Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Waffle Recipe

Happy Wednesday, and happy first day of fall! Or Autumn - whichever you prefer. Fall is my absolute favorite time of year, because it means football, yoga pants, sweaters, boots, perfect running weather, and all things pumpkin. Which is what brings me here today. I've got a most delicious - and healthy! - pumpkin waffle recipe to share with you guys. I can't take any of the credit, as I found this recipe while hardcore perusing Pinterest, but I knew that today would be the perfect day for it. Why? Because today the students and employees of the Houston Independent School District were gifted a fall holiday. Sure, it's on a Wednesday, and I have to go back to work tomorrow instead of enjoying a three-day weekend like I did last year, but this holiday could not have come at a more perfect time. It seemed as though every teacher was walking with a little extra pep in his or her step yesterday, brimming with talk of how the fall holiday was going to be spent. I would be lying if I said I didn't join in, and what I came up with was sleeping in until 8:00am, enjoying the cooler weather with a crisp morning bike ride, and indulging in a delicious fall-themed breakfast while catching up with Kelly and Michael.

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
• ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 egg
• ½ cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• ⅓ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• ½ cup dairy-free chocolate chips + extra

*This recipe makes about 2-3 large waffles.

Directions:
1. Combine flour, baking soda, chia seeds, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a medium bowl and set aside.
2. In a separate large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, honey, egg, yogurt, and almond milk.
3. Add flour mixture to the wet mixture, taking care not to over-stir.
4. Gently add in the chocolate chips, again, taking care not to over-mix.
5. Heat up your waffle iron, and spray down with cooking spray.
6. Spoon about 1 cup of mix onto the waffle iron, spreading it evenly throughout the iron. Add a little more if needed.
7. Cook according to your iron's directions - my waffle iron took about 5-7 minutes per waffle, but it depends on the waffle iron being used.
8. Gently remove from the waffle iron, let cool, and enjoy! I added blueberries to mine, but I think strawberries would also taste fantastic. The chocolate was enough added sweetener for my taste, but if you're a fan of syrup, I have no doubt that would be another delicious addition. If you're looking for a real indulgence, a sprinkle of powdered sugar would really take the cake.

The perfect breakfast to start off a slow fall morning. It's delicious, yet chock full of good-for-you ingredients. Not something I would eat every morning, but a fun way to mix it up every once in a while. And with that, I'm off to do a little bit more baking. I have to get it in while I have the time!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

In case you were curious, exhaustion due to cooking and baking is definitely a thing. I cooked and baked for approximately three hours last night, because that's what you do when you have a free Friday night, apparently, and by the end of it, I was worn out, and feeling pretty overheated. Along with two batches of my banana-oatmeal-almond butter muffins, a pan of my chicken and vegetable pineapple dish, a pan of my pork and vegetable pineapple dish, and a batch of Reese's-stuffed cookies, I also came up with a brand new recipe that really fits into the fall theme - peanut butter chocolate pumpkin bread, as you could probably guess from the title of this post. I love all things pumpkin, and I really love all things peanut butter and chocolate, so you know this is going to be a good one. I was perusing my Pinterest boards, as per usual, and I came across this recipe for the bread, and I decided to modify it to make it just a little bit healthier, though it was already pretty healthy to begin with.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup nonfat greek yogurt [plain]
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree, from the can
• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 banana
• 1 1/2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice [or a combination of cinnamon and nutmeg]
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup coconut flakes
• 1/4 cup flax seeds
• 1 cup [dairy-free] chocolate chips, divided

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Combine greek yogurt, pumpkin puree, egg whites, and peanut butter in a bowl, and whisk until free of lumps

3. Add in banana, stirring until smooth

4. Sift in flour, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice, stirring until combined

5. Add coconut flakes and flax seeds, or any mix-ins of your choice [raisins, walnuts, pecans are all good options]

6. Pour in 3/4 cup chocolate stops and stir until combined

7. Put the mixture in a pre-sprayed pan and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top

8. Cook for 35 minutes and enjoy the delicious pumpkin-y smell invading your kitchen

*This was supposed to be posted this morning before I left to go to San Antonio for the day, but some Internet malfunctions did not allow me to post it until my return just now. The positive side of that is that I got to actually taste the bread, and not to brag on my own baking skills, but it was delicious. I hope your Saturday was a great one!