Our favorite (easy & quick) healthy waffles

My kids most requested breakfast is, by far, waffles. We cut them in strips and my oldest dips the "waffle sticks" into syrup and younger son likes to dip them in jam. We make big batches of them and freeze them to make weekday mornings a bit easier (and cleaner).

There are some great waffle recipes out there. We make a variety of them. But because my kids ask for waffles so often, I was looking an easy weekday waffle and I needed the recipe to have a few key things. I didn't want have to separate eggs. I didn't want very many ingredients and I wanted them all to be pantry staples. And I didn't want to add yogurt. Yogurt is a hot commodity in our house and we're in quarantine right now and don't always have it on hand.

With minimal help on my part, my 4 year old and 5 year old can now make this batter themselves. This took practice and me breathing through the mess, but we made these this morning and I didn't even touch the whisk or the spatula.

Easy Weekday Waffles
(makes approx. 10 waffles)
adapted from Weelicious

Ingredients*:

-       1 ½ cups whole wheat flour (all purpose flour or a combination of flours works too)

-       2 teaspoons baking powder

-       1/4 teaspoon salt
-       1 cup milk (any preferred type) 

-       3 eggs 

-       3 tablespoons butter, melted (I use unsalted for baking)

-       2 tablespoons honey (or agave)

-       1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Optional: 1-2 scoops protein powder (I like this one because it's completely plant-based and very clean)

*All ingredients are organic whenever possible

Directions:
Preheat waffle maker. Whisk first 3 ingredients together in a bowl (and protein powder, is using). In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Don't over mix, just fold together until combined. It's ok if there are clumps remaining. If the batter seems thick add a little bit of water. If it seems thin, let it sit for a couple minutes and it will thicken up. Scoop batter into waffle maker and cook according to manufacturer's settings.

Serve with maple syrup, homemade whipped cream, and fresh berries.

Notes:
 -       Any leftovers freeze really well. Let cool and put in a ziploc or reusable freezer safe bag and place in freezer. Reheat in the toaster using the 'defrost' setting or in an oven or toaster oven.
 -       We have to double this recipe if we want to be able to freeze any for another day. When I make a double batch I double all of the ingredients above except I use: 5 eggs and 1/3 cup butter, melted.
 -       Depending on your waffle maker you may need to grease the waffle maker with butter or oil before you add the batter.
 - As with most of my recipes there are always substitutions to be made depending on what's in your pantry. If you don't have enough milk, use a combination of milk and water; no honey or agave, use maple syrup or good old-fashioned sugar; no butter, use any kind of oil you have, coconut oil is one of our go-to's; no vanilla, leave it out; not enough eggs, use what you have and continue on. Trust me, at the end you'll still have a delicious waffle.