Snippet of Sunshine [SoS]: Positive and Negative Gluten-Free Waffles
There’s a podcast I used to listen to all about life coaching. One of the host’s catchphrases was, “life is 50-50.” In other words, for every good event/change/surprise/evolution in our lives, there’s an equal, and commensurate, negative one.
Does that concept ring true for you?
I can’t say I believe life is entirely 50-50. I mean, when I think back, I do believe I’ve undergone more positive experiences in my life than negative ones–but that might just be a trick of the human subconscious, downplaying the negative in order to protect us from constant, full-on depression.
After all, studies show that even people who endure unimaginable hardships, such as losing a limb or surviving a devastating weather event like a tornado or wildfire, fairly quickly return to the pre-existing levels of happiness they had before the event, a phenomenon known as hedonic adaptation.
And the perfect real-life metaphor to illustrate this concept of life’s positives-vs-negatives?
Why, a breakfast waffle, of course.
Think about it: the texture of a really good waffle presents a striking balance between positive and negative: the square indentations offer a contrasting negative to the positivity of the golden walls. Get your crunch from the protruding bits and cradle your syrup (or, in my case, flavored nut butter) in the crevices. It’s all good.
Every time the HH and I go out to brunch (as described here), he bemoans the fact that most restaurant menus offer either eggs and toast OR waffles, but rarely (if ever) a waffle along with your omelet or sunny-side ups.
So when we brunch at home, I attempt to create that combo for him. We’ve had the omelet down pat for quite some time now, but the waffle–well, not so much.
The major hurdle has been my own dietary restrictions, which remove gluten, dairy, sugar and (just because I love a challenge) eggs from the recipe.
Well, it’s taken many months of experimentation (and lots of dog sampling) to perfect this baby, but here it is, finally. When I posted a pic of the waffle on Instagram, I received several DMs asking for the recipe.
Et, voila! Your perfect gluten-free, egg-free, sugar-free, dairy-free waffle. Slightly crunchy on the outside, with a light and almost cake-like texture on the inside.
In other words, this waffle is your ideal companion when life feels like 50-50. (And do let me know what you think if you try them!)
Positive and Negative Gluten-Free Waffles
Once you’ve got all the ingredients assembled, these come together in a flash.
1 cup (240 ml) oat flour**
1/4 cup (60 ml) chickpea flour
1/4 cup (60 ml) potato starch (not potato flour) or cornstarch
1/4 cup (60 ml) coconut flour
1/3 cup (80 ml) plain or vanilla protein powder (I used Sunwarrior Warrior Blend Vanilla or their Classic Vanilla)
1 tsp (5 ml) baking powder
1/4 tsp (1 ml) fine sea salt
1 Tbsp (30 ml) whole psyllium husk
2 cups (480 ml) unsweetened oat or almond milk, plus more if needed
1/4 cup (69 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp (10 ml) pure vanilla extract
Preheat a waffle maker according to manufacturer’s directions (this is the one we use).
In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, chickpea flour, potato starch, coconut flour, protein powder, baking powder, salt and psyllium husk. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, oil and vanilla.
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir just to combine. It will be a thick batter resembling a muffin batter.
Using a large ice cream scoop or 1/2 cup (120 ml) measuring cup, scoop the batter onto one segment of the waffle maker (for the Breville, you can make 2 waffles at a time—and they are huge waffles) and spread it out with a spatula. It will be too thick to pour. If it’s truly too thick to spread, add a splash more milk and stir just to combine. This should be a very thick batter.
Cook for 6 minutes (if using the Breville) or as long as your waffle maker suggests. The waffles should be just golden brown on the outside when done.
Continue until all the batter is used, while keeping the previous waffles warm. Serve with syrup, nut butter, jam or another favorite topping. Makes 5 massive waffles. May be frozen; defrost in the toaster.
** Note: you can make your own oat flour by whirring rolled oats in a blender until powdered. Measure the one cup for this recipe after you’ve powdered the oats.
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That looks delicious. I might replace the chick peas with buckwheat. Chick peas and I don't get along very well. I have tried to be nice, but they are the bikers of the legume world.