Beautiful Sunday Waffles {gluten-free, high protein, low-carb}

Beautiful Sunday Waffles {gluten-free, high protein, low-carb}

When we first started making these waffles, we named them “beautiful Sunday waffles” because the whole family loved them… and they were so delicioulsy filling that no one complained of being hungry all through Sunday Mass.  We were even able to come home after Mass and not feel rushed to get lunch on the table.  Hooray!

Only 3 simple ingredients are needed for these protein-packed waffles:

  • natural salted peanut butter
  • eggs
  • vanilla extract

 

Of course these waffles can be made any day of the week!  We find they are great on school days too.  I like to make a large batch on the weekends, and reheat them in the microwave for quick and nourishing weekday breakfasts.  Waffles can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days on a plate, covered in plastic wrap.  Waffles can also be placed in a Ziplock bag and kept in the freezer for a number of weeks.  We use 15 eggs in this recipe simply because that is the largest quantity our blender can hold.  However, the recipe could be scaled down to use 10 eggs and 1 cup of peanut butter, or 5 eggs and 1/2 cup of peanut butter.

We use peanut butter in our waffles, but salted almond butter can also work.  Be sure that the nut butter you use is natural and very drippy.  Our favorite drippy natural peanut butter is Welsley Farms Organic Peanut Butter from BJ’s.  We have not tried sunbutter, but we would love to hear in the comments below if that is something that works for those with nut allergies.

Because these waffles are naturally full of protein and low-carb, they can be topped to your delight with toppings you love!  Yogurt and berries?  Maple syrup or honey?  Whipped cream, chocolate and bananas?  What toppings do you love?  Our children love to have waffle decorating contests… stay tuned… we might just have a Sparkles and Sprinkles waffle decorating contest in the coming months!

We typically use a Belgian waffle maker or our Cuisinart griddle fitted with waffle irons.  However, we recently tried out a little waffle maker by Dash.  Our daughters think it is just too cute!  It also comes in a fun variety of colors.  If you like thinner, smaller waffles, the little Dash waffle maker is great.  A little warning if children are helping in the kitchen, though:  the handle is very small and can get hot, so use a hot pad when lifting the handle.  We also found it was helpful to use silicone tongs to remove the waffles from the maker.  If you are making waffles for a crowd, you may want to have a few of these small waffle makers to make more than one waffle at a time.

While most of our recipes on Sparkles and Sprinkles are great for children to help in the kitchen, this waffle recipe is probably best for adults and older children (due to the many eggs to crack and the hot waffle iron).  If your little ones need a fun activity for while you are making this delicious breakfast, we recommend the Learning Rescources Waffle Time play kitchen set.  Our children continue to play with this delightful set year after year.

One final note before we get started.  Though it may not be necessary, we usually butter our waffle iron before pouring the batter.  However, if the waffles do happen to stick, we find that the handle of silicone spoon can help to remove any stuck bits of waffle.  

Let’s make waffles!

Gather your ingredients:

15 eggs

1 1/2 cups natural salted creamy peanut butter (if your nut butter is unsalted, add a dash or salt to your batter)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Butter (optional – to grease the waffle iron if needed)

 

Gather your kitchen supplies:

Waffle maker

Blender

Silicone spatula

1 cup measuring cup

1/2 cup measuring cup

1 teaspoon

large (4 cup) glass liquid measuring cup

plates (for finished waffles and for serving)

forks (for removing waffles from the maker, and for serving)

silicone baby spoon (optional – helpful for removing any bits of waffle that might stick to the waffle maker)

silicone tongs (optional – for removing waffles from the maker without the risk of scratching the maker)

Measure, blend, cook, and enjoy!

Step 1

Crack 15 eggs into a large glass liquid measuring cup.

Step 2

Carefully pour the eggs into the blender.  (Hold the blender jar at an angle over the sink while pouring in the eggs from the measuring cup to reduce the risk of spilling the eggs.  Then place the blender jar on the blender.)

Step 3

Measure 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Step 4

Pour vanilla extract into the blender jar.

Step 5

Measure 1 1/2 cups peanut butter.

Step 6

Add the peanut butter to the blender jar.

Step 7

Place cover on the blender.

Step 8

Plug in the blender.  (Wait until the cover is on to plug in the blender, to avoid any accidents.)

Step 9

Blend until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed.

Step 10

Butter the pre-heated waffle iron. (Be sure to use a long stick of butter so that your hands do not get too close to the heat.)

Step 11

Pour the batter into pre-heated waffle iron.  Be careful not to overfill the waffle space.

Step 12

Use a silicone spatula to spread the batter evenly.  Add more batter if needed.

Step 13

Close the waffle iron.  Let the waffles cook, according to your waffle iron instructions.  We find about 4 minutes works for our Belgian waffles.

Step 14

Open the waffle iron.  Waffles are cooked when lightly golden brown.

Step 15

Remove the waffles from waffle iron.  Use a fork (without touching the waffle iron) or silicone tongs.

Step 16

Place waffles on a plate.  Repeat waffle cooking steps until all batter is used.

 

BON APPETIT!

Note:  Some links on this page are Amazon Affiliate links.  Sparkles and Sprinkles is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Other links may or may not be affiliate links.  We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.

Summer Flower Walk and Other Fun Flower Activities

Summer Flower Walk and Other Fun Flower Activities

Here at Sparkles and Sprinkles, we have stepped away from the computer for quite a while… the sunshine and the garden were calling, and we just had to answer.  But we are hopping back into our blog for a bit to bring you some ideas that you can take right back outside:  a flower scavenger hunt, flower arranging for kids, painting a floral still life, and more.  Enjoy!

Summer Flower Walk

Where we live, it gets too hot in the afternoon to spend much time outside, but our daughters love early morning walks.  This weekend our 7-year-old asked if we could do the spring flower scavenger hunt that we had created for Mother’s Day.  This gave us a great opportunity to talk about how different flowers bloom at different times of year, and inspired us to make another flower scavenger hunt for the summer.  

flower walk french english scavenger hunt
summer flower walk french english anglais francais
zinnia flower scavenger hunt

Click on the images below to download your free summer flower scavenger hunt card!  One is in English and the other is bilingual in French and English.  When you print it, print in landscape.  Choose “print on both sides of paper” and click “flip on short edge” in order to make it into a card to invite someone on a flower walk.  Or simply print the first page if you only want a one-sided scavenger hunt page.  It can be printed on regular printer paper, but we recommend cardstock.

summer flower scavenger hunt

Summer Flower Walk in English

french summer flower scavenger hunt francias anglais

Summer Flower Walk (French and English)

Books to enjoy about flowers

When the afternoon heat makes staying inside in air conditioning the best idea, we have some suggestions for you on books we love with a flower theme.  Miss Rumphius and Katie and the Impressionists.  We are also enjoying a delightful new book by Sarah Mackenzie that is inspired by Miss Rumphius. It’s called A Little More Beautiful.  The images below are links to Amazon if you are interested in purchasing the books, or you can find them at your local library.

Making bouquets

Children seem to naturally love making bouquets, so we love to plant flowers that thrive when cut… roses, zinnias, cosmos, and verbena to name a few.  We also love adding sweet smelling accents to our bouquets – lavender, mint and rosemary – these plants tend to thrive and spread year after year without much care (that’s a big plus when growing a garden of children is really our primary job!).  To help your children make a bouquet, give them options for what can be cut in the garden, then cut the flowers they choose.  (Alternatively, if you don’t have a garden, picking up a bouquet from the store and allowing your children to cut the flowers and make smaller arrangements can also be fun!)  Then allow your child to pick a sturdy, small vase or jar.  Give your children time to arrange the flowers to their liking… a great opportunity for everyone to really take the time to stop and smell the flowers.   

wild flowers to arrange
flower arrangement for kids
wild flower arrangement

Art inspired by flowers

To give your children a chance to really look closely at flowers, painting a still life can be so much fun!  Bringing paper and painting supplies outside to paint in the garden can also be delightful!  Some of our favorite art supplies for painting flowers, and especially painting outside, are the Canson Mixed Media sketch book (great heavy weight paper and easily transportable small size) and Faber-Castell watercolor pencils (sketch and then brush with water) or washable watercolors for younger children.   

flower sketch
flower water color

Enjoy the beauty of summer!

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Dreamy Chocolate Ice Cream {vegan, low-carb, delicious!}

Dreamy Chocolate Ice Cream {vegan, low-carb, delicious!}

The ingredients might surprise you in this super creamy chocolate ice cream!  This ice cream looks and tastes like your favorite decadent chocolate ice cream, but it is actually vegan, low-carb, and packed full of protein.  If you think “vegan” and “ice cream” can’t be one in the same, don’t run away.  Give this recipe a try.  We think you will be glad you did!  With only 4 ingredients, it’s so easy to make.  Enjoy!

New to making ice cream at home?  We love our Cuisinart ice cream maker, but you can use any ice cream maker of your choice.  The Cuisinart ice cream maker comes in a fun variety of colors to suit your kitchen decor, and has optional additional freezer bowls so that you can make multiple batches of ice cream the same day.  Another great ice cream maker option, if you don’t want to add additional appliances to your kitchen is the ice cream maker attachement for your KitchenAid mixer.  Though we have not tried this one, we think it sounds like a great idea!

cuisinart ice cream maker

We use a blender to mix our ingredients.   If you are looking for a great, dishwasher safe blender, we recommend the Oster dishwasher safe blender.  We went for many years without a blender, just because I never liked cleaning the blade and jar by hand.  I’m so glad Oster has a blender that is dishwasher safe.  It makes clean up so easy!

Oster blender dishwasher safe

Note:  It is possible to whisk the ingredients together in a bowl if you do not have a blender (we used to to this), but a blender does the job so much faster.  If you do whisk your ingredients in a bowl, be sure to use a very drippy creamy peanut butter.  Also, mix all of the ingredients with only a small amount of milk at first, then add more milk as the peanut butter begins to incorporate into the milk.

Be sure to use a protein powder you like, as this will impact the taste of the ice cream.  The sweetness in this ice cream comes from the protein powder, so if your protein powder is not sweetened, you will need to sweeten it to your liking.  Keep in mind you can taste the “ice cream” before you put it in the ice cream maker and make any flavor adjustments before you start to freeze the ice cream.  The Orgain Protein Powder we use is sweetened with stevia.  It works well to use chocolate or vanilla flavor protein powder for this recipe.

orgain protein powder

This ice cream is easiest to serve right when it is done being churned.  If you would like it to be a little more firm, you can place it in the freezer for a short time before serving.  If you make the ice cream to serve for another time, or if you have leftovers, keep in mind this ice cream will have to sit on the counter for at least 30 minutes to soften.  We like to store our ice cream in a protein shaker or a Pyrex glass container.  This 28 oz. Contigo protein shaker fits the whole batch of ice cream.  We like the protein shaker because the plastic is thick and will not crack in the freezer (we do not recommend disposable plastic containers, as they tend to crack when frozen).  Storing ice cream in a Pyrex dish with a cover can also be a great idea – this way, you can microwave the bowl for a few seconds if you don’t want the wait time to let your ice cream soften.

Ready to make ice cream?

Gather your kitchen supplies:

  • Ice cream maker
  • Blender (optional, but very helpful)
  • 1 cup measuring cup
  • 1/4 cup measuring cup
  • liquid measuring cup (if not using the blender to measure the milk)
  • Large plate
  • Container for finished ice cream (if not serving right away)
  • Spoons 
  • bowls for serving
  • Spatula for scraping bowl if needed

 

 

ice cream making supplies

Gather your ingredients:

  • about 2.5 cups unsweetened almond milk, vanilla or plain (you can use  as little as 2 cups or as much as 3 cups, depending on the consistency you like for your ice cream)
  • 2 scoops (46 g) Orgain Chocolate or Vanilla protein powder (or your favorite sweetened protein powder)
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 cup creamy natural peanut butter (our favorite is Organic Cream Peanut Butter from BJ’s Wellsley Farms, but any very creamy, drippy, natural peanut butter will work)
vegan ice cream peanut butter, almond milk, protein powder, cocoa

Let’s Make Ice Cream!

Step 1

Pour 2.5 cups of unsweetened almond milk into your blender.

Step 2

Add 2 scoops (46 g) protein powder into the blender.

Step 3

Add 1/4 cup cocoa powder into the blender.

Step 4

Measure 1 cup creamy natural peanut butter, and add into the blender.

vegan chocolate ice cream blend

Step 5

Blend until smooth.

Step 6

Turn on your ice cream maker and pour in the mixture.  Let the mixture churn for about 20 minutes.

low-carb high protein ice cream vegan peanut butter

Step 7

Ice cream is ready when it looks creamy and firm.  You may need to stir the ice cream once in a while as it churns to keep it moving. 

Step 8

Remove the ice cream from the ice cream maker and place it on a large plate. 

chocolate peanut butter ice cream low-carb

Step 9

Scoop the ice cream into bowls to serve immediately, or scoop the ice cream into a storage container to serve later.

chocolate peanut butter low-carb ice cream recipe

And of course... you can always add sprinkles!

This ice cream has no refined sugar and is packed full of protein, so when the question is, “Mom, may we have more ice cream?” the answer can be “Yes!”

P.S.  Looking for low sugar sprinkles?  Find our suggestion from our cut-out cookie recipe.

 

If you would like more healthy and kid-friendly gluten free recipes, consider subscribing to sparklesandsprinkles.blog.  We will send you emails when we post new recipes and craft ideas.  It’s totally free!  Just enter your email below.  Welcome to Sparkles and Sprinkles!

Note:  Some links on this page are Amazon Affiliate links.  Sparkles and Sprinkles is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Other links may or may not be affiliate links.  We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.

DIY Fidget Toys! (with YouTube tutorials)

DIY Fidget Toys! (with YouTube tutorials)

Watch these quick YouTube videos to learn how to make a spinner top from a fruit cup, a paper spring, and a balloon stress ball.

Enjoy some fruit from a fruit cup, wash the cup, and turn it into a spinning top in seconds!  Watch the video to find out how.

Feeling more creative?  Color the inside of the fruit cup with permanent markers or paint a fun design with acrylic paint.  Have fun!

Simply cut two strips of paper, and watch the video to find out how to turn them into a fun paper spring.  You’ll also need a glue stick.

Want to add some variety?  Draw designs on the paper before making it into a spring!  So pretty!

Make your own stress ball in seconds!  Just grab a balloon, and some slime (or kinetic sand, playdough, or Model Magic), and watch this video to find out how.  You’ll also need a small water bottle with the bottom cut off, or a funnel.

Time to de-stress…

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Do you have a teen or tween interested in making YouTube videos?  Our oldest daughter took a wonderful class from Film School For Teens.  The online classes are created by a Christian family with expertise in film and Youtube.  If you have a child interested in film, you can check it out here:  FS4T

Note:  Some links on this page are Amazon Affiliate links.  Sparkles and Sprinkles is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Other links may or may not be affiliate links.  We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.

Healthy Gluten-free Cupcakes!

Healthy Gluten-free Cupcakes!

Enjoy these delicious and nourishing cupcakes for your next celebration!  With the 4th of July around the corner, we decorated the cupcakes with a 4th of July theme, but you could decorate them in any way you like for a birthday party too!  They are delicious enough for a party, and nourishing enough for breakfast.  Adding blueberries or chocolate chips to the batter makes them perfect for breakfast muffins!

gluten free cupcake birthday party
gluten-free blueberry muffin

You can find our “America the Beautiful” 4th of July cupcake toppers in our Etsy shop.  One side has lyrics from “America the Beautiful,” and the other side has images to illustrate the lyrics.  It’s an instant download, and they can be easily printed and made, using just white cardstock, scissors, glue, and toothpicks.  The cupcake toppers come in the 4th of July party bundle, including a coordinating garland and games.  It’s a fun project for family and friends!

4th of july cupcakes

Find our cupcake toppers on Etsy!

Two kitchen items we love for making it easier to make cupcakes and muffins are the Greenlife Bakeware muffin pan and silicone baby spoons.

The Greenlife muffin pan is a healthy ceramic nonstick pan that is so easy to clean!  (We often butter the pan, to be on the safe side, but it is probably not necessary.) 

In order to avoid scratching the pan, we like to use silicone baby spoons to easily remove the cupcakes once they are done baking.

Light Buckwheat Flour

One key ingredient in this recipe is light buckwheat flour.  This is an amazing gluten-free flour that, when used in combination with almond flour, makes deliciously moist baked goods.  Sadly, it does not seem to be sold in many stores.  However, you can find it online.  We recommend buying it directly through Bouchard Family Farms, as they give significant discounts for buying multiple bags (as low as $8.50 per bag as of the writing of this post).  If you just want to try one bag, it can also be found on Amazon.  We have many recipes on www.sparklesandsprinkles.blog that call for light buckwheat flour… so you can find many ways to use it!  Try our gluten-free pizza, gluten-free cut-out cookies, gluten-free microwave mug muffins… and more to come!

Ready to make cupcakes?

This recipe makes about 18 small cupcakes (with batter filling the muffin openings about 2/3 full). 

The recipe is gluten-free.  This recipe is low-carb and does not use refined sugar.  If you are making these for a crowd used to a lot of sugar, we recommend using 4 Tbsp. maple syrup, or if you are trying to make the cupcakes as low-carb as possible, opt for only 2 Tbsp. maple syrup. 

If you need a dairy-free recipe, simply use suggested dairy-free substitutions. 

Allow the oven to preheat to 350 degrees F while preparing the batter.

cupcake ingredients

Gather your ingredients:

1 cup light buckwheat flour

1 cup almond flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups Greek yogurt (OR dairy-free substitute)

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 to 4 Tbsp. maple syrup or honey (or 4 packets SweetLeaf)

4 eggs

1 stick butter, melted; OR 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup almond milk

Optional:  Toppings or additional ingredients of your choice – see below for some ideas

 

kitchen supplies

Gather your kitchen supplies:

Large mixing bowl

Measuring cups (2 cup liquid measuring cup, 1 cup, 1/4 cup)

Measuring spoons (1 Tbsp., 1 tsp.)

Mixing spoons

Muffin tray

Ice cream scooper

Silicone spoon

Spatula (not pictured) – to scrape the bowl

Fork (not pictured) – to whisk the eggs

Microwave safe bowl or mug (not pictured) – to melt butter

 

Let’s Make Cupcakes!

Step 1

Measure 1 cup light buckwheat flour.

buckwheat

Step 2

Pour 1 cup light buckwheat flour into the mixing bowl.

Step 3

Measure 1 cup almond flour.

step 4

Pour 1 cup almond flour into the mixing bowl.

Step 5

Measure 2 tsp. baking powder.

Step 6

Add 2 tsp. baking powder into the mixing bowl.

Step 7

Measure 1 tsp. baking soda.

Step 8

Add 1 tsp. baking soda into the mixing bowl.

Step 9

Stir together the dry ingredients until well mixed.

Step 10

Measure 2 cups Greek yogurt.

Step 11

Scoop yogurt into the mixing bowl.

Step 12

Measure 2 tsp. vanilla extract AND add it to the mixing bowl.

Step 13

Measure 2 to 4 Tbsp. honey or maple syrup AND add it to the mixing bowl.  Or use 4 packets SweetLeaf.

Step 14

Crack 4 eggs into a mug or liquid measuring cup.

Step 15

Wisk the eggs with a fork.

Step 16

Pour the eggs into the mixing bowl.

Step 17

Stir until the batter is well combined.

Step 18

Place 1 stick of butter in a microwave safe bowl.

Step 19

Microwave about 30 seconds, or until the butter is melted.

Step 20

Pour the butter into the mixing bowl.

Step 21

Measure 1/4 cup almond milk.

Step 22

Pour the almond milk into the mixing bowl.

Step 23

Stir until well combined.

Step 24

Butter the muffin pan.

Step 25

Use an ice cream scooper to scoop the batter into the muffin pan.  Fill each opening with 1 scoop for small cupcakes (for a total of about 18 cupcakes).  If you would like larger cupcakes/muffins, add more batter to each opening (for a total of about 12 cupcakes).  We made 18 small cupcakes in the photos you see here.

Step 26 (optional)

Add chocolate chips or blueberries, etc. to make these cupcakes more like muffins.  We recommend placing a small amount of blueberries or chocolate chips on top of the batter in the muffin tin, then stirring gently with a silicone spoon.  This helps the extra ingredients to be evenly dispearsed, rather than sink to the bottom of the muffin/cupcake.

Step 27

Place the cupcakes in your oven, preheated to 350 degrees F.

Step 28

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.  Larger cupcakes/muffins may need longer baking times.  Bake until golden brown on top.  Check that a toothpick comes out clean to be sure they are well baked.

Step 29

Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.  Then use a silicone spoon to gently remove the cupcakes from the pan.  Place the cupcakes on a wire rack and allow to completely cool before decorating them.

One more yummy variation: Want to make chocolate cupcakes?

Simply stir in 5 Tbsp cocoa powder and an extra 2 Tbsp maple syrup to the batter.

gluten free cupcake birthday party

Decorate your cupcakes!

There are so many ways to decorate a cupcake!  We suggest topping them with freshly whipped cream (see our easy recipe below) or Cocowhip for a dairy-free option.  You could also use our butter-cream cheese frosting that we used in our cutout cookie recipe.  As these toppings need to be refrigerated, we recommend decorating the cupcakes shortly before serving them.  However, they can be decorated in advance and stored in the refrigerator.  Be sure to store any leftovers in the refrigerator as well.

Homemade Whipped Cream!

Store bought frosting and whipped cream tends to be very sweet, but you can easily make your own with less sugar!

Step 1

Gather your ingredients:  heavy cream (16 oz. container), sweetener (honey, maple syrup, or SweetLeaf), and vanilla extract (optional).

Step 2

Pour the heavy cream into the bowl of a stand mixer.

Step 3

Using the whisk attachment, starting on a low speed, and increasing the speed gradually, whisk the heavy cream until it starts to stiffen.

Step 4

When the cream is almost as stiff as you would like it to be, add some sweetener (about 1 Tbsp. maple syrup to your taste) and vanilla (about 1 tsp. – optional).

whipped cream low sugar

Step 5

Continue to whip the cream, along with the sweetener and vanilla, until it gets as thick as you would like it to be.  WARNING – Watch it carefully – it will turn to butter if it gets whipped too long.

Decorate!

We topped these cupcakes with whipped cream, then added blueberries and strawberries for a patriotic 4th of July theme.  If you would like these “America the Beautiful” cupcakes toppers, they can be found on Etsy.

Note:  Some links on this page are Amazon Affiliate links.  Sparkles and Sprinkles is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Other links may or may not be affiliate links.  We provide links because we have found these products or services beneficial, and we think you might too.