Itsy Bitsy Foodies

I’m watching the snow continue to fall as we gear up for another fun day of skiing, sledding and tromping around the neighborhood.  But first, we are savoring our morning waffles.  Though it’s technically not a holiday, it sure does feel like a mini vacation around here.  To continue with the theme of our snow staycation, I wanted to make a special breakfast {insert chocolate chip waffles} but I also wanted something to nourish my boys and give them energy for a long day in the snow.  Banana, chia seeds, and oatmeal (either whole oats or oat flour substituted for part of the flour) did just the trick.  You can mix and match any of these optional additions.

My boys are big breakfast eaters.  I make pancakes and French toast often because my boys love them and I have them down to a science, able to quickly make a small amount to order on busy school-day mornings.  Waffles have definitely been more of a treat in our house.  Admittedly, it’s probably just my mental block, but pulling out the waffle iron has always seemed like more work to me.  However, after a long snow weekend and many batches of waffles, I have a feeling that waffles {especially this new version with bananas, oatmeal and chia seeds} will become part of our weekly breakfast rotation.  I used my Pomegranate Oatmeal Waffles as the base recipe.

*If you’re cooking waffles for a brunch, party or large group of kids, I’ve found that you can make them all ahead, break them into quarter wedges, pile them into a 9×13 pan, lightly drizzle them with syrup and then broil them (just for a minute or two) right before serving.  This warms them up while helping them keep a slight crisp outer edge because nobody wants a soggy waffle.

**I’ve listed the sugar in the recipe for reference.  These days I omit the sugar in my waffles and pancakes because I’ve found that they are plenty sweet once you add syrup, berries, jams and/or whipped cream.