Author: Tosh Lubek Published: 6th April 2022
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Who doesn’t like waffles! They’re a breakfast favorite with many families and often are part of a high-calorie breakfast that can make you want to eat more before lunchtime.
Here’s how you can change your waffle breakfast to make you feel satisfied for longer.
Can I eat waffles every day?
Although you can eat waffles every day, remember they contain a lot of processed flour, sugar, and fat. Try making them healthier by choosing a whole grain option, limiting your toppings to certain fresh fruit, using low-fat Greek Yoghurt or Icelandic Skyr instead of whipped cream, and cutting syrups and sauces.
It is said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day since it sets you up for the rest of the day. Ideally, you should start the day with a meal that the body can digest slowly, gradually converting the carbohydrates to glucose over a longer time. The result is that you feel satisfied for longer after breakfast and are less likely to snack before lunch.
Let the food’s glycemic Index guide you
Many highly processed foods can be digested quickly, giving a large initial boost in energy levels, but quickly making you feel unsatisfied and feeling hungry again. These quickly digested foods contain “fast carbs” and have a high glycemic index (GI).
Food can be placed in three glycemic index groups: Low, Medium, and High.
- Low GI foods: 0-55
- Medium GI foods: 56-69
- High GI foods: 70+
Traditional waffles contain a lot of highly processed ingredients, including flour and sugar, so have a high GI score, making them quick to digest in the body and turn into glucose. Waffles can therefore result in a quick energy hit that could leave you wanting to snack before lunch.
Good grains and flour substitutes
To reduce the effect of feeling unsatisfied soon after eating breakfast, consider making your waffles with whole-grain flour or mixes that use whole grains. Whole grains can have real positive effects. An article in the Journal of Nutrition suggested that people who eat whole grains rather than refined grains tend to weigh less. You could also substitute almond flour for some or all of the regular flour in your recipe. Almond flour has a glycemic index of less than 1 and can be substituted for regular wheat flour at a ratio of 1:1, although you may need to add more egg to your recipe to aid the binding of the flour.
Choose a fruit topping
Be careful with your choice of fruit toppings since some fruit like watermelon can be quickly converted to glucose in the body. Here is a table of good fruits with so-called “slow carbs” and a low glycemic index.
| Fruit | Glycemic Index Value | Glycemic Index Group |
|---|---|---|
| Apple | 39 | Low |
| Apricot | 34 | Low |
| Banana | 62 | Medium |
| Blueberries | 53 | Low |
| Blackberries | 25 | Low |
| Cherries | 22 | Low |
| Dates | 42 | Low |
| Grapefruit | 25 | Low |
| Grapes | 59 | Medium |
| Kiwi Fruit | 50 | Low |
| Mango | 51 | Low |
| Orange | 40 | Low |
| Pear | 43 | Low |
| Peach | 42 | Low |
| Pineapple | 59 | Medium |
| Plums | 40 | Low |
| Pomegranate | 53 | Low |
| Prunes | 29 | Low |
| Raspberries | 32 | Low |
| Strawberries | 41 | Low |
Use nuts instead of nut butter
Most nuts have a low glycemic index. Almonds have a GI of zero, most others are about 10-15, with cashew nuts at 22. Nuts are low in carbohydrates, contain dietary fiber, are high in protein, and contain healthy fats that can increase good cholesterol.
Although the various kinds of nut butter contain the healthy nutrients found in the nuts they are made from when you compare equal volumes, the nut butter is higher in calories. This can be made worse because of added sugar and vegetable oils. Also, the nut butter may contain more sodium because of the addition of salt.
Break up a few nuts and sprinkle a little over your waffles if you like nuts.
Can I eat waffles and lose weight?
You can lose weight by eating waffles, provided it is part of an effective weight-loss diet. Typically, 2 homestyle waffles or 1 Belgian waffle, without toppings, represents about 1/10th of a normal maintenance diet. To lose about 1-2lb a week you need to reduce your daily energy intake by 500 calories.
Since waffles contain a lot of flour, sugar, and fats, one serving contains about 200 calories. So, you will need to be careful with your choice of toppings. Many types of fresh fruit would be OK but avoid adding syrup, melted butter, chocolate spreads, and nut butter.
You can also substitute high-fat dairy toppings, such as whipped creams and pouring cream with something like Icelandic Skyer, since it has 0% fat, reduced sugar, and is high in protein.
Are Belgian waffles healthy?
Belgian waffles are thicker than regular waffles and typically have 1/3 more calories for the same amount. The deeper pockets of Belgian waffles can also hold more high-calorie toppings, like butter and syrup. Therefore, producers recommend a serving to be 1 Belgian waffle or 2 regular homestyle waffles.
It is easy to pour a little extra syrup or sauce onto a Belgian waffle because it is more difficult to judge how much you’re adding if a lot gets trapped in those deep pockets. With a regular American waffle, the syrup or sauce will quickly overflow, making it easier to understand how much you have used.
I appreciate those Belgian waffles look and taste wonderful, and I have a Belgian waffle maker on my counter. You just need to remember you need fewer waffles and less syrup and sauce, for them to be as healthy as regular waffles.
Need a new waffle maker? See the excellent choice on Amazon
Sources: 1
Tosh learned how to cook while watching his Polish Mom at home. He also worked in a family-owned restaurant while a student and learned much from the chefs. Cooking has always interested him, especially the hearty Polish recipes he learned from his mother. He has helped create and appeared on cookery shows on radio stations in Scotland.
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