Most mornings in winter, I am up in the dark, letting the dogs out in the frigid temps, brewing coffee, and headed out the door to skin up the ski mountain at sunrise before the resort opens at a more civilized 9am. I love the early morning routine of winter though: watching the sky change and spending the early hours with dear fellow uphillers. My temperature perception has changed dramatically due to now living in Crested Butte and reaching 11,000ft before the sun hits the corduroy. The negative temperature mornings are making me markedly tougher. I am grateful now for zero-degree morning. A single digit morning is cruiser. I’m not even bringing a jacket. A double-digit morning? Beach temps!
On the mornings described above, I eat a banana with peanut butter alongside my coffee. Its my ritual I don’t even question and look forward to the night before as I pack up my things like an elementary school kid excitedly preparing their backpack for the next day.
On mornings I sleep in though, I make waffles.
This is not your standard waffle recipe and I hope you love all the unique ingredients that make it wintery, extra nourishing, and special! For starters, I grind oats into flour rather than using wheat flour since I find the oats all the more satiating. (And come on, oats can do anything in my world). Be generous with your spices- cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger are my baking favorites and the ginger especially shines here. Chia seeds help bind the batter and make it extra fluffy, also providing for a substantial meal. Its super simple to grate a zucchini right into the batter, boosting your veggies for the day. Finally, do you have some leftover holiday apple cider in your fridge still?! I used it as my natural sweetener and it really turns up the wintery charm. In place of cider, use extra water or nondairy milk, a tablespoon or two of maple syrup, and two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar.
One extra timely tip that pays off here is separating the eggs. It is really worth it I promise! Make sure you are using eggs from happy, healthy chickens 🙂
Dry ingredients:
1 1/2 c oats, ground to flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
Pinch of pink salt (1/4 tsp)
Shakes of cinnamon (1/4 tsp), cardamom (1/4 tsp), and ginger powder (1/2 tsp)
Wet ingredients:
3 organic eggs, SEPARATED
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1 1/3 c water or non dairy milk
1/3 c apple cider, unsweetened
3 tablespoons melted butter, more for cooking. Can be substituted for coconut oil
1/2 grated medium zucchini (1/2c grated)
Process:
Preheat waffle iron to medium setting.
Combine oats and dry ingredients in a food processor/blender and grind until flour is achieved.
Using 2 medium bowls, separate the eggs. Set the whites aside for now. With the egg yolks, mix chia seeds, water, and cider together, and let sit for the chia seeds to soak. Melt butter in a warm skillet, then add to wet mixture. Grate zucchini and add to wet as well.
Whisk egg whites on their own until they are stiff. Peaks should stand up when you lift the whisk! An electric mixer is ideal but by hand will do, though they will not get as stiff.
Add dry ingredients to wet and fully mix. Then softly mix in egg whites, 1/3 at a time.
Batter should be thick and fluffy.
Using 1/2c measuring cup, pour batter into waffle iron. Grease waffle iron with butter, both sides, before each cooking.
Enjoy with warm blueberry compote, fresh fruit, maple syrup, chia jam, yogurt… your favorite toppings!
