Banana Buttermilk Waffles with Strawberries and Pecans

Yesterday confirmed two things I already knew about myself: I can be irrationally emotional and…I love carbohydrates. Why is it that those two issues seem to run in congruency? When one rears its ugly head, here comes the other.

I can’t even explain why yesterday caused me to be such an emotional mess, but I was just in a terrible, no good mood. Monday, perhaps? I’m just not quite sure. But at my hockey game, one of the guys on my team said, “Hey, you gotta turn around” (as we were breaking out the puck) and while I agree, I was in motion towards doing so and his tone just made me want to burst into tears right there. Even after the very kind captain of the team overheard and assured me, “Don’t worry about him, Nicole…he’s a jerk to everyone”…I still wanted to cry.

I got home and Mr. Prevention was getting ready to catch up with the DVR. Just as I was getting ready to head up for a shower and then to join him for some TV, I was going to detour into the kitchen for a bite of some oh-so-good chocolate from Germany that Mr. Prevention brought back from a recent work trip.

…And then I heard Biggest Loser in the background. One of the contestants (Jackson) said something along the lines of, “Weight loss is so much a battle of mental strength…you have to want it more than ______ food, and enough to go to the gym even when you don’t want to.”

Needless to say, I bypassed the chocolate and grabbed my water bottle.

I didn’t come to tears any more and I felt accomplished for resisting the chocolate. Who says TV can’t be good for your health? 😉

I guess it was just one of those days. Glad it’s over. But, I still love carbs. 🙂

Mom, this flour shoutout is for you. My dear mother SWORE to me she couldn’t find “whole wheat pastry flour” or “white wheat flour” in her ginormous Chicagoland grocery store. I didn’t believe if for one second. Low and behold, even my not-so-grocery-savvy dad was able to find the flour and proudly returned home with a 5 pound bag while I was home last weekend. Such products make my carb habit not so sinful!

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Banana Buttermilk Waffles with Strawberries and Pecans from MJ’s Kitchen

Waffles:
2 cups white wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1 large overripe banana, mashed
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 cup low fat milk

Topping:
3 cups strawberries, sliced
3 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp sugar
1/3 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Preheat waffle iron.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.

In another bowl, mash the banana with a fork against the side of the bowl; add the egg and whisk to combine. Whisk in the vanilla, buttermilk, and milk.

Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Stir gently with a rubber spatula until ingredients are combined.

When the waffle iron is ready, scoop a generous 1/3 cup batter into each square of the waffle iron (or whatever your iron requires). Close the top and let the waffles cook until done.

Meanwhile, heat the strawberries, vinegar, water and sugar in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, slightly mash some of the strawberries to form a chunky syrup. Top the waffles with several tablespoons of the topping and a sprinkling of pecans.

Yield: 8 servings

Nutrition Information (per serving): 258 calories; 8.1 g. fat; 25 mg. cholesterol; 308 mg. sodium; 39.6 g. carbohydrate; 6.6 g. fiber; 4.4 g. protein; 12.8 g. sugar

Result: Delicious! I had to cook these a bit longer to get the waffles to stick together in my waffle iron, but other than that, this recipe was simple to make and the flavors were great. After making blueberry balsamic topping for corn pancakes, I wanted to go the balsamic vinegar route again. Good choice 🙂 Strawberries and bananas are a classic combination and I’ll have waffles for breakfast…or dinner, any day!

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 Busy day, hockey tonight!

Be well,