Gluten-Free & Vegan Waffles

This is our house waffle recipe. In addition to making them vegan, I’ve optimized the fiber and minimized the simple starch as much as I can while still making a tasty waffle. I love the dark, nutty character of these. Because they don’t have any sweetener, they can be eaten sweet or savory. I usually go savory with smashed avocado, some homemade sauerkraut and maybe a fried egg. But pictured above is what I call the Daniel Special: with sliced banana, shaved dark chocolate and a drizzle of maple syrup. And I have to say, it’s pretty darn good.

Teff flour is one of my faves. It’s high in fiber, iron, and magnesium and also contains some calcium and potassium. It’s great for feeding kids and it makes beautiful pancakes as well. Amaranth flour also contains a decent amount of iron and calcium, so I feel really good about serving these waffles for breakfast (even with the shaved chocolate :).

If you come up with other ways to enjoy these, I’d love to hear about it!

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Gluten-Free & Vegan Waffles

Notes: You can play around with the ratio of teff to amaranth flour, as long as the total is 205 grams. As for milk, I use whatever combination of nut milk and coconut milk we have in the fridge. You can use whatever you have at home, though if you use cow milk these obviously won’t be vegan. Also… Waffle irons vary from one to the next. I previously had a waffle iron that made very large, thick waffles and I found that this batter needed less milk (and even then I didn’t love the way the waffles came out). Now I have this simple waffle iron, which I love, and this ratio is perfect for it. I like to cook these waffles on the slightly darker side.

Recipe updated 12/24/2022

Dry Ingredients:
110 grams teff flour
95 grams amaranth flour (I use sprouted)
30 grams tapioca OR arrowroot starch (sometimes called flour or powder)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon baking powder

Wet Ingredients:
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
1/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 2/3 cups nut milk and/or soy milk

Measure out and whisk the dry ingredients in a bowl. In another mixing bowl, add the ground flax seeds and cover with the hot water. Whisk and let this mixture sit for a couple minutes to thicken, then add the olive oil and milk and whisk again until emulsified. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, mix well and cook your waffles according to the instructions on your waffle iron.

On our waffle iron this recipe makes 3 large, round, Belgian-style waffles. We usually eat them 1/4 at a time (and my kids are still small enough to do this, although Daniel is currently up to 3 waffle quarters with all the fixings) but depending on how many you’re feeding, you may want to scale it up.

These refrigerate well and can easily be reheated in a toaster oven (I imagine a regular toaster would work as well).

Enjoy!!

Quick Smashed Spanish Chickpeas

I love this recipe because it quickly turns a can of chickpeas into something special. I usually make this for lunch or dinner along with some quinoa, salad and cultured radishes, but you could also use it as a bean dip on a Friday night with a glass of wine. I haven’t done that yet but now that I’m thinking about it, I’m excited to try :)

This takes about 10 minutes to make so it’s definitely busy weekday friendly. It can easily be scaled up to use more than one can of chickpeas for a larger group.

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Quick Smashed Spanish Chickpeas
Adapted from the Smashed Chickpeas recipe (pg 51) in Jamie Oliver’s Food Escapes.

Note: I start with an unsalted can of chickpeas in this recipe. If you’re working with a can that already contains it, I would hold off on adding the salt and then salt to taste at the end.

Olive oil (Spanish if you have it, NO worries if you don’t)
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
14.5 oz can chickpeas with the liquid
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar

Pour a glug of olive into a small skillet or saucepan over medium heat and add the garlic. Let it sizzle for a couple minutes, stirring every 30 seconds or so, until the garlic is fragrant and just barely starting to brown around the edges.

Pour in the chickpeas and their liquid and bring to a simmer. Let cook for a couple minutes then remove the pan from heat.

With a potato masher (or something along those lines) coarsely mash the chickpeas, then add the sea salt, oregano, smoked paprika and vinegar. Stir well.

Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkling of smoked paprika for presentation, and people will probably think you labored over this for much longer than you actually did :)

Serves 2

Lunchbox Guacamole

This is a 2-minute guacamole for those times when you want to balance a fun snack (chips) with something healthy (avocado). While I can happily chop and mince my way through traditional guacamole on Friday or Saturday night, that’s not realistic after school when my kids need to eat right this second (which is literally what Hammie says). This recipe is made for those times. It can also be made in the morning for a school (or office!) lunchbox. This recipe can easily be scaled up.

Avocados, as you likely know, are incredibly healthy. They are full of heart-healthy fats, and they are high in fiber, vitamin K, folate, vitamin B6, vitamin E and vitamin C. They are great for supporting children’s growth and development. In the timeless words of Michael Scott, win win win :)

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Lunchbox Guacamole

1/4 large ripe avocado
Sea salt
Garlic granules
Freshly squeezed lemon juice

With a fork, lightly mash the avocado on a small plate (I leave quite a few chunks in it). Season with sea salt and add a good pinch of garlic granules. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the whole thing and lightly mix it all together. Play with the proportions. I like to go a little heavier on the garlic granules and lighter on the lemon.

Serve or put into a lunchbox container.

Serves 1