Waffles are a junk food because waffles are often made with sugar, fat and refined flour, which can result in high calorie, high sugar and high unhealthy fat content.
Although waffles can also be made healthier by using whole grain flours, adding some nutritious toppings like fresh fruits and even controlling the portion sizes of the waffles that you eat.
Most waffles are made with white flour, which is also low in fiber and other nutrients and can cause blood sugar spikes.
And the added sugars in the batter and traditional pancake toppings such as syrup and butter can also contribute to the pancakes being unhealthy.
And some frozen waffles and waffle recipes also use unhealthy fats, which also result in high fat content, and potential health issues such as heart disease.
And pancakes also often lack the essential nutrients the body needs like minerals, vitamins and fiber.
When making healthier pancakes you should use whole grain flours like oat flour, almond flour, buckwheat flour or whole wheat flours to increase fiber and nutrients in the pancakes and when topping the waffles use fresh fruits, nuts or plain yogurt instead of syrup and whipped cream or butter.
And limit any added sugars and use natural sweeteners such as agave nectar or honey or use fruits instead for sweetness and use ground flaxseed to boost fiber and nutrient content in your pancakes.
Pancakes are also generally healthier than waffles as pancakes often have better macros and around 20 percent less calories than waffles and waffles often have more refined sugar, making them less healthy than pancakes.
Fried pancakes and waffles often have higher fat and calorie content than baked pancakes or baked waffles and healthy toppings such as fruits, nuts and yogurt can also improve the nutritional value of both pancakes and waffles.
A serving of pancakes contains around 200 calories, 30g of carbohydrates, 5g of protein and 5g of fat and a serving of waffles often contains around 250 calories, 35g carbohydrates, 6g of protein and 8g of fat which makes pancakes the healthier option.
The healthiest pancake to eat are pancakes made from scratch using whole grain flours such as buckwheat flour, oat flour and pancakes that contain fruits or natural sweetness and also adding other protein rich ingredients to the pancakes like protein powder, Greek yogurt and even eggs.
Using whole grains in the pancakes increases the fiber content of the pancakes and adding proteins and fruits to the pancakes also helps to balance your blood sugar and increases the pancakes nutrient density when compared to regular pancakes made using white flour and refined sugars.
Also eating pancakes without added butter or syrup are also considered healthier.
You can tell when to turn pancakes over to fry the other side by looking for bubbles that form across the entire surface of the pancake and the edges should begin setting.
When you see any bubbles that are forming and also popping across the entire surface of the pancake and the edges of your pancakes are starting to set, it means the the bottom of the pancake is golden brown and cooked enough not to stick to the pan and they are ready to flip to fry the other side.
You can confirm that the pancake is ready to flip, by gently lifting the edge and if it does lift easily with a spatula, then the pancake is ready to flip to fry the other side.
When the edges of the pancake start to look cooked, you should then lift one side to check the color of the side of the pancake faced down and if it does look cooked then you can flip the pancake.
I always will wait until I see the bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake and then flip it to fry the other side.
When cooking pancakes you fry the pancakes one each side for around 2 minutes before they need flipped.
Cook one side for around 2 minutes and then use a spatula to turn the pancake over and cook the other side for another 2 minutes.
Common mistakes when making pancakes are over mixing the pancake batter, not resting the pancake batter, not starting with a hot enough pan, setting the heat too high and flipping the pancakes too soon and too often.