Toasted Coconut Waffles with Fruit Salsa

I have an obsession with waffles. It's probably not healthy and I should probably talk to my therapist about it. Or maybe I could just talk to my friends about it over breakfast...

I had some leftover Fruit Salsa that needed to be used so I found a PERFECT match in this Toasted Coconut Waffle. It's quick to throw together and the un-eaten waffles freeze well and re-heat nicely in the toaster.
Toasted Coconut Waffles with Fruit Salsa
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 stevia packets (or other sugar substitute)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup fat free milk
1 cup water
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp coconut extract
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flake

In a skillet, toast the coconut flake over medium heat until brown. Don't add anything to that mixture, and DON'T WALK AWAY FROM IT. (I believe my stove and oven conspire against me. As soon as I turn my back on this type of thing there is burning. Moral of the story - don't turn your back.) After the coconut is toasted remove it from the pan and allow it to cool in the freezer for a minute or two while you mix dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Then slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix lightly.  Once everything is combined. Add in half of the cooled toasted coconut. Make sure to spray your waffle iron lightly with olive oil. Cook until toasty and delicious and top with Fruit Salsa and a bit of toasted coconut.

I've done a lot of waffle variations and I never get tired of them. Any suggestions for flavors you'd like to see?

Whole Wheat Mango Waffles with Raspberry Sauce

When I first considered making waffles for my friend who was visiting from Kansas, I didn't think I could pull off an egg-free, sugar-free, whole wheat waffle. I was also convinced we'd have to break out the syrup to combat the dry whole wheat texture. I was so very, very wrong. These waffles were amazing!

 Whole Wheat Mango Waffles
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 stevia packet
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 cup vanilla flavored almond milk
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter extract
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 large mango, chopped
Mix dry ingredients in one bowl, wet ingredients in another.   Then slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix lightly. (Over mixing the batter leads to tough waffles that can be used to defend against home invaders.) Once everything is combined. Add in half of the chopped mango. Before you pour this delicious batter into your preheated waffle iron, make sure your raspberry sauce is ready and waiting.

Raspberry Sauce
1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp butter extract
2 tbsp water
Add all ingredients to a small sauce pan.  Bring to a boil. Stir frequently to break apart berries. Remove from heat when it's hot and looks saucy.

Top each waffle with raspberry sauce and the remaining mango. This same recipe also tastes great with Strawberry Sauce (same ingredients as above, only change the berry). Not to brag or anything, but they are my new favorite waffle. For those of you who love sugar and don't need to part with it...try this recipe served with a light dusting of powdered sugar.

This recipe makes 4 large waffles with toppings. If you eat the whole thing you'll take in 394 calories, 8.8 grams of fat (of that, only 1.2 are saturated), 253.6mg of Potassium, 7.9g Fiber, 10g Protein and more vitamins than I have time to re-type.

I just want really good waffles

Modifying Recipes for the Hypoglycemic
It seems like it should be an easy thing to do... remove oil and sugar, use whole grain flour instead...substitute egg whites if possible. A recent attempt at waffles was proof that it isn't that easy. Oh, they were bad, very dense and they had that overwhelming healthy taste. (You know the one... where it has the strong flavor of cardboard, grass or dirt. No one should eat those things.)

The problem is that I love waffles, and I look forward to them all week. I couldn't give up on finding a better version. I made it about a month without any waffles at all, before I caved and had the classic white delicious kind. I understand that they aren't good for me, but they sure hit the spot.
After that first amazing bite I knew I needed to find a way to enjoy waffles, without the guilt, without the crash.

I was determined to find a homemade recipe that was light, fluffy, and 100% whole grain. Then on a quick lunch trip to my local Grocery Outlet Bargain Market I stumbled upon an Oatmeal Pancake Mix from Quaker Oats. It wasn't hard to take that $1.99 price tag as a sign. After all, if a company can package and sell this mix, it can't be that bad... right?

Right! It's good, and very filling. Other than the weird sensation of eating a bowl of oatmeal that is shaped like a waffle, it made me very happy. The texture part still confuses my mouth, but it'll get past that. The best part is that there was no crash and I was full well past my regular feeding time. I have enough left of the batter for at least 3 more waffles, so I plan to make and freeze them for use during the week. I'd love to top off a piece of the waffle with peanut butter and some strawberries as I run off to work. 

Anyway, for now I've put off modifying the waffle recipe. I'd still like to find or create a 100% sugar free version, but until then I'm counting this as a step in the right direction.