waffles Archives - A Kitchen of Herbs

These easy breakfasts keep my teething baby boy munching even through molar season. If we can at least eliminate the hangry issue, that’s one less thing for him to be upset about, right?

Do you also have a small one who is having a hard time with life and struggling to enjoy eating? Here is what I found works for our teething baby!

See? Bubba approves.

I keep some of these breakfasts ready-made by batching one each week and it gives me a small break on the tough days.

Now I have that brief moment in the mornings to have my coffee in peace while he chews…before the day begins.

As one of the many in our generation who is finding there is a dearth of ‘village’, I have learned to have my own back when it comes to meals. Also, I realized that technology can be a resource if used wisely.

My sanity is being preserved by small segments of Trash Truck and Blueberry Muffins today.

#1. Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes

Pancakes are my first choice on days that I have limited time, but need to get something made for snacks and breakfast the next day.

The beauty of these is that they are whole wheat, just sweet enough that you don’t feel the need for syrup or honey and you can add as many different fruits or berries as you like to boost nutrition!

My poor teething toddler struggles to eat whole blueberries, or raw berries of any kind right now, so I cut each berry into quarters and sprinkle a few pieces on top of each pancake as it cooks.

By the time the pancake is cooked, the little berry pieces have also softened and are that much easier to chew. This also allows me to change up the berries if he’s not feeling ‘blue’, or stick with a plain pancake in a pinch.

With a little bit of butter, or just as they are, these little cakes are a win-win for baby and mama!

Cinnamon streusel topped oatmeal muffins on blue and red striped platter

#2. Cinnamon Streusel Oat Muffins

If your little one is needing a bit more spice in their life, these muffins are sure to do the trick.

While the cinnamon streusel topping makes these seem like dessert, the oatmeal ensures that even a ravenous toddler will be satisfied for a couple of hours!

#3. Banana Bread

When my son first started eating solids, he would not eat bananas at all. He still seems weirded out by the texture of the raw variety, but when it comes to this delicious quick-bread, he’s a huge fan.

#4. Dairy Free Oatmeal Pudding

Believe it or not, I never actually fed my son baby cereal.

The gluey consistency was not a huge selling point for either of us. So I started just making regular oatmeal, simmered over medium until it became a silky smooth porridge that didn’t even need milk.

With a spoonful of honey or sugar, a pinch of salt and perhaps a sprinkle of cinnamon, this go-to breakfast is perfect for those days when chewing anything is out of the question.

(The cranberries were added for color and because it’s how I serve it to my partner, but clearly the little one isn’t eating those.)

Potato, pepper and onion breakfast hash in small metal pot on tiled table background

#5. Farmstyle Potatoes

There are always those days when our babies are excited about little nuggets of vegetable goodness, and this is my favorite way to circumvent the French fry request.

waffles with berries on white ceramic plate

#6. Whole Wheat Buttermilk Waffles

My son loves to help me cook, especially when there are exciting appliances involved, like the waffle maker. Not only do we stay busy making a batch, they keep wonderfully in the freezer and are easily popped in the toaster for quick breakfasts or snacks.

potato, egg and cheese omelette with green onion garnish

#7. Potato Omelette

I made a gorgeous potato omelette yesterday that was extremely photogenic and didn’t look nearly as drowned in cheese as this one. As luck would have it, we ate it before I thought about taking a picture.

That’s exactly how delicious this breakfast is. It takes a little bit of patience, and my son is frustrated that it does not need to be constantly stirred, but he loves the final result.

#8. Amish Baked Oatmeal

This cereal has many childhood memories for me. It was a fun way to consume oatmeal that seemed almost like a dessert.

Because it has so few ingredients, this is a breeze to whip up even on a tough day. My little one loves helping me mix! For ease of serving, I cook this in muffin form now.

#9. Old Fashioned Bran Muffins

This recipe is another one I grew up loving, and I’m so glad my mom still had it stashed away after all these years. I love the hint of richness provided by the molasses.

You can add berries, raisins and just about anything else you please to this recipe. It’s extremely versatile and just as delicious plain as it is with added ingredients. Also, if you have sour milk to use up, this is the perfect way to do it!

This is by no means a comprehensive list, but it does include most of my son’s favorite options.

photo of a hand holding out a steaming cup

I hope this post was able to help you simplify your mornings a little bit and give yourself a few more momma moments to breathe.

Have a great week, my friends!

There is something about the amazing power of buttermilk that is life-changing. When I say buttermilk, I mean the real thing.

For the sake of those of you who just need the recipe, here it is. No need to scroll or jump to it. If you’d like to keep reading my buttermilk thesis, it’s below the recipe. 😉

Let’s just say, if you have buttermilk or happen to have a dairy cow and just made your own fresh batch…you should try using it in this recipe. Trust me.

I don’t know about you, but I always turn everything into a completely whole wheat version sooner or later. I have found with this recipe that it is key for the structure that you substitute no more than half of the flour for whole wheat. It requires the gluten concentration of regular flour for at least half the amount to ensure they don’t come out deflated.

Wholesome Buttermilk Waffles

No Ratings

Ingredients

1 t. Baking Soda
2 t. Baking Powder
11/2 cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 t. Salt
1/2 cup Sugar
2 cups Buttermilk
2 Eggs
2 t. Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Butter (Melted)
1 Lemon (Zested)

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine all liquid ingredients, including the melted butter and zest.
Using a larger bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients.
Add liquids to dry ingredients and whisk to combine well.
Batter will be thick.
Preheat waffle iron.
You can use pan spray or brush butter onto the iron before the first use but I find that a little goes a long way. I skip this step myself and find the waffles have a better outside texture for me.
Pour 1/3 – 1/2 c. batter per waffle section.
Cook until golden brown.

Notes

These are delicious as breakfast but I make up a batch and freeze some and refrigerate the rest to be eaten as a snack for my little one.

This recipe does very well frozen or fresh and a minute or two in a toaster crisps them up almost like they just came out of the waffle iron!

The left over milk from making butter is just not comparable to the teaspoon of vinegar I added to regular milk. Neither is Sour Milk the same thing as Buttermilk. Yogurt is not the equivalent of Sour Cream. There’s a reason we don’t use the same names.

cottage cheese on plates and a bowl of sour cream

I grew up using the life hack where you add vinegar to milk to make a buttermilk substitute. It works, sort of. At the end of the day it ends up being exactly that, a substitute. In a pinch, if you have to, it is better than just using regular milk, because you do need that touch of acidity. Most recipes calling for buttermilk are relying on it to interact with a leavening agent. The difference between the substitute and the real deal is the flavor. Vegetable oil will keep your eggs from sticking to the pan, but the more flavorful option is butter.

Just like butter is tastier than oil, buttermilk is just naturally more delicious than soured milk.

Now that you are all rolling your eyes at me for stating the obvious and preaching on the virtues of using actual buttermilk, I will move on to the point of my post.

Buttermilk rules.

I have been making pancakes and waffles for decades and while they have all been delicious enough, I have been either using plain milk or simply made soured milk to substitute for buttermilk because come on, it’s the same thing and it would be fine. Yeah, it would be fine. It was…fine. But it was never more than fine.

One day, I had bought actual buttermilk for my partner to use in something and he insisted it had to be the real thing. I rolled my eyes and brought it home. He used half of it and the rest sat in the fridge for a week while I considered it suspiciously and tried to think what I was going to do with the rest of it unless I just let it go bad. I was busy and forgot about it for 3 weeks. Surely it was spoiled now and I went to dump it down the sink, only to realize it smelled fine.

The thing about higher fat dairy is that it always lasts longer than lower fat products.

white graphing paper with hello may text

Whole milk takes longer to go sour than 1%. Yes, I did the experiment. On average, whole milk lasted 8.6 days longer than its lower fat counterpart. 😉 I’m sure there is science about it and one day I will read those articles. Regardless, I now had perfectly good buttermilk and it demanded to be used, having survived so long and so patiently in the fridge.

I resolved to make some waffles with it, because after all these years, and having tried countless recipes that called for the stuff, I had yet to actually use real buttermilk. The lack of the perfect texture of those experiments had been blamed on many things, including the waffle iron. Sir Waffle Iron, I do beg your pardon. It was not his fault at all. It wasn’t the fact that the quantity of sugar was wrong or that it didn’t have the perfect combination of leavening agents.

It turned out, I just needed to follow the actual recipe. What a concept.

Those waffles were the simplest recipe I’d ever found. I didn’t have to separate any eggs, there were no complicated mixing instructions and I even forgot to grease the waffle iron because the small one had been up all night and I was half insane from lack of sleep.

The best waffles I have ever eaten, hands down.

I even changed that recipe the next time I made it and doubled the sugar, forgot the melted butter and substituted half of the flour for whole wheat flour. I even added half a cup more buttermilk because that was all that I had left I didn’t feel like letting it die in the fridge. They still turned out amazing: crispy on the outside, chewy yet fluffy on the inside. They freeze perfectly and toast up for breakfast just like the world’s most delicious home-made Eggo. I can tell you the one thing I didn’t mess with, though.

Don’t substitute ANYthing for the buttermilk.

Add more if you like. Use less if you please. But whatever you do, don’t change it out for anything else.

I am now absolutely starving for some waffles, but I am out of buttermilk and I’m not wrestling my child back into his carseat again today. I also refuse to use a substitute, so I will just have to wait until tomorrow.

Tag: waffles

Breakfast Recipes for Teething Toddlers