Buckwheat-Cornmeal Brown Butter Waffles

Enjoying a big plate of waffles topped with blueberries and crunchy granola, before going out into the mountains and after a lazy morning of sleeping in and snuggling our little son was one of the food dreams/Mother’s Day wishes that I had before Leo was even born. So much so, that weeks before I went into labor, I started crafting a recipe that would be all the things for my recovering new mama body/being: I wanted a recipe that would support my recovery from childbirth, fuel my gentle return to riding and running, keep my body aligned with the cleansing moment of the spring season AND provide deep nourishment as my body learns how to be an all-you-can-eat milk bar for Leo on little to no sleep. That’s a tall order that any old stack of diner waffles would fall short of. But, it turns out that the solution was easy (eating seasonally was the key!) and the result is the absolutely divine Buckwheat-Cornmeal Brown Butter Waffles. (Pats self on back.)

A few of you may be reading that last paragraph and saying; “aren’t all waffles created equally?”

Isn’t seasonal eating about what the farmer’s are growing? What does that have to do with the recipes I’m making?

And, “why on earth would you need to adjust a waffle recipe for spring?”

The answers, my friends are (respectively) NO, YES *but*…a lot actually and there are so so many reasons. Seasonal eating is about so much more than what’s on sale at the supermarket.

In the Charaka Samhita, Ayurveda’s more renown and revered text, there are specific guidelines laid out (in Sanskrit, mind you) for how to eat “seasonally.” The term “ritu” in Sanskrit means “season,” and charya refers to rules and regimens to enact Ayurveda’s preventative methodology. Ritucharya means, literally “seasonal eating,” and there are several layers that these rituals and practices encompass…and yet, Charaka doesn’t mention anything about a produce sale.

There are three different components to seasonal eating that are important to remember; eating the ingredients that are in season is the most basic of these principles. Eating in a way that aligns with the biology around us is the second important seasonal eating principles; whether we recognize it or not, our bodies and beings are striving to align with the rhythms that surround us and we can either help, or hinder that process. Lastly, eating in tune with our own internal season is critical. What is our body experiencing in this moment and what is our digestive state? What sort of energy expenditure are we experiencing, and what is the nature of our emotional output? All of these factors change the foods that serve us best. And they’re all fantastic reasons to change your regular waffle recipe.

Eating with the seasons, beyond the supermarket.

When most of us think of seasonal eating, we think of the produce that’s available at the farm in any given time of year. Tomatoes only in late summer, asparagus only in early spring, pumpkins only as fall descends. And this IS seasonal eating in it’s most basic form.

Charaka Samhita tells us that the ingredients on offer in the external environment where we’re living is a critical measure for health and well-being. This concept isn’t difficult to understand, especially with the state of our modern food system. On the most basic level, seasonal ingredients, grown where we live are the most nutritious foods we can possibly enjoy because they’re traveling the shortest distance to reach us. In the winter, we crave heartier more grounding meals to cradle us against the harsh chill of winter. And nature provides just the ingredients we need to make it happen; nourishing root vegetables, grounding pumpkins, meats and cheeses are available, and grains from summer’s bounty are harvested and ready for soups, stews and porridge.

In the summer, our bodies request cooling salads, bowls of chilly ice cream and refreshing drinks and juicy fruits to keep our bodies chill against the intense heat. And again, nature provides. This is the season to gorge ourselves of bright greens, fresh fruits and raw vegetables.

By getting ourselves to the farm stands, and paying attention to the natural cravings and availability that nature provides, we give ourselves the best chance at enjoying maximum nutrition. But that’s just the tip of the seasonal eating ice berg.

Eating for the weather outside.

You wouldn’t leave for a big run or ride without checking the weather, right? Do you need a coat? Is it going to rain?

So what on earth makes us think that it’s a reasonable idea to eat without considering the weather outside. The weather outside absolutely, positively impacts what our bodies need. Eating the foods that are in season – growing where we live – is the most sensible because these foods specifically possess the qualities that literally align us – with every bite – to the biorhythms happening (seen and unseen) in our environment.

And, if we ignore these qualities, things start to go off the rails. For example, too many big burgers, heavy pizzas or decadent desserts in the height of summer will likely make us feel lethargic and typically will lead to an abundance of heat in the body, and often this leads to inflammation, weight gain and other issues. Our bodies aren’t primed for this kind of nourishment, and so we’ll notice that our digestive systems are upset, our skin will break out, all in our bodies attempt to stay cool despite the fact that our foods are keeping us very warm. The same is true in the winter if we eat salads and bowls of ice cream after dinner; we’ll notice that our skin is more dry, our digestion less consistent, our sleep less deep, and our recovery incomplete.

Put simply, the seasonal foods available to us at any given time aren’t just the most nutritious available, but also the most suitable for our bodies – these foods possess the qualities that our bodies need to stay in balance. By eating “other healthy things” that aren’t in season, we’re going against the natural rhythms that our bodies are striving to align with, a little bit like trying to alpine ski in a rain parka. Not that smart.

Eating for our own season.

Just because something is considered “healthy,” (a meaningless word in my opinion,) doesn’t mean it serves you. Particularly if your digestive fire isn’t prepared to enjoy it. Regardless of what that diet plan says, what this blog shares, or what you read in a magazine or on Instagram, eating in a way that suits your digestive fire – and the season that your body and being is in – is the smartest (healthiest! Ha!) way to eat. And this is where the seasonality of a recipe comes into play. There are certain foods that can and ought to be reserved for specific seasons – heartier dishes for when your digestive fire and energy output are highest. And other recipes that are best suited to when we’re feeling low, tired and needing rejuvenation. But THEN, there are other recipes that we can tweak with ingredients to make them suit our seasons – both the weather inside, and out. Enter, waffles.

A big plate of waffles with maple, granola and compote *could* be a real gut buster of a meal, especially if we aren’t considerate of the INGREDIENTS, not just the recipe we choose. But with just a wee amount of attention to balancing out the qualities of spring, I was able to craft this waffle recipe to suit my body in motion during this springy moment of the year. As you’ve now heard (almost) ad nauseum, spring is the season of Kapha; a time of year when cool, wet, heavy weather lays a blanket over our bodies and the nature around us, preparing us all for summer to burst forward. Buds and blooms start to peek up, and its a time to appreciate the tender spirit of a nascent season, and the opportunity to start anew.

To balance out these heavy, wet, cool qualities, it behooves us to enjoy foods that are lighter, brighter and more flavorful to keep our digestion and spirits high. The wheat flour typically used in most waffle recipes is also heavy, wet and cool and it has this effect on the body. But the buckwheat and corn flours that dominate this recipe are lighter, gluten-free, less heavy and actually have the superpowers to elevate and lift digestion. (If you’re curious to learn more about YOUR digestive strength, and how you can harness it to boost your performance, an Ayurvedic consultation can be a great place to learn how to optimize yourself!)

Ok ok so, do I really need to change my waffle recipe with the seasons?

You don’t “need” to do anything, friends. But if you’re hoping to maximize your potential, align you body with it’s natural prowess and the rhythms of the world around you, I suggest that you do. If you’re interested in optimizing your performance, optimizing digestion is key, and that means eating foods that are in line with what your body needs in any given season! Not JUST what the macronutrients read on the label. These waffles will be well suited to the spring and summer seasons, when the weather is cool or warming, and wet, and when your digestion is balanced. (Again, if you’re looking to learn what state your digestion is in, hit me up – let’s work together!)

Ok, ok, these waffles….

Will be difficult to tuck into the back of my recipe books when the season changes, because they’re SO GOOD.

Making the brown butter feels like an extra step that can be missed, but I promise you it’s worth the tiny bit of extra time. Same as separating the egg whites from the yolks. These two little tweaks together help to lighten and uplift the waffle batter, making it (again,) easier to digest.

I love to top these bad boys off with easy blueberries cooked gently with lemon and salt to break them down and make an easy compote that acts as a syrup and a just-sweet topping.

I also love that these waffles are refined sugar free, and therefore a blank canvas for anything you might like to do with them. I bet they would be incredible with eggs and bacon as well.