Breakfast for the Junior Conquerer

Sunday is Prep Day for the rest of the week here and so we start the morning with a big batch of waffles that can be frozen and reheated as the week drags onward. To boost up the nutrition for those long days where school runs immediately into sport practice, I mix 1:1 white flour with flour from a high protein grain. My favorite is emmer, also known as farro. Emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum for you gardeners who love latin names) is the original ancient wheat. It was first cultivated in the Middle East then migrated to the Mediterranean where it literally fed the Roman Legions. Why were they so successful in building their Empire? Emmer flour contains twice the protein of regular white wheat flour!!

We get our emmer flour from a local farm, Bluebird Grain Farms but other local wheat producers are popping up all over the country to sell specialty flours. If you can't find emmer flour, look for flours made of "hard" winter wheat. Unlike wimpy generic cultivated wheat, these wheats are genetically programmed to survive harsh conditions by storing more nutrients-all the better to build strong healthy kids! The whole farro grains are fantastic on their own too, but I'll sing their praises on another day.

Protein Packed Waffles

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup canola oil

2 cups flour (one cup white, one cup emmer or other hard wheat variety)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Whisk wet ingredients together. Mix dry ingredients together separately. Mix wet and dry ingredients together. Pour into prepared waffle maker.