Momma Mia Fit's 3 Ingredient Waffles

featured guest recipe: maria of momma mia fit

Maria is a northern California native living in Connecticut and took to social media to find community while sharing her journey towards living intuitively. She shares the peaks and pits of her days at home with a focus on wellness without obsession, delicious food, and sprinklings of motherhood. For me, Maria has been an inspiration to take the journey through these uncertain times in stride, to be gentle with ourselves and others, and to keep personal wellness as a priority. Connect with her on Instagram at @MommaMiaFit and check out her featured recipe below!

Recipe Background

On the weekends I love taking extra time to whip up something fun for my family to enjoy at breakfast. These 2 ingredient sweet potato waffles do just the trick. They are filed with goodness and are delicious to boot. I use a food processor to quickly shred my sweet potato (you can also use a hand grater if you don’t have a food processor handy) and get creative with the fillings and toppings. Two of our favorite combos are apple cinnamon and bacon, leek and corn.

Ingredients

• 3 cups shredded sweet potato (place in a towel and wring out any excess water)

• 2 eggs

• sprinkling of salt

*Optional: spices and other additions. Apple cinnamon or bacon, leek and corn for a savory option.

Instructions

• Preheat your waffle iron. I turn mine to the highest setting.

• In a bowl, combine the shredded sweet potato, egg and salt with a fork.

• Once your waffle iron is ready, liberally grease it with butter, ghee or coconut oil.

• Place a half cup of the sweet potato mixture on the waffle iron and spread out evenly. My waffle iron displays a green light once its ready and I leave the waffle on the iron for an additional 30 seconds after the green light appears.

Notes

The waffles should pop out of the iron easily. If you have problems with them sticking the iron may not be hot enough or you may need to grease it more. If playing around with additions to the mixture be mindful of adding too many sweeteners (sugar, honey...) as sugars can burn easily. Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup or honey. If you’re an egg lover like me, add a fried egg on top. I hope you all enjoy this recipe! Don’t be afraid to get creative with those additions and toppings!

For more recipes and wellness inspiration, connect with Maria on Instagram at @MommaMiaFit !

Butternut Squash and Kale Lasagna

Butternut squash and kale seem to be two ingredients I constantly have in stock during the transition seasons, which is okay because we like eating both. Lasagna also tends to be my go-to recipe when friends have new babies or other life events that keep them from having time to cook or worry about food. It’s traditional and can be frozen and used later, which is always a bonus. As with most traditions, I like finding ways to bring a twist, which includes traditional recipes like lasagna. Creating a twist on lasagna was one of the first times I used butternut squash in a dish instead of as a side dish. This is a new version of the old twisted recipe I use to make and I’m a big fan! (Is it okay to be a fan of your own recipe?) Make sure to read through the recipe and notes as there are substitutions and steps, like soaking cashews, that are good to know about before getting started.

Dairy-Free Ricotta Cheese

• 2 cups soaked cashews

• 2 (14 oz) cans chickpeas
  (or garbanzo beans)

• 3 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 ½ tsp garlic

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp pepper

• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast

• 2/3-1 cup water

This recipe’s options include:

• Dairy-free

• Gluten-free

• Vegan

• Sugar free

Ingredients

• 2 small or 1 large butternut squash

• 1 cup soaked cashews

• 1 bunch of kale

• 1 medium onion

• 7-10 medium mushrooms

• 1 pound ground Italian sausage (optional)

• Ricotta cheese (see recipe for dairy-free option)

• Mozzarella cheese (dairy or dairy-free)

• Parmesan (optional dairy or dairy-free)

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp nutmeg

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1 tbsp garlic

• 2 tsp basil

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp pepper

• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast

• 1 package lasagna noodles (use ready-to-bake, vegan, or gluten-free for options)

Directions

*If making this with dairy-free ricotta cheese, soak the cashews the night before.

step 1

Peel and cube the squash. Toss with nutmeg, cinnamon, and 1 tbsp of the olive oil. Place on a lightly oiled cooking pan and bake at 425˚ for 20-25 minutes (or until soft but not brown).

step 2

While the squash is cooking, finely chop the onions and mushrooms and saute in the remaining olive oil with the garlic, basil, salt, and pepper. Set aside and let cool.

step 3

Cook the Italian sausage (or ground meat or meat alternative option of your choice). Set aside and let cool.

step 4

Finely chop the kale and set aside.

step 5

When squash is done cooking, set aside and let cool to warm. Once cooled, blend the squash and 1 cup of soaked cashews. Add water as needed but don’t let it get thin or soupy. The consistency should be in between hummus and nutbutter. Once blended, set aside.

step 6

Soak or cook the noodles according to the package’s instructions. I like to soak my noodles in hot to simmering water so they soften but still have some structure to them. This is helpful for handling once layering.

step 7

Lightly oil a 13x9 inch (or size of your choice) baking dish and lay noodles length-wise. Spread about 1/4 inch of ricotta cheese over the noodles and then layer sausage (or meat of choice or alternative) and parmesan.

step 8

Add another layer of noodles and spread the butternut squash mixture and then layer with mushroom and onion mixture and kale.

step 9

Repeat these layers until ingredients are gone, sprinkling mozzarella cheese throughout. Save enough ricotta cheese to spread over the final layer of noodles and generously sprinkle the nutritional yeast and parmesan cheese.

step 10

Bake at 375˚ for 35-40 minutes or until heated all the way through and top has melted and browned. Let cool slightly before serving.

Dairy-Free Ricotta Cheese

step 1

Soak cashews overnight (I put them in a bowl, fill with water, and cover) or boil for 20 minutes. Overnight soaking seems to create a better flavor but either method will work.

step 2

Drain cashews and drain and rinse chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans). Add these ingredients, plus lemon juice, garlic, salt, and 1/3 cup of water to blender.

step 3

Add nutritional yeast and remaining water (as needed) until the texture is smooth, light and fluffy. Consistency should be similar to ricotta cheese or whipped frosting. Set aside and let cool (may be warm from blending). Refrigerate if not using right away.

Notes

Feel free to play around with the layers of the lasagna and make it your own! The only thing I recommend is to alternate the ricotta and butternut squash spreads as it helps hold the noodles in place and gives the other ingredients something to stick to. I like the crunch and flavor of kale, but spinach or other hardy greens could be substituted. Try adding cottage cheese as one of your layered ingredients for a twist!

Imperfectly Perfect Pie Crust (Gluten Free)

I love pie and for me, it’s always pie season. When my birthday comes around I will always request pie over cake, which works out well since my birthday falls during prime pumpkin pie season. As shared in About Nicki, pie is what introduced me to baking and started a love affair with pastries. That first summer I spent hour creating the perfect pie crust and scrubbing flour out of the crevices of the kitchen tile. Years later when I decided to return to baking I started with pie and have been trying to recreate that same crust.

Now that I almost always cook with alternative flours I have played around with different brands and mixtures to get the texture and flakiness I desire and use ghee or vegan butter to get the rich flavor I remember. I have used this recipe for both savory and sweet pies, find it freezes well, and usually doesn’t fall apart when dished up.

Just remember...eat pie, not cake!

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Imperfectly Perfect Pie Crust (Gluten Free)

½ cup    tapioca starch (sometimes called tapioca flour)

1  cup    gluten free flour (I use the brand Namaste)

½ tsp     salt

1 tsp      baking powder

⅓ cup    ghee or vegan butter (in semi-soft, solid form)

1            egg (optional)

½ cup    warm water

Mix all the dry ingredients together. Using a pastry blender (I use the dough attachment for my Kitchen Aid) add in the ghee until the mixture turns into crumbles (other recipes often say until it becomes the consistency of peas). If using an egg, add this to the mixture and continue to blend. Slowly add the water until the crumbles become a complete dough ball. You may not need to use all of the water to reach this consistency, especially if using an egg, or you may need to add more water, especially if you are using a denser blend of flour. The dough should be solid and stay together as you move or gently stretch it.

Chill the dough in the fridge for 1 hour. Chilling isn’t necessary in general or with gluten free dough but it allows the moisture to settle so that the dough hydrates and is easier to roll out. I often leave it over night in the fridge or freeze it and then let it defrost in the fridge for a day or two.

After your desired chill time has completed place the dough on a floured surface and pre-heat the oven to 425˚. While the oven is heating roll the dough until it’s around 1/8 inch thickness. Grease the pie pan and place, then press, the flattened dough into the shape of the pan. Trim the edges that hang over the pie pan. Save any extra dough to roll out and cut into strips for a lattice top or create back into pea-sized crumbles and sprinkles to save and sprinkle over the filling.

Using a fork, prick the bottom part of the crust in several areas. Optional: beat one egg and brush over crust, especially the edges and lattice topping. Place the crust in the lower part of the oven and bake for 12 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven and add your filling and bake according to your filling recipe directions.

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