As much as we aspire to adhere to them, some traditions don’t stick.
Like “Pizza Fridays,” for example. I grew up having pizza every Friday (or sometimes Saturday). I love pizza. And I love Fridays. But for some reason my husband and I have never been able to stick to a we-eat-pizza-every-Friday-night plan. I think about our favorite pizza places all the time, but we usually end up trying another new ethnic restaurant or something more adventurous.
I don’t know what makes traditions stick — or how we can make room for one but not the other — but I do know that once a tradition is set, it creates a sense of anticipation, comfort and pleasure. (What’s your tradition? Leave a comment in the section below.)
For my husband and I, that tradition is “Weekend Waffles.” Every weekend I make enough batter for us to enjoy them on both Saturday and Sunday. It’s fun because:
1) I get to mix things up every week, and
2) It gets my husband out of bed.
I’m not kidding about the getting my husband out of bed part by the way. I don’t know if it’s the scent of baking batter drifting up the staircase that does the trick, or the lure of sweet maple syrup, but waffles do the trick every time.
As I mentioned before, I like to experiment with flavors a lot, but these Coconut Lemon Oatmeal Waffles usually end up making an appearance twice a month. They are so good, sometimes I want to say “To heck with experimentation,” and make them every week. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do. We’ve found that blueberries, raspberries and mango are the best toppings. The bonus of this recipe is that it includes Greek yogurt to pack an extra nutritional/protein punch.
Coconut Lemon Oatmeal Waffles
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
4 large eggs
2 cups plain Greek yogurt (or dairy free yogurt)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (can sub a 1:1 gluten-free flour here)
1 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
1) Pull out your waffle maker and plug it in to get it warmed up. In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, eggs, brown sugar, Greek yogurt and lemon zest.
2) In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, shredded coconut, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Then, pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir until combined. If the batter seems too thick, add water and stir until it has reached your desired consistency (up to 1/2 cup).
3) Cook the waffles according to your waffle maker’s instructions. Serve hot with lots of maple syrup and fresh fruit.