Homemade Belgian Waffles

Let's talk about waffles. YUM.

This perfectly portioned restaurant breakfast staple provides just enough nooks and crannies for your favorite sweet or savory toppings and goes great with any protein of your liking. What's not to love about waffles?

Although convenient to purchase in the frozen section of your favorite grocery store, there's an art to making good waffles.

(When I cook, I learn so much about food and it makes me appreciate what I put into my body.)

Did you know that good waffles are not made from pancake batter!?!?

Waffles are not just thick pancakes.
Pancakes are floppy, soft and spongy whereas waffles are crisp on the outside and light on the inside. Waffles contain a bit more sugar and fat compared to pancakes to ensure the perfect consistency on the outside and inside.

Knowing this fact makes me appreciate really good waffles!

Now that I have my own waffle maker, I am enjoying the art of making really good waffles.

I recently made Belgian waffles and I totally impressed myself with the final product. Since the last three pieces of my last batch (frozen after I made them) was finished this morning before our morning workout, I'm excited for another go-around at making the following recipe. Enjoy!

Homemade Belgium Waffles
Campy not included in the final product. 

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine flour, sugar and baking powder. 
2. In another bowl, lightly beat egg yolks. Add milk, butter and vanilla. Mix well. 
3. Stir into dry ingredients just until combined. 
4. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form (I did this by hand - what a workout!)
5. Fold egg whites into batter. 
6. Bake in a preheated waffle iron for ~2 minutes on each side (my waffle iron does not require non-stick spray or oil). 
7. Makes 4 large waffles (or 16 bite-sized waffles)

Homemade waffles

I love waffles.....And pancakes.....And french toast.

I love breakfast foods.

As a lifelong swimmer, my morning would typically start very very early. I can remember many alarms being set for around 4:15-4:30am as I would need to make my way to the swimming pool for 5:00 or 5:30 am swim practice. Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year....for about ten years in a row, I spent many of mornings in a dark, cold pool, following the black line for an hour or two in the morning, only to do it again in the afternoon.

You'd think that I'd be burnt out from swimming but I still love to swim. Although now I prefer a slightly later start for my swim workouts, shorter workouts (3000-4000 yards versus 7000+ yards) and water temperature around 80-82 degrees versus 78-80 degrees.

One of my favorite parts about my morning swim practice was the meal that came after the workout. With my appetite building as the yards went by, I couldn't wait to devour food (and lots of it) as soon as I returned home from the workout. Although back in my younger days I didn't care about ingredients and the nutritional value of what I was putting into my body as long as it was filled with carbs, I understand the importance of feeding my body with real food ingredients, with the right composition of macronutrients (protein, fat and carbohydrates) as much as possible. I'm not strict or obsessive with my diet but I do try to make the effort to eat real food as much as possible without being extreme or restrictive. And I despise food rules!

I was so excited to receive a waffle maker for the holiday as I love my daily morning waffle as my typical pre-workout snack. I spend a few dollars every week on waffles and I always tell Karel that it would be so much better if I could make my own waffles (like I do with my homemade pancakes). The only thing that was missing was a waffle maker but now that issue is solved thanks to Karel and I can make homemade waffles anytime I want!

I quickly went right to work with my first batch of waffles and they came out great. Cost effective, natural, wholesome and delicious. Stay tuned because I am so excited to try out more recipes and share them all with you.