There are a few things better than waking up on a Sunday, going grocery shopping early in the morning, and realizing they have waffle irons on sale for less than $10. That said, I decided it was time to make a delicious stand-by recipe for whole wheat waffles. More importantly, I wanted a recipe that I could eat a ton of without feeling too terribly (the holidays.. ya know, they get to us all). 

2 eggs

1 1/4 c. milk (I used almond!)

1/2 c. greek yogurt

1/4 c. oil (canola or veggie)

1 tsp. vanilla 

1 c. whole wheat flour 

1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. flax seed

1/2 c. wheat germ

4 tsp. baking powder

1 heaping tbs. sugar

Pinch of salt

In a large bowl, whisk all dry ingredients together. Slowly add in milk, oil, eggs and vanilla. Stir until combined, then heat up your waffle iron. Feel free to butter your iron, then cook all your waffles! 

Notes for wonderful waffles: This is a pretty basic, simple waffle recipe. I topped mine with the cranberry sauce I made around Thanksgiving! Feel free to substitute extracts (I thought almond, hazelnut or peppermint would be delicious) and add in toppings (i.e. chocolate chips, nuts, berries, etc.). I was thinking peppermint waffles with white candy-cane flavored chocolate pieces would be GOOD.  Next weekend, maybe?

I hate to say it, but my day hasn’t begun until I’ve had my cup of coffee. I’ve turned into one of them... One of those sassy “don’t you DARE ask me anything until I have this cup’a joe in me” people. I’m not proud. 

Typically, I just go for the plain strong stuff. Little cream, lots of sugar. Every once in a while (and I mean a blue moon), I like a little bit of french vanilla syrup. SO WTF: can I have flavored coffee syrups, homemade-style? Yup. Equal parts sugar and water, boil it down then add your flavoring (vanilla beans, hazelnut or mint extract, etc.). 

Christmas is coming! CHRISTMAS IS COMING! And you don’t want to be that person who shows up at a party with yet another apple crisp. I thought of this idea because of my love for asian pears: they’re in season and a tart, delicious fruit that holds up so well when baking. So, get adventurous (or miss out on something awesome). 

3 medium asian pears, peeled, cored and sliced. 

About 2 cups of your favorite ginger snaps, crushed (I used Trader Joes’ Triple Gingers!) 

3 tbs. unsalted butter

1 tbs. flour

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. honey

1 tsp vanilla extract 

Juice from half of a lemon

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and . In a large bowl, mix sliced asian pears with flour, salt, honey and spices. Pour into 9x9 baking dish. Melt butter, and pour over ginger snap pieces. Top pears with mixture, then bake for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly. 

Note for the coolest crisp: So simple and delicious. So simple, I’m pretty sure anyone who has absolutely no baking experience could make it! Asian pears work well with the snaps because they’re really mild in flavor (the triple ginger-ness of them made me quite nervous, but it ended up working really well). Serve with whipped or ice cream!

Popcorn is my favorite snack (I know… that’s a bold statement). To boot, I like it best late at night, in my bed while watching a movie (and I pretty much watch a movie every night so this turns into a problem). SO WTF?! How to I make a healthier popcorn, that I can feel ok about eating before bed?

You air pop it. I know what you’re thinking, so I’ll get this out of the way: No, you don’t need a fancy air popper. All you need is corn, a pan and a fitted lid. 

Put your popcorn in your pan, put on the lid and turn it on medium-high. Hold the lid tight, then shakeshakeshake. Your popcorn should be done in under 2 minutes (the fact that people spend MONEY on an air-popper kinda blows my mind). Top with salt, nutritional yeast, or anything that suits your fancy.