Sunday mornings are waffle mornings at our house. Wholesome, whole wheat, buttermilk waffles. In six minutes the batter is made, then I ask the kids: “waffles or pancakes…or both?  Yup, the kids get to choose but I don’t have to be the short-order cook.  In fact, for the rest of the week, even on busy school mornings, the kids can choose to make it a  pancake or waffle morning.  How?  In six minute we’ve got a  pancake and waffle batter for that special Sunday morning plus extras to freeze for the busy weekday mornings.  No more store-bought frozen toaster waffles or pancakes.  Oh, and did I mention no need for maple syrup?  The next post will cover that…stay tuned.

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THE COMPARISON:  EGGO BUTTERMILK WAFFLES vs. OUT OF THE BOX WAFFLES & PANCAKES

(All ingredients followed by an * can be referenced at www.wikipedia.org by clicking on the ingredient)

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EGGO BUTTERMILK WAFFLES

INGREDIENTS:

• Enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate -vitamin B1, riboflavin – vitamin b2, folic acid)
• water
• vegetable oil (soybean oil, palm oil, and palm kernel oil with TBHQ and citric acid for freshness)
• eggs
• buttermilk
• leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate)
• sugar
• salt
• calcium carbonate
• soy lecithin
• vitamin A palmitate
• niacinamide
• reduced iron
• pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6)
• thiamin hydrochloride (vitamin B1)
• riboflavin (vitamin B2)
• vitamin B12

Nutritional Considerations (for two waffles):

• Fiber – less than 1 g
• Sodium – 370 mg (American Heart Association recommends that we consume less than 1500 mg sodium per day)
• Fat – 8 g

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Out of the Box Food^SM Wheat & Flax Buttermilk Waffles & Pancakes

TIME: Prep – 5 minutes  Cook – 5 minutes per batch

SERVES: Makes 12-16 waffles or pancakes

SUPPLIES:  Belgian Waffle Iron, regular waffle iron, griddle or large skillet

*Tip #1:  For extra fluffy pancakes & waffles, whip the egg whites separately in a small bowl with whisk before adding to buttermilk mixture.

*Tip #2:  For even quicker preparation next time: pre-mix an extra set of dry ingredients and store in an airtight container or zip closure baggie for the following week.  When you’re ready to make another batch, you’ll just need to add pre-mixed dry ingredients to your wet ingredients and stir to combine.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 C whole wheat pastry flour (*see Perfect Pantry Staples)
• 2 tbsp flax meal (*see Perfect Pantry Staples)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt (*see Perfect Pantry Staples)
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 1/2 C buttermilk (if you need to substitute milk for the buttermilk, decrease measurement to 1 3/4 Cups)
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2 egg whites, room temperature (beaten)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar – optional
• Vegetable oil, butter or non stick spray

Directions:

• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sea salt, baking powder, baking soda, flax meal and sugar if using.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs and vanilla.
• Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture and stir JUST until combined. (do not over mix)
• Gently fold in beaten egg whites.

For Waffles:

• Heat waffle iron.  Grease or spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Pour batter onto griddle and cook according to your individual waffle iron.

For Pancakes:

• Heat griddle or skillet to medium heat.  Lightly oil (or butter) and pour approximately 1/3 C batter per pancake for large pancakes, onto griddle (you may use more or less batter depending on the desired size of your pancakes).  Cook until top of pancakes bubble and the bottom side is golden brown. Flip and continue to cook until other side reaches a golden brown.

To Freeze:

• Let pancakes or waffles come to room temperature.
• Place in large freezer bags and freeze.

To Reheat:

• For Waffles:
  • Place frozen waffles in toaster oven and toast until warm and crisp.
• For Pancakes:
  • Heat oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees.  Wrap frozen pancakes in foil and warm for 5-8 minutes.
  • (pancakes can also be wrapped in paper towel and microwaved)

The overall goal of Out of the Box Food is to encourage parents to investigate the ingredients in our children’s food and to make smart choices.  Though it only takes a few extra minutes to make fresh, if we need to resort to a boxed product for whatever reason let’s choose smart.  I’ve done some of the research and documented it below.  Remember:  if you can’t pronounce it, question it!

ADDITIONAL FROZEN WAFFLE COMPARISONS:

Van’s Totally Natural Organics –  Waffles:  (Ingredients: water, organic whole wheat flour, organic soybean oil, organic cane syrup, organic oat fiber, baking powder (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, calcium phosphate), organic cornstarch, organic malt extract, sea salt, organic soy lecithin, organic guar gum, Van’s vitamin and mineral boost (vitamin A (palmitate), vitamin C (ascorbic acid), zinc (zinc oxide), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), organic caramel color

Kashi GOLEAN Waffles Original 7 Grain:  (Ingredients: water, unbleached/unenriched wheat flour, whole wheat flour, soy protein isolate, evaporated cane juice, red wheat bran, oat fiber, expeller pressed canola oil, chicory root fiber, Kashi 7 whole grains and sesame flour (stone ground whole: oats, hard red winter wheat, long grain brown rice, rye, triticale, barley, buckwheat, sesame seeds), baking powder (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, natural vanilla flavor, soy lecithin, egg white powder, whey powder)

Nature’s Path Organic Flax Plus Waffles:  (Ingredients:Water, Organic Wholewheat Flour, Organic Expeller Pressed Soybean Oil, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Flaxseed, Leavening (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, monocalcium phosphate), Organic Oat Bran, Organic Pear Juice, Organic soy lecithin, Sea Salt, Organic Rice Bran Extract)

PRE-PACKAGED MIX COMPARISONS:

Kodiak Cakes – Frontier Flapjack and Waffle Mix: 100% whole grain wheat flour, 100% whole grain oat flour, non-fat dry milk, dry honey (honey wheat starch), leavening (sodium bicarbonate, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate), egg whites, salt

Bisquick – (Ingredients: enriched flour bleached (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil, leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate), dextrose, salt

Aunt Jamima Buttermilk Complete: Enriched bleached flour (bleached wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), sugar, leavening (sodium bicarbonate, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate), dextrose, dried buttermilk, partially hydrogenated soybean oil with mono and diglycerides, dried whole eggs, salt, defatted soy flour, calcium carbonate, corn syrup solids, nonfat dry milk, soy lecithin, sodium caseinate, soybean oil.

**All listed product ingredients are  taken from product’s package label.  Though Out of the Box Food makes every effort to provide complete ingredient information, please check the package for the most current information.