healthy eating

Healthy Multigrain Chia Waffles

It’s a new year and so many people out there have made resolutions to get healthy which is awesome! Being healthy isn’t just a diet, it is how you live your life and making changes as needed for a healthier life. I am all about being healthy. Many of my friends know that I eat all sorts of weird foods like, chia seeds. Chia is awesome in my books and it isn’t just for sprinkling on top of your yogurt or smoothies when you have breakfast. How about adding some chia to your morning waffles?  Chia is wonderful in waffles and these Healthy Multigrain Chia Waffles are a great way to start your day. Just add some real maple syrup and your favorite berries, no butter needed at all.
Healthy Multigrain Chia Waffles | Country Girl Gourmet

Healthy Multigrain Chia Waffles
 
Author:
 
Ingredients
  • cooking spray
  • 1¾ cups milk (cow's milk or almond milk)
  • ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1¼ cups gluten free all purpose flour
  • ½ cup gluten free rolled oats
  • ¼ cup flax seed meal
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
  • 2 teaspoons white sugar, or more to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
  1. Preheat a waffle iron according to manufacturer's instructions; spray the inside with cooking spray.
  2. Whisk milk, applesauce, egg, chia seeds, and vanilla extract together in a bowl; let sit until chia seeds start to thicken the mixture, about 2 minutes. Whisk flour, oats, flax seed meal, baking powder, sugar, and salt into almond milk mixture until batter is smooth.
  3. Scoop ½ cup batter into the preheated waffle iron and cook until crisp and golden, about 5 minutes per waffle. Repeat with remaining batter.

adapted from Allrecipes.com

Healthy Dinner Ideas with Mazola

It’s no question that I am big into feeding my family healthy dinners. My track stars cannot fuel themselves on junk just as I cannot fuel myself on junk while training for a half marathon. As a result of my healthy eating and exercise I have low blood pressure and beautiful blood work to include high HDL Cholesterol levels which are considered protective against heart disease. This month with Allrecipes we are working with Mazola Corn Oil and they have asked us to make two great healthy recipes, Pork Carnitas with Cilantro Tomatillo Sauce Sweet and Spicy Salmon with Grapefruit Salsa.  With some adjustments both recipes were perfect Healthy Dinner Ideas that my family enjoyed.

The first recipe I tried was the Pork Carnitas with Cilantro Tomatillo Sauce.

This recipe calls for the carnitas to be cooked on the stove top but I cooked them in the crockpot instead and they came out perfect. After searing the meat I cooked them for 6 hours on low (note- crockpot times vary and I know mine cooks hot) The cilantro tomatillo sauce is more of a salsa than a sauce. I added lime juice and a couple of dashes of garlic salt and it was perfect for us. Definitely something we will be having for dinner again.
Pork Carnitas with Cilantro Tomatillo Sauce | Country Girl Gourmet

Next up was the Spicy Salmon with Grapefruit Salsa. This recipe I did have to change more than I normally would for a sponsored activity but we were assured this was ok.  My substitutions were boneless skinless chicken breast for the salmon and instead of the grapefruit salsa  I made a cucumber salsa. Grapefruit interacts with a lot of different medications from heart medications to hormone replacement. So while this meal is heart healthy if you are on any medications you may want to double check and see if your medication has a grapefruit warning.

The rub on the chicken was perfect and my family really enjoyed it. The cucumber salsa became a new favorite of ours as well. Spicy Chicken with Cucumber Salsa | Country Girl Gourmet

Cucumber Salsa

adapted from Spicy Salmon with Grapefruit Salsa

  • 2 cups diced seeded diced cucumber (2 decent sized cucumbers)
  • 1/3 cup chopped red onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and finely diced
  • 2 cloves garlic,minced
  • juice of 1 lime
  • garlic salt, to taste

1.Combine all salsa ingredients  and refrigerate and allow flavors to meld.

2.Serve with chicken/salmon. Great with tortilla chips too!

Cucumber Salsa | Country Girl Gourmet

 

Learn more about the healthy benefits of cooking with Mazola® HERE .

Mazola #sponsored | Country Girl Gourmet