Pear Blender Waffles

I have recently renewed my efforts to cut back our grocery budget. Again. Every so often I realize that I have fallen back into the habit of buying certain convenience foods, and I have to make an effort to shift gears. This time I realized that I could do much better with breakfast: I have now sworn off most cold cereals and frozen waffles!

The Honey is a die-hard cereal eater during the week, and he is gone and out the door by 7:00 a.m. anyway, so I don't even bother trying to fix him something for breakfast every day. But Horse Lover and The Monkey don't have to be to school until 9am and we live just 3 blocks away. I've got plenty of time for making breakfast, so there's no excuses. Of course, if the girls want cereal they can have some of his Frosted Miniwheats or Honey Nut Cheerios (generic, of course). But generally they are just stuck with what I'm fixing for breakfast.

I recently purchased waffle iron to replace the one that broke in our move to Oklahoma. We've been living without for a year. The problem I have with a lot of waffle and pancake recipes is the amount of oil that is used. It adds to the overall fat and calories of the meals, and it's really just unnecessary. You have to use some fat so the waffles won't stick, but in general you can cut back on the oil in a pancake or waffle recipe by adding some sort of fruit puree, like applesauce. So I took the "Basic Waffle Recipe" that came with my waffle maker and made some adjustments.

An added bonus for this recipe is that you make it entirely in the blender - so much easier to cook and clean up!


Pear Blender Waffles
(Makes about 8 Belgian-style waffles of 120 calories each.)

1 fresh pear
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 Tbsp real butter (not the spreadable type!)
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. white flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda

Peel and core pear.

In a blender, combine milk, egg, butter, and pear. (I cut each half of my pear into about 4-5 pieces before putting into the blender.)

Blend for a full minute.

Add flour, salt, and baking powder. Blend another minute. Be sure to scrape the sides to make sure all of the flour gets combined.

Pour into a preheated waffle iron and cook!

Tip: If you are a big fan of the convenience of toaster waffles, you can freeze these and reheat in the toaster. Just lay flat on a cookie sheet and pop in the freezer for about an hour. Once they are firm, you can bag them up and store them.