Light, Healthy Belgian Waffles: Recipe

Wouldn't it be great if we cook prepare the dishes we like best, yet make them so healthy that they can be a mainstream feature of our diet? In this rare instance, we share a new recipe from our test kitchen: a truly delicious Belgian waffle recipe, that is light, airy, and sweet, yet uses exclusively whole grains, with no refined flour, sugar, or butter. This recipe makes 6 large waffles or 8 waffle boats.



Recipe rating: Easy


Total recipe time: 25 minutes

15 minutes prep (mostly beating egg whites)
10  minutes cooking (making the waffles)

Ingredients

8 ounces regular whole wheat flour (we use Gold Medal in our test kitchen, but other brands would work as well)
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 bag Stevia or Splenda (may be replaced by one teaspoon of sugar)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3 eggs
1.5 cups of milk
2 tablespoons of canola oil
Fresh berries and fruits, frozen yogurt, or, if you are ready to go a little more processed, sugar-free syrup (for instance Hungry Jack sugar-free syrup, with sugar alcohols), sugar-free jam (for instance Smucker's sugar-free jams), or any other topping you like.

Equipment

Mixing bowls: 1 small, 1 medium (the test kitchen uses stainless steel bowls)
Small cup (to temporarily store egg whites)
Measuring spoons and cups
Eggwhite whip (to mix all, and to beat egg whites up)
Baking spatula(to fold the egg whites into the rest of the batter)
Brush (to brush the waffle maker with oil)
Ladle (to pour batter into the waffle maker)
Very thin fish spatula (to take out the waffles from the maker)
Waffle maker, stovetop or electric

Prep

• 0"    Measure and mix whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt in medium bowl.
•        Measure and mix milk, canola oil.
• 2"    Crack and separate eggs, drop yokes into wet (small) bowl, drop whites into small cup.
•        Pour wet bowl contents into medium bowl, mix with whip.
•  4"   Beat egg whites up until they are stiff with the whip (of course, you can also use a mixer).
•  10" Start heating the waffle maker.
•  Fold stiff egg whites into the medium bowl with the baking spatula. You might need to complete the mixing carefully with the whip afterwards, but be careful not to destroy the stiff egg whites, or you will lose the airy, lose texture of the batter.
•  15" End of prep.

Cooking

• 15" Oil the waffle maker with the brush. 
•        Pour the first set of waffles with the ladle, pouring until the batter reaches just a tad below the top of the waffle mold. If you are using electric waffle maker, because of the texture of the mix we suggest, as a start, using approximately 75% heat, and leaving the waffles approximately 30 seconds after the beep. You can adjust as needed after the first batch. 
•        If you have trouble taking out the waffles (we tried first with some tongs), trying inserting the thin fish spatula (we use a Sweden-made Gastromax) on the side of the waffle and filling it out: it will come out with no tearing. 
•        Oil the waffle maker between batches before refilling it with batter.
•  25" End of cooking.

Spoon some fresh, clean berries on the waffles, and add some Cool Whip Lite, or drip some sugar-free syrup or jam, and enjoy the delicious, light, airy yet healthy results:-)