Waffles are kind of my favorite - little pockets of melted butter and syrup - yes please. But making these waffles with freshly brewed chai tea and banana is really taking breakfast to the next level. It even has some sneaky protein powder hidden inside to enhance our morning treat with 6 grams of protein per waffle. Making it easy to look past the totally necessary banana caramel sauce.
I got this waffle iron when I was maybe 11 years old ? I picked it out at a garage sale even though they told me it was a little broken. It has always works for me so maybe we were meant to find each other. I really love thrifting, garage sales and the high from getting something second hand and having it work out better than you imagined. My parents thought it was a little strange that out of everything I could have picked, I picked a waffle maker. Naturally I was speeding home excited to use it. At the time I ad a small list of things I could make off the top of my head and now waffles had made it to the top of my list. My waffle iron, Old Beth. Is even older now and kind of getting to the point where I may have to let her go to the great beyond. But making these waffles this week reminded me of this sweet memory from my childhood. I think all my favorite memories are around the topic of food. Looking back my favorite moments were all of us making tortillas and tamales, getting our hands dirty.
This brings me to April and May’s recipes and content. This month I will finally be finishing recording and photographing all 15 dishes that are going to be in the 7 day meal plan. I am so ready for May - as it is my birthday month so all recipes are going to be inspired by my favorites so get ready.
I have a favorite coffee shop in Orlando that has a seasonal menu and they always are doing new drink specials. Last winter they did a banana gingerbread chai and it was so good. I added 2 shots of espresso to make it a dirty chai and because I love the taste and boost from espresso. Ever since I have been obsessed with experimenting with the flavor combination of banana and chai and naturally had to turn this flavor combo into a waffle. I used some chai tea that I got from a local tea shop and brewed a concentrated batch and diluted it with almond milk to make the batter. To finish them off I whipped some vegan butter in my stand up mixer and whipped in some cinnamon, salt and brown sugar to spread on the waffles. To finish I mothered them in banana maple caramel sauce and was immediately at bliss. If you have some extra time on your hands one morning this one is worth every bit.
*Makes 2-6” waffles*
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups - almond milk
1 cup - freshly brewed chai ( I used 4 tea bags to one cup water )
2 tsp - apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup - coconut oil
1/2 tsp - vanilla
1 - mashed banana
1 3/4 cup - flour
1/4 cup - vanilla protein powder
1 tbsp - baking powder
1/2 tsp - salt
1 tbsp - brown sugar
1/2 tsp - cinnamon
1/4 tsp - ginger
Instructions - Banana Caramel
Melt about 1/4 cup vegan butter and add a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg. Add in about 1/2 a cup of brown sugar and stir on low. This needs to cook low and slow to ensure the sugar doesn’t burn. I added in 1 banana, sliced and a sprinkle of salt. I sauteed this low and slow for about 30 min and then added 1 can of coconut cream ( not the same as coconut milk ).
Once finished I poured my caramel in a glass container and put it in the fridge to cool and firm up a bit.
Instructions - Waffle
First things first. Turn on and pre-heat your waffle iron.
Mash your banana and whisk it in with your brown sugar and cinnamon. Once nicely incorporated you can add in the rest of your dry ingredients and protein powder.
I steeped 4 chai tea bags into 1 cup of water and then added 1 1/2 cup almond milk to make my “tea mixture”. Pour in your wet ingredients and give your batter a good mix and set aside.
Grease your waffle iron and plop in your batter. This part will be different for everyone depending on the type of waffle iron you have. If you have a smaller waffle maker you will most likely get more than 2 waffles like I did.
With my 6 inch waffle iron my waffles cooked in about 4 and a half minutes.
To plate I topped mine with some cinnamon butter and that banana caramel sauce.
Okay but this beet cavatappi pasta has been on my mind for a hot minute and I am so exited to share the video on Friday. I simply boiled beets and blended them into some coconut milk to use for the sauce. I sauteed shallots and garlic, deglazed with some white wine, added in that beet puree and wow. The smells in the kitchen - amazing and the pasta that was almost to cute to eat was so vibrant and so good that I enjoyed it on it’s own without any extra protein.
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