It all started with new health insurance after the first of the year. And cholesterol of 224. Oops. Next thing I knew, I was “that nasty vegan woman” who sends everyone fleeing to the hills whenever they see her coming. Although I’m not really vegan. But you understand what I mean. I can hear their thoughts. “Oh, no. Here comes that nasty vegan woman again and she’ll be talking all about her diet.” Healthy eating, thank you very much. It’s not a diet.
And look what I have for breakfast:
Looks pretty yummy, doesn’t it? Those are waffles. Topped with lots of fresh fruit. And they are very yummy. I bet you’ll be surprised at the ingredients.
Wednesday is Waffle Day at our house. Because I work Monday and Tuesday. So I have an easier breakfast on those days. But Wednesday……..yummy waffles. It’s also “Stay in My PJ’s Until at Least Noon” Day. For the same reason as Waffle Day. I love Wednesdays. But I bet you already guessed that. Last Wednesday I made an extra batch of waffles. Because then I can just put them in the toaster and have them every day. With yummy fruit on top. The above picture is Saturday Waffles. Leftover from Wednesday. Nice.
I had to show you an up-close pic of the fruit topping. Because up-close is just the kind of gal I am. I made the topping by putting a handful of blueberries, blackberries and strawberries in the food processor. Then I pulsed it with a little honey. I then chopped up some extra strawberries and put them in a bowl with some blueberries and poured the puréed stuff over the top. Stir and top off the waffles. I’m getting hungy again just typing about it. And I bet you are too.
So maybe I should show you how I make the waffles?
Here are the ingredients: 1 1/3 c oatmeal, 1 T honey, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 tsp oil, 1 2/3 c water, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 c pinto beans. Yes. You read that correctly. Pinto beans. In my waffles. And if you had one, I would challenge you to taste the beans. Except now that won’t work because I already told you what was in them. But I had to tell you so you could make them. But I digress.
Pinto beans soaking in water now live in my refrigerator. So that I can whip up some waffles any time I want to. You don’t cook them before you make the waffles, just soak them overnight and pour off the water and rinse them. I know, I know. It sounds very weird. And probably very vegan to you. Sigh. But they are good, I tell you! You just have to try them for yourself. And remember the pictures up above.
You put everything except the oatmeal into the food processor. This picture does not show the water added. I pour that into the top after I start up the food processor. You don’t have to do it the way I do. It’s just me. And my food processor. It leaks if I pour all that water in at the beginning. Just sayin’.
Then you turn on the food processor and whip this stuff together for 90 seconds. You could also use a blender. In fact, a blender would probably be better. I don’t have one. So I use my food processor.
Birthday hint for Dear Hubby: Nice blender
It will look like this. All foamy and yummy. And not a trace of pinto beans anywhere.
Then you dump in the oatmeal.
And give it a whirl again for 60 seconds more. By the way, I set the timer. I got tired of doing the one thousand one, one thousand two….. way of timing.
Now it looks like this. At this point I pour the batter into a bowl with a spout. For easy pouring into the waffle maker. But you probably used your blender and it’ll be easy to pour yours.
Second Hint for Hubby: My birthday is just over a month away. Just sayin’.
Hello, waffle maker. My waffle maker is my new friend. As well as my food processor. I’ve used them more in the past 5 weeks than I have in the past 5 years!
By the way, don’t preheat the WM until after you’ve mixed the batter. The batter needs a few minutes to sit and thicken. And the time it takes the WM to heat is exactly the right amount of time for the batter to thicken.
Pour the batter into the waffle maker. See? Pourable bowl. But you can pour directly from your blender jar. I would too, if I had one. And have one less bowl to wash.
You’ll need to cook these a little longer than conventional waffles. So again, I set the timer. 6-8 minutes. My waffle maker tries to get me to take them out sooner. But I don’t listen to it. I wait for my timer.
Yum. I can’t quite figure out exactly how much batter is needed to get the waffles all the way to the edge. So I’ve decided I like them this way better because they look more homemade. As if you could buy perfect pinto bean waffles anywhere in the world. Not.
Sometimes I just top them with blueberries and a little honey or agave nectar. Doesn’t that pic of blueberries make you want a handful? I love blueberries. And they are very good for you too.
I should mention here that you can add loads of things to the batter when you make these. Any combination of the following: banana, apple, cinnamon, walnuts, pecans – use your imagination. In the latest batch I added two small apples, cinnamon and a handful of walnuts. They were exceptional. I could eat them every day. Wait! I do eat them every day. At least until they run out. Then I have to wait until Wednesday Waffle Day.
Here are a few other things that live in my refrigerator now:
Almond milk. It’s wonderful on oatmeal. I like the “breeze” kind better than the “silk” kind. In case you’re interested. And it is oh, so much better than regular milk. I’m amazed how much I love it.
I also use soy creamer in my morning coffee. I like the French Vanilla better than the Hazelnut. But I have both. And on my occasional trip to Starbuck’s? I get a soy latte. I actually like them better than regular lattes. Who knew? And if you register your Starbuck’s gift card online? You get the soy milk and any flavoring free. That’s your Starbuck’s Tip for the Day folks.
And I even have:
The Dreaded Tofu. Horrors. If you had told me 2 months ago that this would be in my fridge? I’d have said you were crazy. I haven’t actually made anything with this yet. But I have recipes I want to try. I’ll keep you posted.
And here are a few more things I’ve been making lately:
Hummus. This is roasted red pepper hummus. It’s so easy to make with a food processor. Did I mention I love my food processor? I’ll show you how to make it in another blog. It is delicious.
Roasted veggies. Before cooking…….
After roasting. Yum. I love these.
Here’s Friday night’s dinner. A heaping plate of roasted veggies. And even Dear Hubby loves them. Sometimes I fill my plate even more full than this one. But I wasn’t too hungry last night.
Snacks. Or sometimes even lunch. Homemade salsa, red pepper hummus and lots of veggies for dipping. Very yummy.
Wonderful veggie chili. Loads of beans. I’m learning to love beans more and more. And this chili was great.
More things to do in the food processor. Sliced cukes and shredded carrots. For salads, or sanwiches or dipping. Well, maybe not dipping. At least not those shredded carrots.
Did I mention I love my food processor?
All the ingredients for shrimp pico de gallo. Shrimp, red onions, tomato, olives, jalapeno pepper. This was Super Bowl food for us.
Last night’s supper. Pita bread, carrots, cukes, spinach. And just to prove I’m not a vegan – this is all topping off some grilled salmon in the bottom.
See? Grilled salmon. All flaked up for the pita pocket.
And it was deeeeeelish.
It all started out with a goal of lowering my cholesterol. Nice side effect? I’ve lost 13 pounds as of today. Nice. Very nice. In a little over 5 weeks time. And I’m eating a lot. Just eating more healthy.
When Pioneer Woman gets wind of this she will gasp. And refuse to be my best friend. Forever. But I plan on trying to convert some of her high fat, high calorie recipes into a healthier version of my own. It’s my new challenge this year. And I’ll occasionally share some successful ones with you.
But don’t discount pinto beans in your waffles. You just might like them.
This picture greets me every day on the calendar in my bathroom. The cat is sort of a cross between Miss Kitty and Boo. And the caption reads “I am in shape. Round is a shape.” I wonder if there’s a skinnier kitty on the March page? I guess I’ll know in a few days.
Thankfully, I’m getting less and less round by the day.
Healthy eating? It’s a very good thing. I think I’ll go get a nice juicy pear.
Slimmer hugs,
Barb
