Easy, Healthy, Fast Multi-Grain Waffles With Mixed Berries

A few years ago, my mom had cancer--Burkitt's Lymphoma to be exact. Pretty rare and pretty awful. Through the grace of God, today she is in remission. Anyway, since then, mom started subscribing to the AICR Health e-recipes and forwarding recipes to me like the one below. To see a list of AICR's publications and sign up, here's a link.

We have been loving them for several years now--they're not that much harder to make than using store bought mix ones. Enjoy them with the amazing berries that are about to be in season.

This was the first time I ever prepared the batter the night before and made them the next morning. Worked amazingly well--so I would recommend doing that if you have overnight guests and want to simplify your breakfast routine. If I'm really ambitious, I premix the dry ingredients and store them in a ziplock bag until I need to them. I often double the recipe and wrap each waffle in plastic wrap and freeze. Some mornings, we just pop them in the toaster right from the freezer to re-crisp.

MULTI-GRAIN WAFFLES WITH MIXED BERRIES

Adapted from American Institute for Cancer Research

Serves 4

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 1/4 cups fat-free buttermilk
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 2 Tbsp. toasted wheat germ
• 1 Tbsp. sugar (raw sugar is preferred)
• 1 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Pinch of salt
• Cooking spray
• 2 cups assorted fresh or frozen thawed berries, such as strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries
• Maple syrup or low-fat vanilla yogurt, if desired

**Feel free to add 1 tsp. vanilla extract or ground cinnamon or even  2 Tbsp. chopped nuts to the batter (I sometimes do)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the first 10 ingredients. Let the mixture stand several minutes to thicken. (Add additional buttermilk to thin the batter if needed.) Coat a waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray and preheat.

When the waffle iron is ready, ladle the batter into the center of bottom grid until it spreads to within one inch of the edges. Close the cover and cook until golden, about 5 minutes.

Place the waffles on a plate; cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Repeat with more batter. Place the waffles on serving plates. Spoon the berries over the top, drizzle with pure maple syrup (if desired) and serve immediately. Can be served with low-fat vanilla yogurt too!

Options: Serve these waffles as a dessert with low-fat frozen yogurt. Or double the recipe and freeze individually. Reheat in a toaster oven and serve with yogurt, nuts, or fresh fruit. Try other fruits such as bananas, mandarin oranges, and mangoes.

Makes 4 servings or 4 waffles.

My little girl was incredibly happy to have waffles for breakfast.