Waffles can be heart healthy

Dear Recipe Doctor: I’m tired of making white flour waffles for my family every weekend. Do you have a healthy waffle recipe you could share with all of us? One that I can feel good about feeding my family?

A: How about a waffle recipe that includes some whole-wheat flour, some oats, and some ground flaxseed? OK, that’s technically two grains and one seed… but “Three-Grain Waffles” just sounds better. I use a tablespoon of canola oil in the batter and some canola cooking spray on the waffle iron. The flavor gets a boost from the low-fat buttermilk, light pancake syrup or maple syrup and the vanilla extract.

What I love about this waffle recipe is that the plant omega-3 fatty acids (which are thought to help prevent heart disease) are coming at you from three different ingredients; canola oil, ground flaxseed and the higher omega-3 egg. There is also a mixture of soluble and insoluble fiber coming from the whole-wheat flour, the oats and the ground flax.

The original recipe contains 350 calories, 11 grams fat, 6 grams saturated fat, and only 2 grams of fiber per serving.

Three-Grain Waffles

½ cup whole-wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup unbleached flour

1/4 cup rolled oats

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 1/4 cups low-fat buttermilk

2 tablespoons light pancake syrup

1 large egg, lightly beaten (higher omega-3, if available)

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Canola cooking spray

Begin to heat your waffle iron. Add the first six ingredients to a mixing bowl and beat on low speed until well mixed.

Add in the next five ingredients all at once and beat on low speed until nicely blended. Let the batter stand five minutes or so to thicken. Add extra buttermilk, if desired, to thin the batter slightly.

Coat your waffle iron with canola cooking spray and use the appropriate amount of batter for your particular waffle iron. Cook waffle to your desired degree of browning and crispness. Remove waffle to serving plate. Repeat with more batter until all the batter is used.

Serve with assorted berries or any other fruit of choice.

Yield: 3 or 4 large waffles (depending on your waffle maker)

Approximate nutrition per waffle (if 3 servings per recipe): 280 calories, 8 grams fat (1.3 grams saturated, 26 percent fat calories), 12 grams protein, 39 grams carbohydrate, 58 milligrams cholesterol, 5.3 grams dietary fiber, 429 milligrams sodium.

Weight Watchers POINTS: 5