National Waffle Day

August 24 is National Waffle Day! National Waffle Day on August 24th commemorates the anniversary of the first waffle iron patent issued. Celebrate by savoring your favorite kind of waffle! Waffles are a beloved breakfast treat, and can also be served as a dessert or as a savory dish! Though store bought, frozen waffles are widely available, home cooked waffles made on a waffle iron win every time. The traditional american way of consuming breakfast waffles is to load the squares with butter and syrup.

Thank waffles are a junky breakfast food? Think again!  At Private Home Care, we have a healthy twist, as always! Our favorite ways of upping the nutritional content of waffles include: using whole wheat or oat flour, skipping butter or oil, using a mashed banana or applesauce as a sweetener, and adding protein powder or chia seeds! Instead of drowning waffles with syrup and butter, you can top them with peanut butter or almond butter, and fresh fruit! (see recipes here: https://www.self.com/gallery/healthy-waffle-recipes)

Eaten throughout the world, a waffle is a leavened batter or dough. When cooked between two patterned plates, the dough bakes in the waffle’s characteristic uniform impressed surface. The contemporary waffles we enjoy today hail from France and Belgium. Earlier versions of the waffle, made of grain flour and water, date back to Ancient Greece. At that time they made obelios, or flat cakes, cooked between hot metal plates. In the Middle ages wafers were made using round plates with images of Jesus, The Crucifiction, and other religious scenes and symbols. Through the centuries both the ingredients and cooking methods of waffle making evolved until finally landing on one of the dozens of common varieties we love today. The Belgian Waffle that we all know and love made its way over to America during the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle, but it wasn’t popular until the 1964 to 1965 World’s Fair was hosted in Queens, New York.

Go ahead and celebrate National Waffle Day today by making these delicious, healthy waffles!