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Matcha chia pudding parfait recipe

I promised I would get this recipe to you before St. Patrick’s Day and I have delivered! I know neither chia pudding nor matcha has any Irish lineage, but I don’t think we need to be limited to corned beef and cabbage on St. Patty’s Day. Why not just think green all day?

I’ve been saying this for years — St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday where everyone expects green food. And do not think I am talking about those offensive green bagels from the local bakery. Green food dye is out of the question, healthy friends. You have a huge opportunity to get spinach and kale and avocado into smoothies and no one will think it’s weird! (Leprechaun Juice recipe here and Healthy Mint Chip Smoothie here.)

I came up with this parfait concoction because I am really into blending my chia pudding these days with other textures — creamy, crunchy, juicy, whatever. And I also thought about ways to tint food naturally green. Spinach and avocado are the obvious ways to go, but I had a hunch matcha would work and it did! I just wrote about matcha in my last Friday favorites post. It’s actually green tea leaves finely ground so you consume the whole thing. You need the tiniest amount to add a lovely green tint and you also take advantage of the benefits of matcha.

You don’t need to follow this recipe exactly, but the concept is worth considering. The bottom layer is basically a smoothie bowl, i.e. a smoothie thick enough to eat with a spoon. I made this version with frozen banana, baby kale leaves, vanilla and a little almond milk. Spinach would make this much more mild than kale. The next layer is the chia pudding. And then I top it all off with some diced fruit and something else with a little texture. The variations on all the layers are endless, but this “recipe” I thought was cute for St. Patrick’s Day because it’s all about green. And tell me that bee pollen doesn’t look exactly like a…pot of gold??!! Other fun recipes are these green pancakes and green muffins, or go a completely different direction and try this green spinach risotto!

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Matcha Chia Pudding Parfait

Author: Pamela

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

For the matcha chia pudding:
1 ¼ cups unsweetened almond milk, preferably homemade
3 pitted dates or sweetener of choice, to taste (optional)
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon matcha powder
¼ cup chia seeds
For the green smoothie bowl (one suggestion, feel free to use your favorite):
2 cups frozen banana pieces
1 cup chopped kale (stems removed) or spinach leaves
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ - ½ cup unsweetened almond milk or milk of choice (you just want enough to get the blender/Vitamix going – Vitamix will need less)
a handful of ice if your almond milk is sweetened
You can also add extras to your smoothie like a few pieces of frozen, cooked cauliflower, hempseeds, ½ an avocado
Fun Toppings for St. Patrick's Day: bee pollen and diced, peeled kiwi

Instructions

To make the chia pudding: Place almond milk, dates, and vanilla in blender and process until dates are pulverized. A Vitamix does a great job with this. If your blender leaves the dates too chunky, you can strain the mixture before adding it to the chia seeds.
Add matcha powder and chia seeds to a medium container and add almond milk mixture. Stir immediately to dissolve matcha and loosen up chia seeds. Allow to sit on countertop and stir every 5 minutes so you don’t end up with blobs of chia seeds. After 15 minutes, it should have thickened.
Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. I usually do this the night before. Stays in the fridge for as long as your almond milk would.
Place all smoothie ingredients in the bowl of a food processor or Vitamix or other high-powered blender. Add almond milk and vanilla. Process until smooth and creamy. I find that the food processor needs a little more liquid and a few more seconds to achieve the desired consistency, which is like soft serve ice cream.
Divide the smooothie mixture into short glasses or wide-mouthed jars. Top with chia pudding. And garnish with diced, peeled kiwi and a sprinkling of bee pollen.

Whole grain banana bread with almond pulp recipe

Something I really hate to do is to waste food. One of the reasons I plan out a week of meals is that I can shop accordingly and only buy what I know I will use. But what about that leftover almond pulp? Despite my best efforts to use up the almond byproduct that results every time I make almond milk, it just doesn’t always happen. And raw almonds are so expensive that it actually pains me to throw the pulp in the trash. It’s perfectly good food, especially since the almonds were previously soaked, making them much more digestible and nutritious!

So what do I do with it? Of course, there’s the obvious — add it to anyone’s smoothie or stir it into a warm porridge or muesli. And almond pulp freezes well, so I can save it for another time. But I am just way too lazy to get out my dehydrator and dry out the pulp to use as almond meal. And then I thought to myself, what if I just tried the almond pulp in a quick bread in place of some of the wheat flour? Well, guess what? It worked! Although apparently, a million other people already knew this and I am extremely late to the almond pulp party!

I decided to take one of my banana bread recipes and tweak it a bit with almond pulp that was leftover from 1 cup of whole, soaked raw almonds. Remember, almonds have a lot more fat than grain flours, so we can cut back on some of the added fat. But almonds have no gluten, so I was reluctant to make an all-almond pulp bread this first time. I know this will be neither Paleo nor gluten-free (although I am confident you can swap the gluten flour for a good GF all purpose mix + a little xanthan gum), but I think we can fix that with a few more tweaks. Using half whole wheat flour and half almond pulp, this bread came out to be ABSOLUTELY PERFECT! Moist but hearty, not crumbly, and not too sweet. It’s perfect banana bread, in my book. My life changed instantly!! Let’s all imagine the possibilities of subbing some almond pulp for flour in different recipes! Is this exciting or what??

Most of the recipes on my site have been made in my cooking classes and at home about 20 times, but this one I just did once so I haven’t tested all the permutations, e.g. all almond pulp, no bananas, butter for coconut oil, and so on. But you can bet I will! I am planning on making my Millet Blondies today with almond pulp. Check my Instagram for updates! And please share your experiences with subbing in almond pulp in any recipes — I’ll try anything!

One last favor — I love Saveur Magazine and they’re conducting their annual food blog awards right now. If you like my blog, would you kindly take 15 seconds out of your busy day and nominate me for a Saveur Food Blog Award? I think the category of Best Special Interest Blog (healthy cooking) would be great. Thank you so much! Here’s the link (and I promise it takes 15 seconds!) http://www.saveur.com/article/contests/blog-awards-2015-nominate

5.0 from 18 reviews

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Whole Grain Banana Bread with Almond Pulp

Author: Pamela

Serves: makes one 8½ x 4½ -inch loaf

Ingredients

1¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour, whole spelt or sprouted spelt flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
¾ cup packed almond pulp (leftover from 1 cup of almonds to make almond milk)
½ cup pure maple syrup
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter or unrefined coconut oil, melted
2 large eggs
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2-3 very ripe bananas, mashed (2 large or 3 small-medium)
½ cup pecans or walnuts, chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 8 ½ x 4 ½ loaf pan with butter or coconut oil and line with unbleached parchment paper, if desired.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Place the almond pulp, maple syrup, melted butter or coconut oil, eggs and vanilla in a blender and process until combined. Or whisk well in a medium bowl.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine until just blended. Fold in the mashed bananas and nuts.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan 10 minutes and then remove the bread and transfer to a rack.

Three pea sauté with (or without) turkey bacon recipe

There was a time when I would watch those cooking competitions on Food Network and criticize anyone who used bacon in a recipe. “Well, yeah it’s going to be good now!” I would shout at the tv. I could have done that. Try making something awesome without bacon. That’s talent! I also feel this way about feta. Just makes everything so delicious. Well if they can do it on “Chopped,” little ole me can do it here. And so can you! We’re going to take simple peas, like the kind you have in your freezer that no one gets all that excited about, and we’re going to liven them up with some turkey bacon, or regular bacon if you eat pork. And everyone will fall in love with peas again.

And this is a good thing because peas are actually quite nutritious and many people always have them on hand. Peas contain a healthy dose of protein (about 9 grams/cup). I love peas mixed with rice for a complete protein. Yum! Peas are also loaded with Vitamin C, Vitamin K and manganese! And they’re a good source of iron, folate, vitamin B1, phosphorous, magnesium, potassium and fiber. The only thing I did read about peas that is not great is that they contain an anti-fertility compound, m-xylohydroquinone, so it might be a good avoid to avoid them if you’re trying to get pregnant.

For now, we’re going to stick with either fresh peas (unfortunately, kind of a pain in the neck to shell them and only sweet if they’re super fresh) or frozen ones. I think there is an undeserved stigma attached to frozen vegetables, but there shouldn’t be. Fortunately, freezing vegetables (and fruits) does not destroy their vitamins and minerals. Maybe 10-15% of vitamin content is damaged, and Vitamin C is the biggest loser there. But pretty much every fruit and vegetable has a good amount of Vitamin C so you’ll make up for it. Canned vegetables, on the other hand, are a sad, depressing lot which always seems overcooked, in my opinion. Beyond that, you’re also getting BPA with your veggies because of the can liners and BPA leaches. Not cool.

My entire family loves this incredibly simple side dish. And it’s perfect for a busy family because you can make it in less than 10 minutes. In the winter, I make it with all green peas. But in the spring, I love using a mix of green peas, sugar snap peas (my favorites), and snow peas. Green peas have the most protein and are eaten shelled. Sugar Snap Peas, which are plump and crisp, are a cross between regular peas and Snow Peas which are flat. Both these types of peas are sweeter than garden peas, but a little less nutrient-dense. Sugar Snaps and Snow Peas are both not shelled — you eat the whole thing. I love to mix them together because I love all the different textures most of all, but believe me when I say it’s delicious with one type of pea if that’s what you’ve got. For you veg heads, I’ve got you covered. Omit the turkey bacon and season with smoked salt or a pinch of smoked paprika and sea salt. Serve with poultry, lamb or fish, roasted vegetables or sautéed greens, or cauliflower mashed potatoes. If you have ham leftover on Easter, dice it up and use that instead of the bacon. Remember, St. Patrick’s day is coming up and your family will not be weirded out if you make an entirely green meal! Peas anyone??

4.0 from 1 reviews

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Three Pea Saute with (or without) Turkey Bacon

Author: Pamela

Serves: 6

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons unrefined, cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil
½ onion finely chopped OR 1 leek, white and light green parts only, cleaned very well and thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
3 slices nitrate-free turkey bacon*, diced
1 pound frozen peas, thawed OR 1 cup thawed peas + 1 ½ cups snow peas (about 4 ounces) + 1 ½ cups sugar snap peas (about 4 ounces), trimmed
½ cup chicken or vegetable stock, preferably homemade
½ teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion/leek and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes or until translucent.
Stir in the turkey bacon and sauté for an additional 3 minutes, or until some of the edges of the bacon become a little golden.
Add the peas, stock and salt and pepper and cook for about 3 minutes or until the peas are crisp tender and most of the stock is evaporated.

Notes

*You can also use ½ cup of diced pancetta or a high quality pork bacon if you prefer.

bacon garlic onions peas

Sprouted french toast casserole recipe

Sprouted French Toast Casserole | Pamela Salzman

When I was planning on what recipe I wanted to post this week, I knew it had to be something warm! My cousins in Boston are freezing. My parents and sisters in New York are freezing. My daughter in Dallas is freezing. I am in LA and when I arrived to teach at someone’s house yesterday morning, we both shivered because it was “freezing” out. Yeah, yeah, I know 59 degrees is not freezing, but it’s all relative. My point is that we’re all feeling chilly! The best way to warm up is with warming foods and drinks and breakfast is a good place to start.

Even though Southern California doesn’t experience really cold temps, I still like to start my day with warm water and lemon and I prefer to leave the cold smoothies to the truly warm (i.e. summer) weather. I am a huge fan of a proper breakfast, especially for the kids. It’s honestly more important to me than what we eat for dinner. Breakfast jump-starts your brain and your metabolism and sets the tone for the day, in more ways than one. So many people tell me they have no time in the morning and that cereal with milk is about all they can manage. I get it. Mornings are tough for me too, especially since I also have to make school lunches and they’re even crazier on days when I have to leave the house at 7:00 am to go to work! My ace in the hole is the do-ahead breakfast. I cannot get enough of recipes that can be assembled the night before and eaten as is or simply baked the next day. This sprouted french toast casserole is just that.

I love using sprouted bread for this because sprouted grains are much better for you than non-sprouted. Simply, they are more digestible and more nutritious. My favorite for this recipe is Food For Life’s sprouted cinnamon raisin bread. It’s naturally sweet and perfect for French toast. My kids don’t love sprouted breads plain or untoasted because they can be a little dry. But here they have no idea since the bread soaks up the almond milk/egg/vanilla mixture and is just like French toast — moist on the inside and crispy on the outside. But you can make this with absolutely any kind of bread you want, including your favorite gluten-free bread, and it would actually be the perfect way to use up different ends of bread you have languishing in the freezer that you know no one is ever going to eat.

Same goes for the fruit. I taught and photographed this a while back in a class that took place when blueberries were in season. You can definitely use frozen blueberries here, but bananas or apples would be fantastic as well.

I always eat this plain, straight up, but my kids love to add a drizzle of maple syrup. I think a dollop of plain yogurt would be delicious, too. However you eat it, this is a well-balanced breakfast with lots of protein, complex carbs and good fats — all the things I’m looking for to start the day. And it’s warm and toasty, too!

4.8 from 4 reviews

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Sprouted French Toast Casserole

Author: Pamela

Serves: 6

Ingredients

Unrefined coconut oil or unsalted butter to grease pan
8 slices sprouted bread (thawed if frozen), cut into 1-inch pieces (cinnamon-raisin is a great option), about 6 cups
6 large eggs
1 ½ cups unsweetened almond milk or milk of choice
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup sliced almonds, chopped walnuts, or chopped pecans
optional: 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, diced apples or bananas
accompaniments: pure maple syrup or fruit sauce, sautéed banana or apple slices

Instructions

The night before you plan to serve this, grease an 8 x8 or 9 x 9 glass baking dish with a little coconut oil or unsalted butter.
Place the bread cubes in the baking dish.
In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, almond milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Pour over the bread cubes, pressing on the bread to make sure it all soaks up the egg mixture.
Cover and refrigerate the dish overnight.
The next morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Scatter the fruit and nuts on top and bake uncovered for 45-50 minutes or until set.
Serve warm with desired accompaniments.

Notes

To double this, use a 13 x 9-inch baking dish and bake for closer to 55-60 minutes.

Homemade ramen noodle soup recipe

Since my oldest child started college this past fall, it’s been hard not to compare everything at her school to what I had when I was in college. I do my best not to sound like, “When I was in college, we had to use quarters in the washing machines and we had to wait for our laundry to be finished. No text alerts back then!” Although now that I think about it, I met my future husband in the laundry room while we were both waiting for our laundry to finish! Ha! Of course, I am so food-centric, I pay close attention to dining hall options and food choices in the area around my daughter’s campus. And let me tell me you, back when I was in college, there was no juice and smoothie bar in the dining hall for breakfast. There was, however, an all-you-can-eat supply of Quaker granola, sugar cereals and hydrogenated peanut butter! It’s no wonder I gained about 20 pounds in college.

My roommate freshman year blew my mind with this instant noodle soup concoction that she made in our room every day. I could not believe, especially coming from an Italian home where we ate fresh pasta multiple times each week, how she could just pour hot water into a cup and it would turn into a tasty noodle soup. She called it ramen noodle soup, to be exact. Many years later I discovered that this instant meal was probably one of the worst things anyone could eat. (I really should check up on this girl to make sure she’s still ok!) Between the myriad of MSG and MSG-derivatives, the seasonings in the mixture also contain preservatives, chemicals, food coloring and other inexplicables. To make things worse, I just found out recently that instant ramen noodles are deep fried and dehydrated. Deep fried foods are also among the worst things you can eat. Therefore, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to deduce that instant ramen noodle soup is a DISASTER.

So, since I have a lot of college kids following my blog and Instagram now, I thought I should share my version of a quick ramen noodle soup recipe. I looked at some seasoning packets from “healthier” soup packets and saw a few ingredients that showed up regularly — onion powder, garlic powder, miso powder, shoyu powder, and ground ginger. I could do that! So I played around with a few proportions and came up with the recipe here.

I also did a little research into authentic ramen noodle soups (like the kind that use fresh, homemade noodles), and learned that most of the broths are pork, veggie or a seaweed and bonito (fish)-base. But I think if you want to use chicken stock, you should! When I taught the soup in my classes, I used homemade vegetable stock. I found a great ramen noodle called Koyo that is baked, not fried. But feel free to use any noodle you want. Lotus Foods makes a gluten-free noodle which is good. I also kept it simple with toppings, but really the sky’s the limit. You can add cooked chicken, pork or shrimp. I love adding a halved hard or soft boiled eggs. Veggies that are great include bean sprouts, spinach, green onions, shredded carrots, bok choy or whatever you have on hand recently. You can really make this into a meal!

I think what many of my students found appealing though, was how fast this came together and that it is quite kid-friendly. I know so many of you are struggling with rather cold temperatures and I think this would be the perfect thing to whip up for lunch or dinner to warm up!

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homemade ramen noodle soup recipe

Ingredients

5 cups (1 quart + 1 cup) vegetable or chicken stock, preferably homemade
2 ramen noodle cakes* (see note above)
3 Tablespoons shoyu or gluten-free tamari (I like Ohsawa brand)
pinch sugar
¾ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon + a pinch garlic powder
¼ teaspoon + a pinch ground ginger
2 Tablespoons dry wakame flakes
2 Tablespoons white or yellow miso
handful of baby spinach leaves
¼ cup scallions, green and white parts, sliced
other suggestions: thinly sliced mushrooms or bok choy (add to pot with noodles), bean sprouts, halved hard boiled egg, cooked shredded chicken or pork, cooked shrimp (add to the soup bowl), chili garlic sauce

Instructions

Place the vegetable stock in a large pot and bring to a boil.
Add the noodles, shoyu, sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, ground ginger, and wakame flakes and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the ramen noodles are soft.
Pour a ladle-full of stock into a bowl and add the miso*, whisk until smooth and then pour back into the stockpot.
Stir in a few handfuls of baby spinach leaves until wilted.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with scallions. Serve as is or with additional accompaniments as suggested above.

Notes

Feel free to adjust measurements based on your taste. I originally taught the soup with more seaweed because I really like it, but I don't think everyone liked it as much as I do, so I reduced the amount. Of course you can leave it out altogether if you wish! Also, some noodles are starchier than others, which means they will thicken up the soup a bit. If you want to avoid that, cook the noodles separately and dived them up between the bowls and pour the soup on top.

Miso is a live food. In order to preserve its beneficial enzymes, do not boil it.

*Try to buy a brand where the noodles are baked, not fried, like Koyo or Ka-me. If you use gluten-free noodles, boil them in a separate pot since they’ll make the soup too starchy.

green onions miso noodles

Whole wheat-almond thumbprint cookies recipe (vegan)

I think I might be the only person who owns Gwyneth Paltrow’s book, My Father’s Daughter, to finally be making the recipe called “Lalo’s Cookies.” The book was published a few years ago and I am just getting around to this recipe. I was at my friend Alex’s house a few weeks ago and she said to me, “you know what recipe my kids love?” I was all ears. “Lalo’s Cookies from Gwyneth’s book.”

“Why have I never tried those?”

“I don’t know, but they’re so easy my kids can make them!”

What I should have done that day was go straight home and do laundry, pay some bills, respond to my emails, work on my book proposal, prep dinner and take the dog for a walk. Instead, I went straight to Whole Foods to buy barley flour (an ingredient in the recipe) and then went home to make the aforementioned cookies. I was obsessed and nothing else seemed to matter. Mr. Picky would just have to wear his soccer jersey a second time, emails would wait until tomorrow and we could eat cookies for dinner!

Alex was right — the cookies were delicious and super easy (ONE BOWL!!) Because they’re egg-less, they have a shortbread-like quality to them and the perfect subtle, nutty sweetness. They are slightly crumbly, without falling apart and I really loved the texture. I love the look of a thumbprint cookie, too. There’s something so homey and old- fashioned about them. I used some no sugar-added jam in some, and a Hershey’s kiss in others since Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. So cute, don’t you think???

I think this is among the more healthful cookie recipes I have seen, but I couldn’t help but make a few tweaks which, please don’t tell Gwyneth, I have to say made the cookies even better, both taste-wise and nutrition-wise.

Gwyneth’s recipe uses barley flour, like I mentioned. But who in the heck has barley flour laying around? Random ingredients is one of the biggest pet peeves of my cooking class students. Not that there’s anything wrong with barley flour — it’s actually amazing and really high in fiber and protein, but it’s just not an ingredient I have ever seen in anyone’s pantry. Except Alex’s, of course. I used whole wheat pastry flour instead. I also subbed unrefined, virgin coconut oil for the canola oil, which is a big no in my book since it’s always refined and almost always GMO (i.e. it’s a big bottle of free radicals and inflammation.) I love coconut oil in baked goods. I think it enhances the sweetness and I really can’t detect any coconut taste. Then I decided to use almond meal instead of using the food processor to grind almonds, only because I thought it would easier not to break out the food processor.

The difference in the two batches seen here is barley flour and ground almonds with Hershey kisses vs. whole wheat pastry and almond meal with jam. My family and I preferred the cookie that had the whole wheat pastry flour-almond meal, but loved the chocolate kiss element of the other. I know there are a lot of nut-free schools, so I think you could probably make these with ground sunflower seeds, but I can’t be 100% sure. To make these GF, I would try a good GF flour blend like King Arthur Multipurpose GF Flour and add a pinch of xanthan gum.

All I can say is that these would be perfecto to make with your kiddos on Valentine’s Day! Spread some cookie love!

5.0 from 3 reviews

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Whole Wheat-Almond Thumbprint Cookies

Author: Pamela, adapted from "My Father's Daughter" by Gwyneth Paltrow

Serves: makes about 25 cookies

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or barley flour
1 ½ cups whole raw almonds crushed in a food processor or 1 ½ cups almond meal or flour
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup unrefined coconut oil, melted
½ cup pure maple syrup, Grade A or Grade B
No sugar-added jam, such as raspberry, strawberry or blueberry or 25 unwrapped Hershey’s kisses

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper or a Silpat mat.
Combine all ingredients except for the jam/kisses in a large bowl with a spoon.
Take a tablespoon of the dough and shape into a ball. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Using your finger, make a dent in the center of each cookie. Fill with a small bit of jam. If you want to use Hershey’s kisses, do not add to cookie until after baking.
Bake until the cookies are lightly browned, about 20 minutes. If you want to use the chocolate kisses, when the cookies come out of the oven, place the piece of chocolate in the indentation and allow to cool.

Whole grain buttermilk waffles recipe (refined sugar-free, gluten-free adaptable)

I never posted my waffle recipe on my site because I really didn’t know if most people owned a waffle maker. Plus, I don’t want to nudge anyone to buy an expensive appliance that s/he may not get much use out of. Annnnnd, I had never found a good waffle iron that wasn’t lined with Teflon. But if you saw in my Friday Favorites back in October, I found the waffle maker of my dreams and it’s under $40. No Teflon, easy to use, no PFTE’s or PFOA’s. Go check out my link if you are interested in more of the specifics. Sooooo, since so many of you have asked me for the recipe on Instagram, I am finally happy to oblige.

This waffle recipe isn’t that much different from my Whole Grain Buttermilk Pancake recipe, but it’s designed to have more heft. These waffles are still light but hearty and subtly sweet. My kids are so used to whole wheat pastry flour and whole spelt flour that whole grain pancakes and waffles taste “normal” to them. But if you haven’t used whole grain flours yet or your family doesn’t like the nuttiness, try going half and half or even using 1/2 cup whole flour and 1 1/2 white flour to start. I personally enjoy whole grain flours because they actually have some flavor, as well as the fact they don’t leave me feeling like I ate a candy bar for breakfast. I like to see what bits of random flours (e.g., oat, buckwheat, cornmeal) I have in the fridge that I can use up for a truly multigrain waffle.

These waffles are the perfect backdrop for tons of different seasonal fruit combos with or without maple syrup or a dollop of yogurt. Sometimes I let Mr. Picky add some mini chocolate chips for fun. He doesn’t use maple syrup, so I’m ok with the small amount of extra sugar. I usually like to finish the batter and make all the waffles even if it’s too much for all of us, and either save them for the next day or freeze them for another time. They go right into the toaster oven for a re-crisping. You might even try using homemade waffles out as sandwich bread for a quick PB&J.

I wish I had posted this yesterday or last week for you all you snow bunnies who have been cooped up with schools closed again. Waffles are a great breakfast if you’re not in a super big rush since you can only make one at a time. Although my kids are staggered out the door in the morning and I taught them how to use the waffle iron, so it works out pretty well for me on a weekday. There are a few occasions coming up when it might be a nice treat to make waffles. February 14th is obviously Valentine’s Day and it’s on a Saturday this year, so that’s a perfect day to make these. Or if everyone’s off from work and school on Monday, February 16th for President’s Day, that would also be a good time to try this recipe out. And since we’re celebrating something, why not go all out with some organic whipped cream piled high? I approve!

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Whole Grain Buttermilk Waffles

Author: Pamela

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, white whole wheat flour or whole spelt flour or a blend of these and other whole grain flours*
1 ½ teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 cups buttermilk**
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon 100% pure maple syrup
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Melted, unrefined coconut oil for brushing the waffle iron

Instructions

Preheat waffle iron to desired heat level.
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl.
In a medium bowl or 4-6 cup measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, maple syrup and melted butter until well blended. (A blender can do this easily, too.)
Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Brush the inside of the waffle iron with coconut oil and spoon about a scant ½ cup of batter onto the middle. Add blueberries, chocolate chips or diced banana to the surface, if desired. Close the waffle iron and follow the manufacturer’s directions for cooking the waffles.

Notes

*Or you can use GF flour blend, such as ⅔ cup oat flour, ⅔ cup buckwheat flour and ⅔ cup brown rice flour. Millet flour can also be use.

**No buttermilk? Sub half unsweetened yogurt and half whole milk.

buttermilk eggs spelt flour vanilla whole wheat pastry flour

Vegan Queso Recipe

My oldest daughter is a freshman in college, if you can believe it. I totally cannot believe because I feel like I was just in college! She’s going to school in Texas where she is enjoying a lot of (shocking, I’m sure) Tex-Mex food. When we went to visit over Parents’ Weekend, our first meal was at Torchy’s Tacos and the first thing my daughter ordered was two quesos.

Normally my daughter is a pretty healthful eater, but I know she has a weakness for Sprinkles cupcakes and melted cheese, although let’s assume not in the same bite. Not that “queso” is actually cheese, even though that’s exactly what it means in Spanish. “Queso” in a Tex-Mex restaurant is basically doctored up melted Velveeta or a Land O’Lakes product called Extra Melt. Uh, that to me isn’t real cheese. And even if it were real cheese, pasteurized cow dairy is not awesome for you. Small amounts, ok. Fermented or cultured, a little better. Sheep or goat dairy, I’m in.

So I said to my daughter, “I can make a vegan version of this that I think is even better and won’t give you zits in the morning.”

“Whaaaat??? Since when? You’ve been holding out on me!”

Maybe so. In the meantime, I passed on the so called “queso.”

I did teach this vegan queso-type dip in my classes last year, and I figured it would be perfect to share before the Super Bowl. This recipe is actually a twist on my vegan mac and cheese recipe, jazzed up with jalapeño, black or pinto beans, and my new favorite product, Whole Foods organic frozen fire-roasted corn. If you haven’t made the mac and cheese, I am in love with it. Delicious and mostly veggies – no fake cheese, no nutritional yeast but still crazily resembles cheese sauce. And this version is a Tex-Mex-healthy-not-cheese-party that I am in love with, too.

This vegan “queso” I have used on nachos for the kids, on baked potatoes with salsa, on breakfast tacos and on spaghetti squash. Love it! I will come clean and tell you I much prefer it with butter over Earth Balance. Updated: Miyoko’s vegan butter works perfectly. If you absolutely cannot have butter, use the Earth Balance or Miyoko’s. If you have a choice, use the butter. I always use butter. Because it’s better. And then this isn’t vegan, but it’s cheese sauce made out of vegetables!!

This queso can be made a day or two ahead and reheated. It does not freeze well. Updated: it will be fine frozen, but you have to reblend it after defrosting it. But you won’t need to freeze it because you’re going to eat it ALL!! I don’t even care who wins the game on Sunday. Just give me a super bowl of queso!

2.06.21 I am updating the recipe to reflect the fact that some salts may be “saltier” than others.

5.0 from 3 reviews

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Vegan Queso

Author: Pamela

Serves: 4-6

I often serve this with no add-ins. So feel free to leave out the jalapeno, corn and beans if you like.

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons chopped shallots
1 cup (about 7 ounces) chopped Yukon gold potatoes (you can leave the peel on)
¼ cup chopped carrots (about 1 small carrot)
⅓ cup chopped onion
1 cup water
¼ cup raw cashews (soaked for 1-5 hours and drained if your blender is weak)*
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter (not vegan) or Miyoko's or organic Earth Balance (both vegan)**
1½ - 2 teaspoons sea salt (use less if using vegan butter or if you've never made this before)
¼ teaspoon garlic, minced (about 1 medium clove)
¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (optional, but add it if you have it)
¼ teaspoon black pepper
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 small jalapeno, seeds discarded, diced (about 3 Tablespoons)
½ cup frozen fire-roasted corn, defrosted
¾ cup cooked pinto or black beans, rinsed and drained if using canned
Accompaniments: tortilla chips, sweet potato chips, baked sweet potato wedges, baked fingerling potato halves

Instructions

In a medium saucepan, add the shallots, potatoes, carrots, onion and water and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook, covered, for 15 minutes, or until vegetables are very soft.
Place the cashews, butter, salt, garlic, mustard, lemon juice, black pepper, and cayenne in a blender or food processor. Add the softened vegetables and cooking water to the blender or food processor and process until perfectly smooth. Taste for salt and adjust seasoning if needed.
Pour sauce back into pot, and add the jalapeno, corn, and beans. Warm over medium-low heat for 4-6 minutes. Can be made ahead and reheated.

Notes

*Options here: to save the step of soaking cashews, cook the cashews with the vegetables. OR use the same amount of RAW cashew butter or JOI almond butter base (it's blanched and raw and has no flavor) or cooked white beans if you are nut-free.
**only use Earth Balance if you can't use Miyoko's vegan butter or can’t or won’t tolerate butter. The dip turns out better with Miyoko's or dairy butter, in my opinion.

butter carrot cashew dijon garlic onion potato shallot