Breakfast Baby

This morning my cupcake (Daniel) woke up craving waffles. He is a "warm food" kind of kid and prefers warm meals in the morning like a comforting bowl of cream of wheat or a freshly toasted egg and cheese sandwich.

The challenge is squeezing in the time in the morning, while balancing getting myself and both of my little ones ready. It would be fabulously easier to pop open a box of cereal every morning or throw some pre-frozen waffles in the toaster. Not that there is anything wrong with that on occasion (I hear my dad's voice whispering "everything in moderation"), but there is something to be said about knowing what ingredients you are putting into your kid's food. Especially when you can add extra healthy goodness to the mixes, like fruits or chia seeds.

Chia seeds are my new favorite food add-on. They are so easy to hide into mixes like pancakes, waffles, and muffins and come from the plant source with the highest source of Omega-3. Plus, they are full of antioxidants and are a complete protein with amino acids, calcium, and magnesium. Score!

Home-made pancake and waffle mixes are great because you can make a big batch of batter and refrigerate whatever you don't use for the next day. Or even yet, cook a bunch and freeze what you are aren't going to eat. Then simply pop them in your toaster straight from your freezer.

This morning, cupcake wanted to help me make the waffles. It was a great ad-lib lesson on math and measurements as he helped read and measure the ingredients. We put everything into my Go-To mixer, the Ninja Master Prep. I love it because it mixes really well, saves counter space, and doesn't make a big mess.

Once everything was well mixed, we poured the batter into our waffle maker and voila! Yummy banana waffles! You can find a good waffle maker inexpensively at most retail chains, like Target or Wal-mart.

Our Waffle Recipe:
2 cups of whole wheat white flour (we like King's Arthur)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 eggs (organic, free-range)
1 1/2 cups of milk (organic or raw is what we like)
1 ripe banana
3 tbsp un-salted butter
2 tbsp honey
1/4 tsp chia seeds

Place all of the ingredients, except for 1 cup of flour, milk, and baking powder in the mixer. Mix until well blended. Then add the remaining ingredients. Mix well. Warm up your waffle maker and pour your batter in. Cook and enjoy!