Valentine's Day Gluten-Free Oat Waffles

 

By Emily Sabbah

One of my favorite family traditions growing up was family breakfast on Valentine's Day. The timing varied from year to year; sometimes it was a lazy Saturday morning brunch and on busy weeknights, it was often breakfast for dinner. But the food was always the same: waffles! 

I remember a huge waffle on each plate, piled with fresh strawberries and a whipped-cream heart. It was such a special treat!

As an adult, I no longer have the ability to eat that much sugar in the morning and not crash a few hours later, so I've developed my own version of this waffle tradition. It's heartier and lighter on the sugar, but still brings all the happy memories of my favorite childhood breakfasts. And it's just as tasty! 

This version uses oat flour in place of white flour, which adds a great dose of fiber and protein to keep you full. It's also rich in calcium, iron, potassium, thiamin, and riboflavin. And bonus- it's super easy to make! Just throw your whole grain oats in the food processor or blender for a minute or two, and poof! Oat flour! 

For a special breakfast, we love to top this with fresh berry sauce and cream. Other times we eat them with pure maple syrup, Kodiak berry syrup, Greek yogurt, or peanut butter topped with banana slices.

Since we love them so much, I usually make a triple batch and freeze the rest! They heat up nicely in the toaster.

Gluten-Free Oat Waffles

Ingredients

• 2 cups oat flour (gluten-free oats for gluten-free)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sweetener (sugar, honey, or maple syrup)
• 1 cup milk (whole milk, almond milk, or coconut milk all work great)
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp oil (I like canola or coconut oil)

Instructions

1. Preheat waffle iron.
2. In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, combine milk and lemon juice. Give a quick stir and let sit for 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a food processor or blender, grind oats to a flour-like consistency. It’s totally fine to leave some larger oat pieces or grind it into completely fine submission. It’s up to your preference!

4. Transfer oats to a medium-sized mixing bowl and stir in baking powder, salt, and sugar. 

5. Add eggs and oil to milk and whisk well.
6. Add milk mixture and eggs to dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.

7. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. This allows the oats to soak up all that moisture and become nice and fluffy!
8. Scoop into your waffle pan and cook until crispy.
9. Top with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

*To make pancakes, omit oil

*Adapted from The Fed-Up Foodie

What are you cooking up this Valentine's Day?

If you have any questions or you would like to be a guest blogger, please email us at hello@liftingthedream.com