Gluten Free Blueberry Cottage Cheese Waffles

Another week, another waffle (sorry not sorry). I just can't help myself, you guys! So believe it or not, this week I didn't spend multiple days dreaming about waffles. I actually didn't think about them until Tuesday night when I was like oh crap tomorrow's Wednesday! I thought about remaking one of my favorites, but first I started going through was I had in the fridge. Nothing stood out until I thought about cottage cheese. It's kind of like a middle ground between milk and cheese, and I've used both in waffles before. Toss in some fruit to offset the saltiness, and we have ourselves a waffle!

After I made these my mom actually told me that she used to have cottage cheese pancakes as a kid. I didn't even know that was a thing, but after making these waffles I can definitely see why!

Here's What You'll Need:

-1/2 cup quinoa flour
-One 5.3 oz container of cottage cheese
-2 eggs
-Pinch of sea salt
-1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
-1/2 tsp vanilla
-1/2 cup blueberries

Makes 2 waffles

Instructions:

1) Mix all of the ingredients except the blueberries together in a bowl.
2) Add in the blueberries and continue to mix.
3) Pour half of the batter into the waffle maker and cook according to waffle maker instructions.
4) Repeat with the second half of the batter.
5) Top with desired toppings, and enjoy!

Just a fair warning, this mixture is less thick that typical waffle recipes, at least ones that I've made. So when you're pouring it into the waffle maker, don't worry! It's just a totally different, lighter consistency because of the cottage cheese, but trust me that it will turn out delicious!

I topped mine with a few additional blueberries and some of my favorite granola. There wasn't even a need for syrup or honey between the flavors of the waffle itself and the toppings!

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Vegan and Gluten Free Beet Waffles

I've actually been thinking about making a beet waffle for a little bit now. My initial thought was to put beet chunks into a waffle like I've done with apple or berries. But then the thought came to me, why not incorporate the beets into the actual batter? Plus it would make for a beautiful color. 

So I was ready to make my standard quinoa flour waffle base and blend in some beets, when I remembered that I was recently introduced to the Neat Egg. The Neat Egg is an all natural egg substitute made from chia seeds and garbanzo beans. This seemed like the perfect first recipe to try with the Neat Egg. 

I've (attempted) to make a vegan waffle in the past, and it was just plain gross. It was really dense and not waffle-like at all. To be fair, it was my first vegan waffle attempt, actually my first homemade waffle attempt in general. Needless to say, I was a little hesitant about trying another vegan waffle. But the Neat Egg really came through. I honestly would never have known that the waffle had an egg substitute and not a real egg. It made the perfect waffle and wasn't dense at all. 

I topped mine off with arugula, feta, and spicy honey. I know, I know not vegan at all, but that is the thing I love about this recipe. You can make it for everyone! If you're vegan, it's delicious. If you're not vegan, it's still delicious. And everyone can choose their own toppings.

Here's What You'll Need:

-3/4 cup quinoa flour
-1 tsp baking powder
-3/4 cup water and/or unsweetened almond milk (I usually do 1/2 cup of almond milk and 1/4 cup of water)
-1 Neat Egg
-1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
-4 pieces of Love Beets organic cooked beets
-Toppings of choice

Makes 2 waffles

Instructions:

1) In a blender or food processor, blend together the beets and water and/or almond milk first.
2) Add in the remaining ingredients, and blend until batter is smooth.
3) Preheat your waffle iron.
4) Once preheated, pour in half of the batter, and cook according to your waffle maker instructions.
5) Repeat with the second half of the batter. 
6) Serve the waffles, top with desired toppings, and enjoy!

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Gluten Free Avocado, Strawberry, and Arugula Waffles

Waffle Wednesday, we meet again, and I couldn't be happier. Seriously, this is like my favorite food day of the week. It makes me want to open a brunch place specializing in waffles. The waffle maker has officially become my favorite kitchen appliance to play around with. So what do we have this week? Gluten free avocado, strawberry, and arugula waffles, and you will not be disappointed.

The idea stemmed from a couple of places. I see all sorts of fun and creative things on Instagram, and recently I've been seeing a lot of avocado toast topped with strawberries. So that got me thinking. It's really not that weird when you think about it. A delicious summer salad could be topped with both of these. That's where the arugula came in. It's like a summer salad in waffle form. And who isn't wishing for summer in this unseasonable 40 degree April weather?

Don't have quinoa flour? No problem! Swap it out for the flour of your choosing. Whole wheat is a good option of you aren't gluten free, or really feel free to use whatever suits your fancy!

Here's What You'll Need:

-3/4 cup quinoa flour (or the flour of your choosing)
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 egg
-1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
-1/4 cup water (you can use all almond milk or all water if you prefer)
-1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
-Pinch of sea salt (optional)
-1/4 cup baby arugula
-1/2 avocado
-4 strawberries, chopped

Instructions:

1) Heat up your waffle maker.
2) Mash the avocado half in a bowl using a fork.
3) Add in the flour, egg, baking powder, almond milk, water, salt, and coconut oil and thoroughly mix together.
4) Fold in the strawberry chunks and arugula.
5) Pour half of the mixture into your waffle maker and cook according to your makers' instructions.
6) Repeat with the second half of the mixture. 
7) Serve each waffle and top with desired toppings.

I topped mine with an additional strawberry and Bushwick Kitchen's Bees Knees Spicy Honey, and I would HIGHLY recommend this. The honey is the perfect flavor addition to the avocado, strawberry, and arugula. Plus is has that nice little kick.

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Gluten Free Apple and Blue Cheese Quinoa Flour Waffles

If you haven't already heard me say it, I love Waffle Wednesday! I love it even moreso now that I have a waffle maker. It's one of my favorite days to just play around and try to come up with something interesting and delicious. So if I'm being honest, a decent amount of my Tuesdays are spent brainstorming about what I want to put in my waffle the next day.

This week I was lunching on a cobb salad, and I thought what about blue cheese? It's a little out there, but pairing it with something sweet like apple really sounded perfect. Plus I had just tried Bushwick Kitchen's Trees Knees Cinnamon Maple syrup, and that seemed like the perfect flavor to pull it all together. 

I decided to keep it gluten free because I've been loving everything I've made with quinoa flour recently. And of course I love that it gives an option to anyone with Celiac Disease or a gluten intolerance or allergy. Plus it adds in some extra protein from the quinoa.

Here's What You'll Need:

-3/4 cup quinoa flour
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 egg
-1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
-1/4 cup water (can use all 3/4 cup almond milk or all water if desired)
-1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
-1 small pink lady apple, chopped or spiralized
-3-4 tbsp blue cheese crumbles (depending on your affinity for blue cheese)
-1 tsp pure Maple syrup
-1/4 tsp cinnamon
-Pinch of sea salt

Instructions:

1) Mix together the flour, almond milk, water, egg, baking powder, salt, maple syrup, and coconut oil in a bowl.
2) Add in the apple pieces and mix.
3) Heat up your waffle maker, and pour 1/4 of the mix. Spread 1 tbsp of blue cheese over the mix, and finish the waffle off with another 1/4 of the mix.
4) Cook the waffle according to your waffle maker instructions.
5) Repeat for the second waffle.
6) Serve each waffle, and top with additional apple slices, blue cheese, and maple syrup as desired.
7) Enjoy!

Let me know what you think of this sweet and savory combo in the comments below!

Blueberry Chocolate Chunk Whole Wheat and Rolled Oat Waffles

If you follow me on Instagram, you know by now that I recently purchased a waffle maker. I've wanted to buy one for months after trying some frozen healthy waffles and literally thinking to myself, "I could do so much better." Soon after that experience, I stumbled upon more relatively healthy waffles that were actually really good, delaying my waffle maker purchase.

But it finally happened last week, and let me tell you, IT WAS WORTH IT! Also, WHAT WAS I THINKING? Waiting this long to buy my own waffle maker seriously feels like a crime. This baby turns out delicious, perfect looking waffles. Plus, I can play around with whatever recipe I want (added bonus). 

Another fun thing that happened last week, I received my first Cocoa Couriers box (I'll link my review here). So when waffle Wednesday approached, I knew one of those babies was going into my waffle. It was pretty much a no brainer because the Blueberry chocolate bar by Brasstown was pretty much the most delicious thing I've tasted in my life. Also, blueberries, chocolate, and waffles - need I say more?

Here's What You'll Need:

-1/3 cup whole wheat flour
-1/3 cup rolled oats
-1 tsp baking powder
-Pinch sea salt
-Sprinkle of cinnamon (probably like 1/8 tsp)
-1 egg
-2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
-2 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
-1/2 Brasstown Blueberry chocolate bar, cut or broken into small chunks (you can use any dark chocolate bar of your choosing)
-1/2 cup blueberries
-2 tbsp maple syrup

Instructions:

1) Heat your waffle maker.
2) In the meantime, mix together all of the ingredients (minus the maple syrup) in a bowl. You can reserve some chocolate chunks and blueberries to top your waffles, or just throw it all in. It's all going to one place, your mouth.
3) Pour half of the mixture into the waffle maker and cook according to your waffle maker's instructions. Repeat this for the second waffle.
4) Serve each and top with 1 tbsp of maple syrup.
5) Enjoy!

Let me know what you think in the comments below!