Ringing in the New Year right: cinnamon swirl protein waffles topped with baked spiced apple slices

Morning y'all. I'm having one of my favorite pre-workout breakfasts today: cinnamon swirl protein waffles topped with baked spiced apple slices! All that protein will be helping me kill my first workout of the new year... while making my tastebuds do the happy dance at the same time, no less!

Don't you want to just dive into a plate of these yummy in your tummy clean eats?

Recipe

Baked Apples:

Apples

Fresh Orange Juice

Spices: Cinnamon, Stevia, Nutmeg, Ginger, Cloves, etc.

Optional: Dried fruit, nuts, etc.

Boiling Water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Core apples to remove seeds, but do not core the apples all the way through--- you'll basically want a 1/2-1 inch hole in the middle of the apple where you can put your ingredients while the apples bake. In a bowl, mix together fresh orange juice, spices, and any other additional ingredients you want to use. This isn't an exact science--- you can pop pretty much anything in there and it'll end up tasting great, but my favorite is the old standby of orange juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Stand apples upright in a baking dish, and pour 1/2 inch of boiling water around the apples at the bottom of the baking dish. Depending on the type of apple you use, these can take about an hour to bake in the oven. You'll want them to be soft and tender, but not mushy! Bonus: your house is going to smell AWESOME while these apples are baking!

Cinnamon Swirl Protein Waffles:
1/2 Cup Big Train Low Carb Pancake/Waffle Mix
1 Tablespoon Unsweetened Applesauce
2 Egg Whites
1 Scoop SDC Nutrition/About Time Cinnamon Swirl Whey Protein Powder
~ 1/2 Cup Water
Optional: Additional Cinnamon to Taste

Preheat waffle iron. In a bowl, mix together waffle mix, protein powder, and additional cinnamon if you like your waffles extra cinnamon-y. These are personally the two brands/flavors that I choose to use--- but you can use whatever brands/flavors you'd like! Once the dry ingredients are mixed thoroughly, add in the unsweetened applesauce, egg whites, and water. How much water you will need can depend on the brands you use--- so you may need to adjust. Add enough water until the batter is the consistency of waffle batter. Once mixed, pour batter into the hot waffle iron and make according to your waffle iron's instructions. Serve topped with baked spiced apple slices and enjoy your protein-packed yum-tastic clean eats! Bonus: you can use the juices from the inside of your baked spiced apple in lieu of sugar-laden syrup!

Now it's time for this little girl to kill her workout. Any guesses on what the first workout of the New Year will be?! Hope you're all having a happy and healthy New Year's Day!