stevia
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla stevia
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• Juice of 1 small lemon

Nothing could be finer this time of year than the beautiful…the glorious…the gourd.

Hello, Fall. I love you.

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Naturally, these fantastic fruits (gourds are fruits, right?) deserve their own What I Ate Wednesday post, so we’re joining the gang over at Peas and Crayons to love, to celebrate, to revel in the glory of the gourd.

Want to join in the fun of fall cooking?  Check out my recipes, or stay tuned for the ones that aren’t posted yet (they’ll be up this week!)  Spoiler alert: they’re almost all pumpkin related.  I’ll try to branch out next week.  Maybe.

Best Breakfasts

Pumpkin Waffles top the list, obviously.

 

Not a lazy Saturday?  Want something you can cook the night before?  Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins, indeed.These look mighty tasty.

So busy you don’t have time to cook, period?  I know the feeling.  You don’t even have to cook these babies.  Pumpkin Spice Overnight Oats.

Disclaimer: Mix before eating

Seasonal Snack

What kind of food blogger would I be if I didn’t make some Pumpkin Butter to throw onto…well…everything?

 

Suppertime with Squash (the Butternut Kind)

The Butternut Squash and Farro Risotto John and his cousin made for me definitely wins the award for best dinner of the month.

Delicious, creamy goodness

And…end scene.

What’s your favorite gourdelicious meal?

I love fall.  It’s an amazing season.  The weather gets cooler, my clothes start covering more and more body parts and, thus, more and more flab (hey, even healthy living bloggers can notice their problem areas!), football season gets underway, and I start preparing for Halloween and Thanksgiving and shopping for Christmas.  The only problem with the Fall season, and I mean the ONLY problem, is that it’s super busy, supposedly the busiest season of the year (which I don’t doubt for a second).

Sometimes, that means I have to prioritize.  Sometimes I prioritize poorly.  Fine, I usually prioritize poorly.  But one of my lower priorities recently have been cooking and blogging.  Why?  Girl can’t get a PhD without doing her work!  And football.  There’s that too.  Luckily, my husband is pretty much the best on the planet, so he’s been cooking dinner around here lately, and I must say I’m extremely impressed with his efforts.

One of the best meals he’s made for me (actually a combined effort between my husband and his cousin) was a fantastic recipe from Whole Foods using a grain that’s new to us.  Ladies and gentleman, I introduce: farro.

What is farro?

I couldn’t tell you.  Luckily, Whole Foods can.

I must say that it’s fantastic, at least when prepared with this awesome recipe!

Interesting.  How do you make it?

Start by chopping the butternut squash and onions and mincing the garlic.

I obviously didn't prepare this. My knife skills can't compare.

Throw onions and butternut squash into a pot with melted butter (Earth Balance, of course!) for about 5 minutes

Simmer

Then add garlic and sage for about one minute.  Add farro, wine, and chicken or vegetable stock.

It already looks like Fall...

Continue stirring and adding broth until creamy.  Add parmesan cheese, stir, and enjoy!

 Recipe (courtesy of Whole Foods)

Yes, it was free, so I can distribute it.  Thank you.

What’s the best meal your significan other has cooked for you lately?

This weekend was a fantastic time to live in the South.  Lots of food weeks, football games, and our first real fall weather!

As a cold front came through and the wind started whipping leaves around and acorns to the ground, I became very nostalgic for my favorite fall elements from childhood: pumpkins!  When I was a kid, I loved pumpkins.  I wasn’t all about carving them; I liked the seeds my mom roasted and the pies my grandfather made.  And as I grew up, I discovered the beauty of chocolate chip pumpkin bread.  Oh. Em. Gee. Chocolate chip pumpkin bread.  I can’t wait to be able to find more pumpkin puree so I can make plenty of that without fearing I’ll run out.

In honor of pumpkin season, you’ll see lots of pumpkin recipes popping up over the next week, as I may have gone a little pumpkin crazy this weekend.  The best part started this morning with homemade pumpkin waffles, whole wheat and made with stevia instead of sugar, of course!  John considers them among the best pumpkin pancakes or waffles he’s ever had, which I thought was pretty high praise for a healthy and scrumptious breakfast treat.

First time using my new KitchenAid. Best. Wedding. Gift. Ever. LOVE!

Mixed Batter

Cook me, please.

Thank you!

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Waffle Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 ½ cups almond milk
• 1 cup vanilla soy milk
• 1 egg (sub. flax egg for vegan)
• 1 tsp. liquid stevia
• 1 tsp. vanilla stevia
• 1/3 cup Smart Balance Omega 3 oil
• 1 cup pumpkin puree or pumpkin pie mix

Living a healthy lifestyle (or, in my case, learning to live a healthy lifestyle) can be deceiving.  It seems to give me the idea that I’m invincible, that sickness can’t possibly happen to me because I’m being too healthy.  I realize this is ridiculous BS, especially since I’ve spent the last two days skipping an amazing food festival we were planning to attend for John’s birthday and, instead, battling a monster of a stomach flu.

I should be here.

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Instead, I’ve been here.

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Yesterday wasn’t much of a food day for me; I ate small bites and drank baby sips of anything my body could handle.  Knowing what your body can handle, though, is tough.  I pretty much default to what I was given when I was growing up: cheese toast, chicken noodle soup, peanut butter crackers, and ginger ale.  There’s a reason parents give us these things – they really are easier on your stomach than most foods – but at some point, I just want to branch out a little bit.  Days like today are when I can do that, when my stomach still can’t handle normal food, but I feel well enough to try to take in some of the nutrients that my body has lost.

Here are some of the foods I’m eating with my upset stomach, or that research tells me I can eat, even if I’m not.

First, there’s the well-known BRAT diet – bananas, rice, applesauce, toast.

Bananas are excellent for upset stomachs, not only because they’re bland semi-solids that are easier to digest than many fruits, but also because they have a boatload of potassium, an electrolyte quickly lost through vomiting and diarrhea.  Eat in moderation, though, because bananas are high in fiber, which is hard for the stomach to digest.

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Rice isn’t a food I eat when I’m sick, mostly because I don’t enjoy white rice, which is easier to digest because a lot of the fiber is already broken down from processing.  Many people enjoy it simply because it’s easy on the stomach.  I like my rice with lots of spices, so it isn’t ideal for me.  But if you like plain rice or rice in soup, then go for it!  Adding extra water to the rice will make it soupier and easier to digest.

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Applesauce is excellent for an upset stomach, not only because it’s delicious, but also because it’s partially liquid (easier to digest) and because it’s loaded with vitamins and nutrients that you lose during dysfunctional GI processes.  I keep unsweetened organic applesauce in the refrigerator at all times as a substitute for healthier baking, so it’s also something that’s always on hand for the surprise of an upset stomach.

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Toast is normally one of my favorite foods, even when I’m not sick.  The difference is that, when I’m healthy, toast involves Ezekiel Bread, or bread with some other sprouted grain, probably a nut butter, and likely some fruit.  When my stomach is upset, I actually eat white bread (similar to rice, the fibers are broken down during processing, and while I normally want fiber, it’s tough for an upset stomach to break down.)  Anything I put on the toast is light, like a simple, processed cheese or a very small amount of jam.  Avoid butter, as the fat is hard to digest.

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While the BRAT diet provides good guidelines, it doesn’t take long for these foods to get boring.  I’ve done some research to consolidate information for you, although I hope to be well soon enough that I don’t have the opportunity to test many of these suggestions.

Oatmeal is one of my favorite foods; the only problem with the oatmeal I eat is that I load it with fiber.  Removing some of the healthy agents I would normally add to oatmeal (flax, chia seeds, etc.), I can still enjoy some great oatmeal with simple additions, like cinnamon and vanilla.  Note: Avoid making oatmeal using dairy milk when your stomach is upset, as lactose can be difficult to digest.  Try using water, almond milk, acidophilus milk, or other non-dairy milks that are low in fat for easier digestion.  

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Gatorade is a drink I avoid in daily life due to its sugar content, but it’s loaded with electrolytes that your body desperately needs replaced when your stomach is upset.  Just be careful with how much you drink so that you don’t overload your system with sugar.  There are also electrolyte add-ins that you can put in your water, but when I’m sick, I want a little bit of flavor that water just doesn’t give me.

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Chicken or Vegetable Broth are both clear liquids that will give you comforting, hot sustenance.  Just be careful not to add anything too fatty to them, as fat can be difficult to digest.  Try add-ins like white rice, well-shredded chicken, or tofu.

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White Rice Cereals that are low in sugars are easy to digest, and you can enjoy them with any non-dairy milk.

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Hot Tea, obviously.  Adding a little ginger to your tea is very soothing on the stomach!

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White Pasta without tomato sauce or cream sauce, using lighter ingredients for toppings, is a good way to integrate yourself back into real meals.  Tomatoes are especially acidic, and thus hard on the stomach, and cream can be difficult to digest because of lactose.  A really light pesto might do the trick?

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Peanuts – fat is hard to digest, so these little beauties might not work for everyone, but my body needs protein and I can handle peanuts once my stomach is in recovery mode.

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Cooked squash, zucchini, and carrots are supposedly easy on the stomach.  I’ve never tried them, as I imagine most veggies to be hard on the stomach, but if Livestrong says it, it must be true, right?  Let me know if you’ve ever tried these!

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Melon is another Livestrong suggestion.  Again, never tried it, and sadly, it’s just out of season.  Let me know if you’ve had melon while you were sick and tell us how it worked.

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That’s all I have for now.  Sadly, the list is still pretty limited.  Looks like it’s oatmeal for dinner for me!

I feel like I should also give John some serious credit in this post.  When I say things like, “I eat a lot of cheese toast when I’m sick,” what I mean is actually that John makes me a lot of cheese toast.  And anything else I ask for.  And goes to the grocery store and the drug store and essentially waits on me hand and foot.  On his birthday weekend when he should be at one of the best food festivals in the country.  Sorry, honey!

What foods do you suggest for an upset stomach?  Our sick lives could be so much better if we get a good list going here!

After being completely useless post-Journey concert on Saturday, I felt like being a good wife Sunday morning and making John some delicious, healthy waffles.  Peanut Butter and Banana Cinnamon Waffles with Blueberry Syrup, to be specific.

John was really pumped when I told him what I was making, but then his excitement quickly subsided as he looked at me hesitatingly and said, “You’re going to make them healthy, aren’t you?”  Heck, yes, I am!  It’s not that John doesn’t enjoy healthy food – he seems to enjoy it more than I do recently – it’s that I’m still pulling him into the belief that whole wheat doesn’t have to equal grainy and disgusting.  Honestly, I wasn’t even sure how this would work out – I’ve had whole wheat waffles before, and they’ve always felt dense and dry.

Thankfully, I found this awesome recipe over at The Diva Dish, made a few changes to make it my own, and have enjoyed all the extra waffles for breakfast for the past few days.  Now I’m bummed because there are none left.

All the Goods

Mix together the solids in one bowl, liquids in another. Then, mix solids in with liquids.

Preheat the waffle iron, oiling well before each batch. In goes the batter. Close the lid, flip, and flip back when waffle iron beeps.

Wow.

With Bananas and Blueberry Maple Syrup.

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter and Banana Cinnamon Waffles

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon liquid stevia
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups soy milk
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1/3 cup Smart Balance Omega 3 oil
• 3/4 cups natural crunchy peanut butter
• 1 1/2 bananas, finely sliced