What would you like for breakfast? -Waffles! – Ohhhh sorry sweetheart, there’s not enough time this morning. It’s a daycare morning. Or, daddy has to get to work early. Or, it’s already nearly 8 and waffles take aaaaaages. 

We have had this conversation multiple times. Occasionally, I would find a recipe and prep it the night before, hoping for a delicious and nutritious and enjoyed-by-everyone breakfast. Prepping the night before, though, excludes morning-of waffle enthusiasm.

I grew tired of this situation. I found a recipe that, I hoped, ticked all the boxes. I let the girls watch shows in the bedroom while I made it. Zero prepping happened the night before. 

Also, did I mention blueberries? And toddlers? And put them together and suddenly you have a blueberry fiend, a child who will eat nothing but blueberries, who will spy them in the most secretive of hidey-holes and point and drop their chin and look up at you with big dark eyes and say, ‘boo, bear? Peeeese?’ until you cave and magically find the blueberries you thought you had hidden but obviously not well enough because a toddler saw them from the next room. And you seem to go through three punnets a day and every shopping trip you need to buy blueberries and if you happen to have a toddler with you on a shopping trip you have to suss out where the blueberries are displayed so you can sneak them into the basket without enduring the full-on meltdown that is guaranteed if the toddler sees the blueberries but isn’t given the blueberries that have not been washed nor even paid for yet. 

And then the toddler will veer left gastronomically and suddenly blueberries are forgotten and all they will eat is butter and grapes and maybe cheese. Punnets of blueberries collect in hidden corners of the fridge. And then you will move an item one morning and find – joy! – a punnet of forgotten blueberries. Perfect for on top of the waffles you’re making. Except… these are obviously old blueberries. Not so old that they are turning fuzzy and white, but maybe a few are visibly wrinkled and some are a bit squishy. But, wait a minute. Wouldn’t that be a nice addition to the waffles? 

Waffles have evolved. I no longer do the full batch, but make my brain work (remember to halve it, remember to halve it, remember to halve it) and enjoy the half measurements on our measuring cups. Blueberries are added, not usually a full punnet, definitely not a fresh punnet, but blueberries nonetheless. There are plans in my brain for incorporating other overripe fruits. 

Are these delicious? I think so. Are these nutritious? Yes, definitely (high in protein, high in calcium, low in sugar). Are they enjoyed by everyone? Ye- oh, ah, let’s see, wait a minute… actually no. No they are not. C enjoys them, and will eat a whole one without prompting, and will also eat one at afternoon tea (but not at school – they might be a bit tricky to eat quickly) Glenn doesn’t mind them, when he’s not dashing off to work. I enjoy them. S is not up to blueberry waffles yet. And E… they are a hard no for E. Not just these waffles but every sort of waffle. Oh well.

The current version of Sunday morning waffles is this (recipe adapted from drink-milk.com):

Half of 1 1/4 cup milk (soooo… 155mL or so… 2/3 cup approximately)

1/3 cup Greek yoghurt

1 large egg

Small squirt of vanilla bean paste

A generous squirt (1 teaspoon if you do measuring) of rice malt syrup (or other liquid sweetener)

A generous shake of cinnamon

A dash of cardamom

1 cup plain flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

Pinch of sea salt

Some slightly overripe blueberries or other slightly-past-it fruit

Turn on your waffle iron.

Mix all the ingredients together, adding fruit at the end for a gentle stir-through.

When it’s ready, spray waffle iron with non-stick spray. Pour some waffle mix in the middle of the waffle iron (a loaded dessert spoon works well). Close the iron and cook until … cooked. Remove waffle to a plate, repeat with remaining batter. 

Nice served with butter and maple syrup; nut butter; banana; blueberries.

To freeze, allow to cool. I cut ours in half before putting them in freezer bags and labelling with a Sharpie. Apparently they last for 3 months in the freezer, but we tend to finish ours in about 2 weeks. To thaw, toast on a low setting.