Breakfast for Dinner: Healthy Whole Grain Pumpkin Waffles with Maple Syrup and Pecans

I believe I have said this before and I will say it again....breakfast is my absolute favorite meal of the day. I think there are so many tasty options when it comes to breakfast type foods and most of them are pretty darn tasty. I grew up in a household where my mom would have "breakfast for dinner" nights, which were always a big hit. I hope to carry on the tradition when we start a family one day. Bryan is slowly coming around to the idea. His idea of dinner is meat, potatoes, and a veggie. :)

I decided to celebrate this fall weather with some homemade pumpkin waffles. If you like pumpkin, this recipe is going to be one of your favorites. I hope you like it as much as I do. This dish is highly nutritious because it is made with whole wheat flour, which contains your whole grains. It also contains pumpkin, which is extremely healthy for you. Americans don't get enough veggies/fruits in their diets, and orange/yellow veggies are often the least kind of vegetable eaten. This is a great way to get an orange veggie incorporated into a delicious meal.

I served these delicious pumpkin waffles with some fresh sliced strawberries and turkey sausage patties.

Healthy Whole Grain Pumpkin Waffles with Maple Syrup and Pecans
Serves 4-6 (depends on the size of your waffle maker)
Adapted from:  http://blog.superhealthykids.com/2009/10/pumpkin-waffles/

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice OR 1 teaspoon of each of the following: cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 eggs OR 3 egg whites OR 1/2 cup eggbeaters
1/4 cup light brown sugar or brown sugar substitute
1 cup Libby's pure pumpkin
1 2/3 cups skim milk
1/4 cup canola oil OR 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce OR 2 tablespoons canola oil and 2 tablespoons applesauce
Syrup
2 tablespoons chopped pecans - Optional

Directions:
-Preheat your waffle maker
-In a medium sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spices, and salt. Set aside.
-In a small bowl, combine eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin, milk, and oil/applesauce together.
-Pour contents of small bowl into the medium sized bowl of dry ingredients and stir together. You only want to stir until the mixture is combined. Do not OVER MIX.
-Spray your waffle maker with nonstick cooking spray and add approx 1/4 cup of the batter to it.
-Close the waffle maker and cook until the timer tells you it is done.
-Continue doing this until all the batter is used up and you have 4-6 large waffles.
-Take a large waffle and place on a plate. Add some light butter to the waffle.
-Drizzle maple syrup on top of the waffle. (we use sugar free syrup in our household)
-Top your waffle with a dash of ground cinnamon and some chopped pecans

*Tip
-If the batter seems a little runny, add a small amount of flour to thicken it up. If it seems thick, add some milk or applesauce to thin it out.

Enjoy! :)