Whole Wheat Waffles with Flaxseeds and Triple Berry Sauce

This morning I decided to make waffles for my husband, but I wanted to make my standard whole-wheat waffle recipe even healthier.

Since flaxseeds contain omega 3’s and have been shown to reduce the tumor size in breast cancer and prostate cancer patients I wanted to add them to the waffles. I added 2 tablespoons only because that is what I put in our morning smoothie (not very technical I know). I reduced the canola oil in the original recipe since I added fat with the flaxseeds. I also substituted almond milk for soymilk because that is the milk we normally have on hand now (and it is lower calorie than soymilk). The cinnamon was added to help our bodies process the sugar from the fruit I added to the top of the waffles.

We did think these waffles were a little heavier than my standard whole-wheat recipe, but we also thought they had good crunch and flavor. I will be tweaking this recipe in the coming months to try to lighten the interior of the waffle a little, but this recipe is good enough as is, provided you remember it is a 100% whole-wheat vegan waffle. I don’t know that it is possible to make whole-wheat vegan waffles as fluffy as white flour waffles. However, you can feel good about feeding these waffles to your family.

Whole Wheat Waffles with Flaxseeds
Serves 2 big appetites or 3 regular eaters

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups of whole-wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
¼ teaspoon of kosher salt
¼ teaspoon of cinnamon
12 ounces of almond milk, unsweetened
½ tablespoon of canola oil
2 tablespoons of golden flaxseeds, freshly ground

Directions:

Heat your waffle iron while you make the waffle batter.

Mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon) and whisk to combine. Add the remaining ingredients (almond milk, canola oil and ground flaxseed). Whisk to combine the wet and dry ingredients. If you keep your flour in the freezer and the batter seems a little stick add a couple tablespoons of water to thin the dough a little.

Cook the waffles until to the directions for your waffle iron. Serve them while they are hot. If you are making waffles for a crowd you can hold the waffles in a 200-degree oven on a half sheet pan with a wire rack. The elevation of the wire rack keeps the waffles from getting soggy on the bottom.

I served this with a triple berry sauce and a few sliced almonds on top. The almonds were only added for crunchy texture.

Nutritional Information (assumes 2 servings):

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 488.92
Calories From Fat (22%)- 107.62

Total Fat - 12.26g
Saturated Fat - 1.3g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 574.08mg
Potassium - 567.08mg
Total Carbohydrates - 80.89g
Fiber - 15.18g
Sugar - 7.16g
Protein - 19.91g

Triple Berry Sauce for Waffles
Serves 2 (or enough for the waffle recipe above)

Ingredients:

2 cups of frozen berries (I used a mix of blueberries, raspberries and Marion berries)
1 scoop of stevia
¼ teaspoon of cinnamon, ground

Directions:

Add the berries to a saucepan and cook until they begin to give up their liquid. Stir them occasionally to make certain the berries don’t stick. Continue to cook until the berries slump (lose their shape) and the juice that released from the berries thickens. This will happen in 15 minutes (of the time it takes to make the waffles). Add the stevia and cinnamon and turn off the heat. Serve the berry sauce on top the hot waffles.

Nutritional Information (assumes 2 servings):

Amount Per Serving
Calories 83.45
Calories From Fat (5%) - 3.92

Total Fat - 0.48g
Saturated Fat - 0.04g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 1.48mg
Potassium - 113.05mg
Total Carbohydrates - 21.77g
Fiber - 3.65g
Sugar - 14.45g
Protein - 1.09g

Comments:

These waffle aren’t as light and fluffy as white flour waffles. We think they are a nice compromise between taste and health. These waffles get a nice crust on the exterior from the inclusion of the agave and canola oil. They also brown well considering they don’t include egg. I am quite pleased with the 19 grams of fiber and 20 grams of protein in this waffle and berry sauce recipe. I will be tweaking this recipe in the coming months to try to lighter the interior of the waffle, just a little.

Green Smoothie with Banana and Mixed Berries

When we were shopping yesterday one of the items on our list was green drink powder. The most recent book I have been reading “Life Over Cancer” recommends green drink powder to make certain you get the 12 servings of vegetables they want you to consume each day. If you haven’t tried to buy green drink powder before it is completely confusing. There are so many brands of the stuff and the ingredient combinations are varied. You can spend a lot of time reading labels in the store.

I chose Green Vibrance (which they carry at Whole Foods) for a number of reasons. First, it contains 25 billion dairy free probiotics per dose from 12 different strains. Given that probiotics are so important for intestinal health I liked the idea of a lot of probiotics. Second, the product is mostly organic. A product being organic is always a big plus with me. Third, each dose contains 1500 mgs of spirulina. Last, each dose contains 1000 IU of Vitamin D, 100 IU of Vitamin E and 3.51 mcg of Vitamin B12. I thought this brand had some impressive nutritional statistics so we picked it up. If you look for it know that it is a little pricey ($44.99 for a 30 dose container).

The taste…… well, it tastes green. I can definitely say it is an acquired taste, which I have not yet acquired. I tried a little bit straight and it makes like something that is really good for you, like cod liver oil.

Today’s smoothie was designed to mask the taste of the green powder, which it did. However, I only used 1 tablespoon of the powder, which equates to ½ a dose. I decided that is the most we do for now. The mixed berries did a great job of overpowering the taste of the green powder. The berries also made the color more appealing. Tomorrow’s smoothie is going to be green since I feel we need to drink it once without the berries to see what it is like.

I think it is going to take us a few weeks to get accustomed to this green drink powder. We will be using half the recommended amount of powder while we “acquire” a taste for this green drink. We both know the green powder is good for us and plan to work to find ways to include it in our diet that we also enjoy. This smoothie is a good start of how to incorporate green drink powder into your diet in an enjoyable drink.

Green Smoothie with Banana and Mixed Berries
Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of Green Vibrance Powder
1 frozen banana
1 cup of mixed frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries and marion berries)
2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed
½ teaspoon of cinnamon
2 cups of water

Directions:

Toss everything into the blender and puree until smooth. Serve immediately in chilled glasses.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 176.44
Calories From Fat (31%) - 54.16

Total Fat - 8.54g
Saturated Fat - 0.94g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 35.49mg
Potassium - 378.22mg
Total Carbohydrates - 31.65g
Fiber - 8.22g
Sugar - 15.05g
Protein - 4.51g

Comments:

This smoothie tasted better than I expected. There was a grassy note in the background, but the berries did a nice job of overpowering the flavor. Both my husband and I thought we could drink the green powder this way. Tomorrow I will try the smoothie without the berries and see what happens.

Mixed Berry and Spinach Smoothie

This morning I was moving slowly so I made a quick breakfast smoothie. I used what I had on hand, which is how I typically make smoothies.

We buy bags of frozen mixed berries from Costco because it includes three different dark berries (raspberries, blueberries and Marion berries), which are a great fruits to consume if you are eating for good health. Dark berries are packed with good nutrition. I include them in our diet as often as possible.

Most of the calories, and protein in this smoothie comes from the soymilk. Next time I may try to remove one cup of the soymilk and replace it with water and a couple tablespoons of oatmeal to reduce the calories a little.

If you are unfamiliar with flaxseeds, they are a fantastic item to include in your cereal, salads and smoothies. I buy whole golden flaxseeds at the health food store and keep them in my freezer and grind them just before I plan to eat them. Flaxseeds are very high in omega 3’s and are thought to lower cholesterol, reduce the risk of some cancers, and reduce inflammation. After reading “Eat to Live” I try to include flaxseeds in our diet daily.

The spinach was included in this smoothie for nutrition. The dark blue color of the berries masked the green from the spinach so it wasn’t obvious. However, the nutrition was the raw spinach was still there. Dark green leafy vegetables are so good for your health. Spinach is a rich source of vitamin’s K and A. Researchers have identified at least 13 compounds in spinach that function as anti-cancer agents. Spinach is a great food to incorporate in your diet whenever possible.

Mixed Berry and Spinach Smoothie
Makes 2 large smoothies

Ingredients:

3 cups of mixed frozen berries (blueberries, Marion berries and raspberries)
3 cups of soymilk
2 small bunches of young spinach (about 20 leaves)
2 tablespoons of flaxseeds (freshly ground)

Directions:

Put everything in a blender and process until smooth. Serve immediately.

Nutrition Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories -408.9
Calories From Fat (25%) 103.08

Total Fat -11.66g
Saturated Fat -1.25g
Cholesterol -0mg
Sodium -271.11mg
Potassium -1256.21mg
Total Carbohydrates - 62.43g
Fiber - 16.8g
Sugar - 35.9g
Protein - 19.32g

Comments:

This smoothie is packed with nutrition and tastes only of berries. If you are trying to get more nutrition into your diet, this is a great way to start. I like knowing that I start my day with a healthy smoothie that is packed full of vitamins and phytonutrients.

Since a few of you have asked, no I couldn't taste the spinach at all. It added nutrition but without an overwhelming spinach flavor.

Nutrition Info updated 07.05.09