Let’s rewind to January of this year. There is snow on the ground. I’m in Salt Lake City for a blog conference called Alt Summit. Melissa and I are staying at Heidi‘s incredible mountain home. The two of us have stayed up way too late talking downstairs. I’ve had a couple glasses of wine; I think that Melissa has also had a couple glasses of wine. I’m going on about how I am convinced that one of my dear friends is with child. She hasn’t gone public with the information yet, so I’ve been a quiet observer for the past eight weeks. The first sign was when my friend feigned a headache at girls night so she could pass on wine. Suspicious, I thought. Then she switched to natural deodorant. Interesting. She even hosted a fun holiday party and served virgin punch as a mixer. I wanted to give her a high five for that move, but I didn’t want to let the cat of the bag.
I’m telling Melissa about how I’m so smart because I’ve figured out that my friend has a bun in the oven (you can’t fool me!), and all the while, Melissa is hiding a very exciting secret of her own. You got me good, Melissa. Friends having babies really brings out the sappy side of me, so I’ll quit writing before I start throwing around gushy words like blessing and precious. Having met both Melissa and Kevin, however, I can say with absolute certainty that they are bringing a kind, creative and cute little lady into the world. Congrats, you two!
Today, we’re celebrating Melissa with waffles! My friend Erin of Naturally Ella, who is also Melissa’s co-worker, organized a surprise virtual baby shower for Melissa. Our recipes are based on Melissa’s whole grain waffles recipe, which is one of her most popular. It’s perfect timing, too, because I just used a gift card on this fancy pants waffle maker. Now I want to host a real-life waffle party! For my banana nut waffles, I replaced half of the milk in the original recipe with mashed bananas, and added walnuts and a hint of spice. The walnuts are more than just delicious—I incorporated them because they’re high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are important for expectant and nursing moms. I gifted my leftover waffles to my friends who have a newborn because I thought some wholesome and delicious waffles might be something to look forward to after a long night with the baby.
If you’re craving the banana-nut combo but don’t have a waffle maker, you could totally add walnuts to my banana oat pancakes or banana bread.
