Happy International Waffle Day! Today we were joined by Ben Gullett of Julian’s Recipe with a delicious recipe for a waffle topped with blueberries and brie. He also talks Frozen Food Month and the benefits of taking advantage of them.

Then Indy Style’s own Registerd Dietitian, Annessa, shows you how to easily make Chocolate & Peanut Butter Striped Waffles at home!

What makes frozen products so important and how can we use them in our recipes?

Keeping the freezer full of healthy and delicious foods has many advantages.

What I love about frozen food is:

• Quality and consistency
• Convenience
• Waste-free

Julian’s Recipe Blueberry & Brie Melt

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups blueberries
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 8 Julian’s Recipe Wafflls
• 4 ounces of brie cheese, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Combine the blueberries, lemon zest and sugar in a medium saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer for about 5 minutes until the mixture has thickened.
3. Place the butter in a grill pan over medium-high heat. Then place your waffles into the pan.
4. Add 4-5 slices of brie cheese on top followed by a generous scoop of the blueberry compote.
5. Add the second waffle on top and then flip! Allow 2-3 minutes per side or until golden.
6. Serve while hot and enjoy!

Find Julian’s Recipe at Meijer, Kroger, Whole Foods and Fresh Thyme.

Learn more about Julian’s Recipe, and order online, at JuliansRecipe.com.

Follow Julian’s Recipe on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @JuliansRecipe.

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Striped Waffles

Just so you know, if you find dividing the batter into two bowls too labor intensive, simple put everything in one bowl! Your waffle will be a chocolate color instead of striped, but it will still have the same delicious chocolate + PB flavor. Yum!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups oat flour (you can make oat flour by putting oats into a processor and blending until a flour forms)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons natural peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons 100% pure maple syrup
• 2 cups vanilla almond milk
• 5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
• 5 tablespoons powdered peanut butter

Toppings:

• 1 small banana, chopped into chunks
• 1/4 cup toasted pecans

• Peanut Butter Syrup (optional):
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter

Preparation:

1. First, mix the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients separately: in one bowl, whisk oat flour, baking powder, and kosher salt. In another bowl, whisk eggs, peanut butter, and maple syrup until smooth. Then add almond milk, whisking until well combined.

2. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture, pouring the wet mixture in and stirring until everything is well incorporated. Let the batter sit for 5 minutes to allow the oat flour to absorb the liquid.

3. To make half the batter chocolate and half the batter peanut butter, divide the batter in half. Stir the cocoa powder and chocolate chips into half of the batter, until the chocolate has been fully mixed in. In the other half of the batter, stir in the powdered peanut butter. Now you’re ready to make the waffles!

4. When your Belgian waffle maker is fully heated and ready to go, spray it lightly with nonstick spray and pour in about 1/2 – 3/4 cup of chocolate batter in the center, letting it spread just a bit. Then, take a 1/4 cup of the peanut butter batter and drizzle across the chocolate batter (or make polka dots, or swirls…whatever you like to do!) Close the waffle iron and cook for 3 1/2 minutes. Waffles are done when lightly browned and the edges are crispy.

5. Remove waffle and top the center with 2 tablespoons banana chunks and 1 tablespoon of toasted pecans. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of PB syrup if desired. Repeat for the other 3 waffles. Enjoy!

Notes:

– To make oat flour, add whole rolled oats to a food processor, and process until a flour forms (it will still look a little grainy). You can make plenty of oat flour in batches and keep on hand for when you need it.

– Waffles can easily be frozen. Let cool on a baking sheet, then place them in a gallon sized zip-top bag. When ready to eat, remove one and either microwave or toast in the oven on a low broil until hot.

– If no pecans are on hand, use toasted peanuts or almonds

– Use this as a snack for your kids! Just cut the waffle into triangles, and they fit perfectly into their hands. We use peanut butter as a dip.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes

Servings Per Recipe: 4
Serving Size: 1 waffle, 2 tablespoons banana chunks and 1 tablespoon toasted pecans

Calories 433, Total Fat 16.8 g, Saturated Fat 4.0 g, Polyunsaturated Fat 1.8 g,
Monounsaturated Fat 3.2 g, Cholesterol 93.0 mg, Sodium 617.6 mg,
Potassium 245.3 mg, Total Carbohydrate 61.8 g, Dietary Fiber 9.9 g,
Sugars 22.7 g, Protein 16.7 g

For more from Annessa RD. visit, Annessard.com.