Gluten Free Egg Free Waffles

I love playing with food and modifying recipes so that each time I make them the dish seems new. Pamela's Products makes a magnificent Baking & Pancake Mix that can be used to make waffles. I modified the recipe on the package to make the recipe my own.

Ingredients:

• The recipe calls for 2 eggs ... I substituted 2 flax eggs
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 cup Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix
• I added: 2 TBSP cinnamon and 2 TBSP hemp seeds

I cooked the waffles in my waffle maker and topped with fresh fruit and walnuts. My husband topped his with honey and I added Sunbutter ( No Sugar Added variety).

The recipe is easy to make and simple substitutions can make the recipe your own.

Variations:

• Add vanilla or maple flavor instead of cinnamon
• For a denser waffle, add the version of milk you wish instead of water ... or for part of the water
• Add gluten free chocolate chips, dried fruit, seeds, coconut, and /or nuts into the batter or as a topping

Homemade Cinnamon Peanut Butter

I love the taste of warm peanut butter ... fresh warm peanut butter is even tastier!

I keep a jar of homemade nut butter in my refrigerator at all times. I love making NUT butters in my VitaMix as all I need to make a batch is 3 cups of nuts and about 5 minutes. When nuts are on sale, I stock up which cuts the cost of each portion.

Today I made a double batch of peanut butter. The first batch was traditional creamy peanut butter and the second batch was CINNAMON peanut butter.

Instructions:

• Place 3 cups of nuts (added 1 TBSP cinnamon to batch 2) in VitaMix and turn on low
• Begin to use the wand to push down the nuts
• Turn up the speed to high and use the wand to continue to push the mixture down to combine  (The nut butter will be almost smooth after about 2 minutes)
• When the nut butter is almost done, turn the VitaMix to high and use the wand to combine for another 30 seconds. This will create the extra smooth and creamy texture. Omit this step if you wish a "grainy" or crunchy texture.  
• To wash the VitaMix, add water half way up and run the machine for a minute. Drain. Rinse.

NOTE: You can use raw, roasted, salted, or unsalted nuts for this recipe.
NOTE: I make nut butters frequently. Experiment with the flavors ... perhaps you will start to add 1 cup of three different nuts!

Sunday Breakfast ... Pancakes with TWO or THREE Ingredients

Sunday is the day I have more time to make breakfast and take my time eating the meal. Today I used a tried-and-true recipe, with the addition of cinnamon I added antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties to my meal while also contributing to my heart health, reducing the risk of diabetes, and assisting brain function.

I added fresh seasonal organic berries since berries are on the Dirty Dozen List. Optional toppings I placed on the table included:

• Nuts
• Seeds
• SunButter
• Honey

The meal is simple to make and is very healthy. Remember the ratio is 1 banana to 1 egg. You can make the quantity you want. This is a great breakfast for one ... or a group!

Iwon Organics Chips + Cinnamon Apple Cream Cheese

Iwon Organics Cinnamon French Toast Protein Chips are are great snack on their own. They are also sturdy enough to hold up to the weight of a dip. Keeping with the cinnamon theme, I added homemade cinnamon applesauce to reduced fat cream cheese to create a cinnamon-on-cinnamon protein packed snack.

Homemade Apple Sauce:

• Dice 1 apple
• Add to a pan with 1/4 cup of water
• Simmer until liquid is absorbed and apple the texture you want it (you can cover and cook slowly or leave the top off and cook faster). Add more liquid if the apple requires that...monitor to get the consistency you wish!
• Sprinkle with cinnamon to taste

Cinnamon Applesauce Cream Cheese
Create a 1-1 ratio of cinnamon applesauce to cream cheese ... stir and combine.

SERVE
Chill (if the applesauce was FRESH) OR serve right away if the applesauce was pre-made and already chilled when added to the cream cheese

Cinnamon Nut Butter

I love to make homemade nut butters and have blogged about that before. In the spirit of the holidays, I decided to add CINNAMON to the nut butter. Not only is cinnamon a flavor that reminds me of the holidays, family, friends, and cool weather, but also it has health benefits! I love to incorporate cinnamon into my diet as it helps fight diabetes (which runs in my family), it helps prevent cognitive decline (which runs in my family), fights inflammation, has anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits, and helps fight cancer. If you like the flavor of cinnamon, as I do, then why not add it to your favorite foods!

PICTURE: WARM CINNAMON NUT BUTTER ... straight from the Vitamix!

The recipe is simple. It requires about five minutes of your time, three cups of nuts, and a powerful blender (I use a VitaMix).

Base Recipe:
3 cups of nuts ... add to a Vitamix and Blend until as creamy/crunchy you prefer your nut butter
Store in an airtight container ... or package and give as a gift!

Cinnamon Twist
Add 1.5 cups of nuts to Vitamix and blend.
Add 1/4 cup of cinnamon and 1.5 cups of nuts and blend
NOTE: Change the amount of cinnamon based on personal taste. This gives a cinnamon flavor but does not lose the nut butter base...the flavor is layered.
Store in an airtight container ... or package as a gift!