Trader Joe's Authentic Belgian Waffles

Waffles are one of those foods that I enjoy, but look at as a treat. It's a dish that I have once in a while ... and oddly enough at dinner time. Time after time I've seen the Trader Joe's Authentic Belgian Waffles in the freezer section but decided to not pick them up for one reason or another. That is until I was on a mission switch up my eating ... so I brought a box home.

 

I don't recall having belgian waffles all that often. Perhaps as a kid when I went away with my parents and we had breakfast out at a restaurant. Although these belgian waffles are fabulous. A couple minutes in the microwave to toast them up and they come out perfectly. They've got a little crunch on the outside, but the inside is fluffy, soft and slightly chewy. I found them to be absolutely perfect with just a small drizzle of syrup over them and some fresh strawberries and blueberries. Taste wise they're "plain" but they're easily jazzed up with whatever topping you decide to put on them.

 

A serving is 1 waffle which is 130 calories or 3 points plus values.

Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Waffles

I spotted these Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Waffles at the store a number of times, while I’ve also seen an Eggo version at Target. I held back on purchasing because we had other breakfast items at home (frozen waffles, bagels, English muffins, toast, etc.) But during a quick Trader Joe’s run I decided just to pick them up because … I’m a pumpkin fanatic. What can I say?

I popped two in the toaster to heat through and crisp up. Since they’re frozen there wasn’t an immediate pumpkin smell – and there wasn’t one even while heating these in the toaster. I drizzled them with a tablespoon of maple syrup and dug in … but I have to admit I was mildly disappointed.  I mean, they’re good because they are waffles and waffles are pretty hard to screw up (unless you burn them). BUT with these the pumpkin flavor is so mild you really can’t even detect it and it tastes like a plain waffle.  So if you’re looking for an obvious pumpkin flavor, these don’t pack that punch.

A serving is 2 waffles, which are 180 calories or 5 points plus values.

QUESTION:

What is your favorite flavored waffle?

Brinner: Waffles w/ Compote, Sausage & Scrambled

My boyfriend and I ended up having breakfast for dinner one night (termed: Brinner).  I personally wanted something simple to cook because I initially thought of pancakes, but then the thought of making them just wasn’t intriguing any longer.  Since we had some frozen low fat waffles in the freezer, my boyfriend was more in-tune with waffles (I think he sensed my immediate need to NOT want to make pancakes – so we settled).

To fancy up the waffles, I decided to make a fruit compote.  When I dumped my frozen mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries and black berries) into the pan there wasn’t enough to make one serving – so I decided to jazz it up, slicing up an apple (peeled) into small pieces and cooking it up all in a sauce pan with a bit of Equal (sugar substitute), a pinch of salt and water.  I let the mixture come to a slow simmer, stirring frequently until it thickened just slightly.  (Note: if I had used real sugar and a tiny bit of cornstarch it would have been a thicker compote.)

The waffles went into the toaster (simple!) and I cooked up some Trader Joe’s Sweet Apple Sausage (see review here: http://shannonslifestyle.blogspot.com/2013/03/trader-joes-sweet-apple-chicken-sausage.html).  Since the sausage is sweeter I felt it would be a perfect pairing with a breakfast – and I was right.  Then to just wrap things up I made myself  ½ cup scrambled egg substitute – seasoned with black pepper and a pinch of salt.  (Side note: if you’re cooking for someone who doesn’t like egg substitute, you can fry up regular eggs – which is what I did for my boyfriend since he does not follow the WW program).

Once the meal was done and assembled, I spooned the compote over the waffles and it was munja time! Points Plus wise, the entire meal was 8 points plus (4 – waffles, 3 – sausage, 1 – eggs).

QUESTION:

What is your favorite breakfast food to have for dinner?