Bana - Nutty Almond Protein Waffles

So, ok.......I have been wanting to try baking with almond flour for a long 

time but the stuff ain't cheap! 

Thanks to my friend Kim, I finally got some & I just made my first recipe with it this week! She brought me some fresh ground almond meal & it is sooooo flippin' GOOD!!! I mean it! It was so totally worth the wait! So, naturally I wanted to make something that would be worthy of it's total awesome-ness! What could be more worthy that pancakes or waffles?! To me, since they are both my weakness - I have to respond with, "Is that even a question?!"  I love that it was fresh ground because it's a little chunky! Not too chunk or big chunky.....just right chunky! And not all of it is chunky, but there are tiny chunks of almonds all in it & I LOVE that! Just like I love crunchy natural peanut butter!  

YUM!

Anywho, since I have started this Body Earned program, I am really concentrating on making sure m body stays properly fueled & nourished & that includes keeping my body properly fueled while I sleep too. Did you know that an important part of staying healthy & maintaining muscle is eating before bed? This is something I learned only in the last year. Prior to that, even though I had been training for a long time, I always played it safe & refrained from eating before bed out of fear that it would make me gain weight. Now I know that exactly the opposite is true & that our body needs fuel while it is at rest too! But not just ANY kind of fuel..... the RIGHT fuel! It's not a free pass to go eat a bowl of ice cream or a plate of french fries (in a world of my own maybe..... ) but it is important to put something HEALTHY, such as- healthy fats like nut butters or nuts (watch portions of course!), low fat cottage cheese, egg whites or a protein shake are just a few good pre - bed time food choices! To me, what I eat before I go to bed is the most important meal of the day because you want to make sure you eat something that is going to HELP your progress, not UNDO & HURT all the hard work you have just done that day through your training & healthy eating! Now, I ate mine as my side for dinner since I had breakfast for dinner the night I made them. (Not that I don't have breakfast for dinner most every night....) I had 4 egg whites, 2 turkey sausage patties & 2 waffles..... yes, I was hungry! So, I topped my waffles with 1Tbps of PB2 (whoever invented that is a genious!) & 1 Tbsp Sugar Free, low sugar alcohol & carb content syrup. Mix those 2 together & it's nothing short of DIVINE!!
*For more info on why you shouldn't go to bed hungry, smart  & yummy ideas for pre - bedtime foods to eat & WHY (most importantly) you should eat them, check out this great article from BodyBuilding.com! READ ME!

 

Bana - nutty Almond Protein Waffles

1/2 C Almond Flour

1/4 C Unsweetened Almond Milk

1 scoop Vanilla Whey Protein Powder

2 Egg Whites

1Tbsp Natural Applesauce

1 tsp Banana Extract

1/2 Tbsp Vanilla

1 Tbsp Stevia

1/4 tsp Salt

1tsp Baking Powder

*I blend all my stuff together in my Ninja normally but this time I didn't want to lose the nutty-ness of my Almond Flour so I just whisked it altogether in a big bowl! Pour into waffle iron & let it cook! Makes 4 waffles.

My waffle iron needs replacing obviously.... see how my waffles are pretty & golden on one side but the other side is kinda pale? 

It's still cooked, but not evenly. 

Hmmmm, 

I think that justifies a trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond in my near future 

for a new waffle iron! 

Ooooh, I have coupons too! ;) 

*Nutritional content (per waffle): 114 calories, 7.5 grams of fat (healthy fat), 2 carbs, 7.5 grams of sugar & 7.5 grams of protein!