A Healthier Waffle

My friend Jen and I go back about 20 years. When we met, she was an inside sales rep at Albert Uster Imports, and I was just starting out as a Pastry Chef working in a large hotel. Jen knew the daily demands of the food industry, and she always made sure that I had what I needed when I needed it. One day I went in to pick up some supplies and visit with Jen, and she told me she was leaving Albert Uster and moving away…I was heartbroken. I was not only going to lose a wonderful business associate, but also someone who I had come to love as a good friend.

Through the beauty of today’s technology, thankfully Jen and I reconnected through Facebook, and recently she asked me for help to develop a healthier waffle recipe. The one she had tried had way too much oil in it, and she was concerned that this was not something that she felt comfortable eating or feeding her kids on a regular basis….Needless to say, I was glad to help.

I did a good bit of research before finding a few recipes that would fit her needs. The recipe needed to be low in cholesterol and also have the added benefit of some heart healthy omega 3’s. I found several recipes to play with and tinkered with them over the course of a few days…we’d try them and tweak the recipe a little more until we finally got something that really tasted great.

The only real problem with these healthier versions is that with the addition of the whole wheat flour (or any grain flour), they never get really crispy…the crispiness comes from the use of more white flour or the addition of some cornstarch in place of the wheat flour. I added in a few substitutions so that you could play around with the texture and find the one that is right for you. The good thing is that these are so delicious that you won’t have to go back over to the unhealthy side for a good waffle fix.

Healthy Whole Wheat Waffles (makes 4-5 large round waffles)

1 cup whole wheat flour (or sub ¼ cup cornstarch for crispier waffle)

1 cup white flour

¼ cup wheat germ

1 Tablespoon ground flax seeds **optional (or keep them whole for an added crunch)

1 teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg plus 2 whites

1 Tablespoon walnut oil (or canola oil or flaxseed oil)

2-4 Tablespoons of sugar (4 is best, but adjust to your taste)

1 ¾ -2 cups nonfat buttermilk (or 1 ½ cups nonfat yogurt plus 6 tablespoons water)

2 tablespoons vanilla

This is a very simple recipe. Add all of the wet ingredients into one bowl and whisk together. Then add in all of the dry ingredients and mix well until you have a somewhat thick but fluffy batter.

Make sure when you are measuring your flour, spoon the flour into the measuring cup…don’t scoop. Scooping packs in more flour and may make your batter stiffer. Heat up your waffle iron and spray with a nonstick spray before adding the batter. Measure ¾ cup of batter and lay it into the hot waffle maker. Using a spoon spread out the batter and lower the waffle iron lid.

Cook for 3-5 minutes until golden brown and serve warm topped with maple syrup or honey and sliced fruit.

For baked in blueberries add a few tablespoons of berries on top of the batter before closing the lid, you can also do the same with sliced bananas or dried fruit.