One of the favorite breakfast choices since toddlerhood in this household has been a frozen waffle popped into the toaster. For WJ, a waffle is a tasty vehicle for his not-so-secret maple syrup habit. It is a big favorite from my point of view as well since it takes a grand total of about three minutes to prepare and I have been able to find brands that use whole grains.
These frozen waffles, however, do have high sodium content (between 10% and 20% of the recommended sodium intake for an adult) and feature a number of those sketchy, hard-to-pronounce ingredients we would all be happier if our children were not ingesting.
This week’s effort at eliminating the instant from our family's pantry (or freezer in this case) and our diet: Whole Wheat Buttermilk Waffles. Made at home; stored in the freezer. A healthy and money-saving replacement that will still be ready on a school morning in three minutes flat.
This recipe comes from a perfectly lovely cookbook called The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham. I have made three substitutions, which are noted below:
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat white flour*
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon agave nectar*
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup (one stick) melted butter
1/4 cup canola oil*
Stir the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl with a fork. In another mixing bowl beat the eggs until well blended. Stir in the buttermilk, agave, melted butter (cooled a little), and oil. Add the flour mixture and stir until well mixed. If the batter is too thick, stir in up to 1/4 cup regular milk. The batter should pour from the spoon, not plop (a direct quote from Ms. Cunningham--makes me want to meet her and hear her say "plop"). Bake in a waffle iron until crisp and golden.
*The original recipe calls for 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour, which I replaced with whole-wheat white flour. This is a whole-grain flour that I have found often works well in recipes calling for regular white flour. I used agave nectar instead of two tablespoons of sugar and replaced 1/4 cup of the 3/4 cup butter in the recipe with canola oil. These quick changes make me that much happier about replacing the cardboard box in my freezer with these waffles of my own.
As you can see, my first waffle did not turn out. I was in a grove and failed to check the doneness setting. Apparently it was set on “sticky mess.” This sad glob went directly into the trash, all of it but a quick taste for me. Even in this soggy state, these waffles taste great.
I adjusted the settings and the waffles were quickly finished. The whole process took about thirty minutes. In the end I had one waffle saved for the morning, nine destined for a Ziploc bag in the freezer, and one RIP in the trash can. WJ will usually eat three of the five sections of these waffles as one serving. So my efforts tonight will result in at least fourteen quick and easy breakfasts in the coming weeks.
For serving her whole wheat buttermilk waffles, Marion Cunningham suggests, “The perfect complement is warmed honey—which becomes thin and pours like syrup when heated.” An added frugal bonus since the average price of a smallish maple syrup bottle at Whole Foods today was about $67.00.
What processed foods are you trying to eliminate?
