I’ve always loved waffles, deliciously crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, slightly vanilla flavoured and usually with warm butter and maple syrup. I know, if you’re a butter and syrup person, I’ve got you drooling already. So, after close to a decade, I finally purchased my deluxe Breville waffle maker. Its big and heavy and on the expensive side but works beautifully. I had strict guidelines set too; I needed the waffles to be square, you understand? SQUARE, legit, hotel-style with deep pockets! Other shapes are for fake waffles, everybody knows that.

Anyway, I promised my husband to get rid of some old crap in my cupboard to make room for it, so “win-win”.

The same day I got it, I cleaned it and immediately began making belgian waffles at like, 9:00 at night…“Whatever! I’ve been waiting a long time for this”, I said when I saw my husband’s furrowed brow. He sure wanted to taste some with Nutella on top afterwards though. 

Check out this web site for 20 reasons why you need a waffle maker.  http://food-hacks.wonderhowto.com/how-to/20-delicious-reasons-why-you-need-waffle-maker-your-kitchen-0150748/

Vegetables in breakfast foods make the cross-over to lunch. I don’t like frittata (omelettes) with vegetables very much – a common cross-over food. I’m pretty sure its the combination of usually overcooked egg and soggy, sweaty vegetables.  The idea of them is good but I always feel a tiny bit sick and disappointed when I take my first bite…and I always think “why do I do this to myself?” There is a point to this digression.  I thought , “Wouldn’t it be great if I could incorporate vegetables into some waffle batter?” It would be infinitely better than an omelette! I recently heard you can even use left-over turkey stuffing to make waffles (exciting, by the way) so why not other variations like this? You could just pick one up and go and get your veggies in at the same time. 😀

People assume that waffles are fattening or unhealthy but I beg to differ. Check out the ingredient list and I’m sure you’ll agree that these make the healthy list.

Savoury Vegetable Waffles

Special Tools: Waffle maker/waffle iron

Don’t have a waffle iron? No problem! You can make them as pancakes instead.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of flour (unbleached or whole wheat or a combination)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup 1% milk
• 2/3 cup of water
• 2/3 cup of cheese such as mozzarella, cheddar, parmesan or your favourite (optional)
• 2 large scallions (green onion), finely chopped
• 3 sprigs of basil leaves, finely chopped
• 1 cup of baby spinach, finely chopped
• 1/2 zucchini shredded (with a coarse cheese grater) and squeezed within a dish-cloth or paper towel to excrete excess moisture.
• 1/2 orange bell pepper finely diced (any colour of bell pepper works 🙂
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Cooking spray

Directions

In a medium sized bowl, combine flour , baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, oil, water and milk.

Trick: Add a small amount of dry ingredients to the wet and whisk until smooth. Then add the rest of the dry ingredients until well combined. (This method will ensure a smooth batter)

Season with salt and pepper

Fold in the vegetables and cheese. The batter will be quite thick .

Spray your waffle maker with cooking spray and put the directed amount of batter into each section. Mine requires a little more than 1/2 a cup of batter per waffle. Cook until golden.

You can eat them plain with a side of salad or like I did. I topped mine with some smoked salmon, a dollop of creme fraiche and more green onion on top (or chives). So good!

Enjoy!