Use your waffle iron to make healthy French toast waffles

My family loves breakfast foods...pancakes, waffles, French toast, eggs, bacon, hash browns, ... you name it, we probably like it! In fact we're so fond of breakfast that we not only have it in the morning, but I'll often prepare something breakfast-like for lunch and dinner, too. And even dessert!

Out of all the breakfast recipes we've created, French toast waffles have become a real family favorite. The kids love the idea of combining two of their favorite foods, and I love the ease and simplicity of putting these together.

These are also much lower in calories than traditional French toast, as they're cooked with just a light spray of canola oil instead of butter or oil on a griddle. The calorie count will vary depending on what type of bread you use, but for ordinary white bread (store brand) and 1% milk, there's only about 150 calories per waffle. Top with a generous helping of fresh fruit, and you're looking at a healthy, filling breakfast (or lunch or dinner...) for about 200 calories.

Truly the best of both worlds, French toast waffles are also a great way to use day old bread, but without the griddle or flipping required as with traditional French toast. And no measuring out and pouring batter as with waffles. Just dip bread into the coating mixture and place in the waffle maker. Cook for 5-7 minutes, top with your favorite waffle topping, and enjoy!

• If you're using ordinary white bread, a traditional square-shaped waffle maker works best - the bread slices fit better and cook more evenly. If you have a Belgian-style maker, however, just use thicker slices of bread to get the same results. Challah and Texas toast work particularly well for Belgian French toast waffles.
• Any type of milk works fine - we use whatever's on hand, typically 1%.
• If you can find "superfine" sugar (called caster sugar in the UK), give it a try! Although ordinary sugar works well, the superfine sugar dissolves more easily for a more uniform batter. And my son insists it tastes better!
• If you can afford pure vanilla extract, use that instead of the artificially-flavored concoctions. The taste of pure vanilla makes a big difference. Be sure to read the ingredients carefully, however - some of the less expensive "pure" extracts are really just a hint of real vanilla diluted with all sorts of filler ingredients.
• To keep the calories and fat to a minimum, use 1% milk and ordinary white bread (about 70 calories per slice). Made this way, the fat count is less than 2 grams and the total calories per waffle is only 150!

As with traditional waffles and French toast, you can use just about anything to top these French toast waffles. With the sugar in the batter they do tend to be a bit sweeter, however, so we often opt to skip maple syrup in favor of fresh fruit.

• The classic: Butter, just butter. Nothing else.

• Lemon love: Sprinkle a small amount of powdered sugar onto a hot waffle, then squeeze a lemon wedge over it. Perfection!

• Fruity goodness: These work really, really well with fresh fruits. Family favorites are sliced bananas, strawberries, and raspberries. Individually or all together!

• Breakfast for dessert: Drizzle with chocolate syrup, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and top with a few sprinkles.