Healthful waffles from scratch

Yesterday, I talked about adding a bit more nutrition to a packaged pancake/waffle mix. Today, here's a recipe I developed for waffles that feature whole grains, a small amount of salt and just  a little sugar. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family has.

Lori K's healthful waffles
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup old-fashioned or quick oats (not instant oatmeal)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 eggs, separated
3 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions
Mix dry ingredients together in a 4-cup measuring cup. In another cup, mix milk, egg yolks, oil and vanilla well. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients slowly, mixing vigorously. Whip egg whites until stiff and fold into the batter. Bake in waffle iron until crisp. Dry extras in a 170-degree oven while you eat the last batch and freeze.

Options: Add 1/2 cup chopped raisins, Craisins, hazelnuts or pecans.

The video below shows a technique for folding in the egg whites. The recipe he's using is for fluffy Belgium waffles, but my recipe works fine for a traditional waffle iron.

A healthier waffle

Processed foods often aren't worth the time they save, mostly because many use as inexpensive ingredients as they can get away with, devoid of nutrition and overloaded with sugar, fat and/or salt. That said, I usually don't have the wherewithal to follow a recipe when I get up in the morning. My compromise, besides cold cereal and milk or yogurt, is to have a box of Pioneer No-Fat Buttermilk Pancake and Waffle Mix in the cupboard and real maple syrup.

There's not much in it you can't pronounce, which I like, but I think it has too much salt (540 mg per serving) and sugar (9 g) per serving. To make it a little healthier, I decrease the 2 cups of mix to 1.5 cups and add a cup of rolled oats (regular, not instant), and use the same amount of water. It's like getting a serving of oatmeal along with your treat.

After I put about a quarter cup of the batter on each side of the oil-sprayed waffle iron, I sometimes add some chopped pecans or Craisins before I lower the top to cook the waffles. I don't know why, but they always taste better to me cooked in the waffles rather than sprinkled on top. If I don't have maple syrup, I put some jam in a saucepan and warm it up, adding a little water if it's too thick.

Of course, when I have the time to prepare a big breakfast, I have a good recipe for nutritious waffles, which I'll post tomorrow. What I should do is quadruple the recipe, mix up the dry ingredients and bag it for later use, with the instructions on the bag.

What's your favorite trick to getting a good breakfast on a busy morning?