Seed and Nut Waffles

Brian, my guest this week, is a single dad who doesn't like to cook.

So I was relieved to hear that one of the things Brian does enjoy is grilling for his two young boys on his barbeque.

I think every man not comfortable in the kitchen should invest in a barbeque, because if there is one blokey gadget that will make cooking fun and easy, it's a barby.

You can grill meat, fish, burgers, brats, veggies, potatoes, mushrooms and bread ... the list goes on. I mean there's almost no reason for a bloke to be in a kitchen if he's comfortable on the patio with a barbeque.

In addition to the barbeque, there's another gadget that came to mind when I wandered around WFs with Brian looking at food he and the boys would enjoy, and that's the waffle iron.

You see, Brian expressed interest in finding another breakfast item for his boys, something they'd enjoy and something he could prepare quickly and easily.

He saw WFs 365-brand organic, flax seed waffles and was impressed by the price, plus he's comfortable heating them up and serving them with grilled sausage, and or some of his frozen fruit, which as I mentioned yesterday, he keeps on hand for his Zone smoothies.

Now, this might be a bit of a stretch for blokes like Brian, but it is easy to make your own waffles. And with a waffle iron on hand (either in the kitchen or you could plug it in on the patio) all that's involved is whipping up the batter then pouring it into the iron.

Cindy, who I featured last week, loves to make waffles for her college-age boys when they drop in on the weekend for brunch. That's her waffle iron and cooked waffle in the pictures above.

And here's Cindy's waffle recipe:

Nutritious, Seed & Nut Waffles
1) In a large mixing bowl mix your own combination of the following dry ingredients:

1/4 cup of whole wheat flour, unbleached white flour, quinoa flour and oat or brown rice flour (2 cups of flour in total).
2) Add 1 and half teaspoons of baking powder and a half teaspoon of salt.
3) In another bowl, whisk 1 egg (or 2 egg whites). Add one & quarter cups of your choice of soy, rice, cow, goat milk or a combination of any of the above.
4) Add to milk a quarter cup light oil or for low fat diets, apple juice. If you use apple juice, you may need to oil the waffle iron.
5) Pour wet ingredients into dry mix, stir, add more liquid if too thick, add more flour it too thin.
6) To batter, add flax seeds, sesame seeds, and or any ground nuts for protein and fiber.
7) Pour batter into hot waffle iron and cook till golden brown.

To Serve: Top with fresh berries, maple syrup and a dollop of yogurt, or breakfast sausage.

Note: Making your own waffles is more economical than buying frozen or boxed waffle mix, and you can freeze the extras for later use.