Yuummmm!

I have been cooking up a storm this summer and enjoying every second of it! I already have my freezer meals pretty much done (minus freezer coleslaw) for the end of August (this is a rare moment, so let me enjoy it.....ahhhhhhh.......ok, I am done now). Johanna helped me make one of the recipes yesterday- Multi-Grain Waffles. Brian and I have both been pretty focused on trying to become healthier. Not that we were extremely unhealthy before, but I am becoming very diligent about what my family puts into their bodies. I wanted to do a waffle for freezer meals. They are great because you can just take out what you want and pop them in the toaster or oven for a quick and tasty breakfast. So, I felt like I should share this recipe. They were delicious and not difficult to make. I used a Belgium waffle iron, but a regular waffle iron would work fine.

• 2 cups buttermilk ( or 2 cups regular milk and 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice)
  
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2/3 cup whole-wheat flour
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour(I use unbleached of course)
  
• 1/4 cup toasted wheat germ or cornmeal
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Mix buttermilk and oats in a medium bowl; let stand for 15 minutes.

Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, wheat germ (or cornmeal), baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.

Stir eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla into the oat mixture. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients; mix with a rubber spatula just until moistened.

Coat a waffle iron with cooking spray and preheat. Spoon in enough batter to cover three-fourths of the surface (about 2/3 cup for an 8-by-8-inch waffle iron). Cook until waffles are crisp and golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter.

Tips: I doubled this recipe to make lots to freeze. To make even healthier you could use half brown sugar and half splenda. You could also use ground flax seed in place of the wheat germ or cornmeal. You could also use only half the egg yolks and sub in extra whites.
To make vegan: substitute the buttermilk with 1 c soymilk + 1T apple cider vinegar for every cup buttermilk. Then substitute egg with Ener-G egg replacer (or other egg replacer), or for a healthier version, 1 egg = 1T ground flax seeds beat with 3T hot water. This adds a nice flax taste. You may want to use the equivalent of 1 egg though (not 2 as recipe calls for) because flax is very gummy and could make the batter quite dense.