cooking ala mel

healthy recipes and the occasional craft

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Gluten Free Coconut Waffles

Giveaway Closed!  The winner of one quart of Tropical Tradition’s Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is comment #13, Ana N!  Congratulations!

My spring break is winding down, and I hadn’t made any pancakes or waffles yet for breakfast, which is absolutely unheard of in this apartment!  So of course, today I absolutely had to make some.  Because I loved these waffles the first time I made them and never shared them, I knew that I had to get into some gluten free cooking again today.

These waffles are light, sweet, and packed full of health.  Made with toasted coconut, coconut flour and coconut oil, they have a very subtle coconut flavor, but it really just adds this gentle sweet nutty flavor that I really love.  You might not need any syrup for these because they do have a pretty nice sweetness already, but I just can’t have waffles without a bit of maple flavor.  Fresh whipped cream on top would be delightful with these.

Coconut flour is one of my favorite ingredients to use for gluten free cooking/baking, and lately I’ve been getting into using coconut oil a lot more, too.  I’ve always purchased my coconut flour from Tropical Traditions, and it’s always been great, so when I got the opportunity to try out their virgin coconut oil, I immediately jumped on it.  I’ve been slowing incorporating coconut oil into so many different things – I slather it on my toast in the morning for cinnamon toast, and I’ve been using it in place of butter in most recipes.  I’m really excited to keep trying it in new things, there are so many uses!
Tropical Traditions coconut oil is so delicious.  It has a subtle coconut flavor, which I adore, and absolutely no weird chemical taste that you get with some coconut oils.  It’s unrefined, which is a must for me when buying coconut oil!  It’s so good for you; it’s high in lauric acid, which is a medium chain triglyceride that is antiviral/antibacterial, boosts your energy, and also helps to lower your cholesterol, among other things.  It’s also great for hair care and skin care!
The best part, though, is that Tropical Traditions offered to give a quart of their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil to one of my readers!
 
To enter the giveaway for one 32 fl. oz. jar of coconut oil, you’ll need to:
For additional entries, you can:
Leave a comment for each additional entry!  You may have a total of 4 entries.  Giveaway will be open until March 26 at 4 pm.  Winner will be chosen at random by a number generator.  This giveaway is open to the U.S. and Canada.

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

 
 
 
Coconut Waffles
adapted from Joy the Baker
serves 3 – makes about 6 waffles
 
1/3 cup coconut flakes, toasted
1/3 cup coconut flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/4 cup Swerve sweetener (or agave nectar)
2 t vanilla
2 T applesauce
6 eggs
3 T coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup water (leave out if using agave nectar)
In a small bowl, combine the coconut flakes, coconut flour, baking soda, salt and Swerve.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, applesauce, vanilla, coconut oil and water (or agave, if using).  Pour the dry ingredients into the wet, and stir until well combined.  Allow to sit for about five minutes (while waffle iron is preheating).  Make waffles according to your waffle makers instructions.  Serve warm with maple syrup and/or fresh whipped cream.

A Pi Kitty Birthday

Today is this little monster’s birthday.  He’s a whole year old, can you believe it?!  No longer a kitten.. but maybe this will mean he’ll soon grow out of the habit of eating our feet all the time (I doubt it)!  Happy Pi Day, as well!  Yes, my little Tesla was born on Pi day, which I thought was fitting, seeing as he was named after a genius inventor (Nikola Tesla).

For Tessy’s birthday, I thought about making him a pie, but I figured I should try to make it as kitty friendly as possible, and they’re carnivores, so I couldn’t justify the pie crust.  Since he loves greek yogurt, I decided I’d make him a little parfait.  With salmon.  In a shot glass.
All I did to make this was cook the salmon with a tiny bit of olive oil in a nonstick skillet with a dash of salt, let it cool, crumble the salmon into bite sized pieces, and layer the shot glass with the salmon crumbles and plain greek yogurt (we love Chobani).  Tesla was alllll over this when I was making it; it was hard to keep him away!
He inhaled this thing.  I thought it was hilarious – he tried to stuff his face down in there.  I made the right choice here for his birthday treat, for sure!
He made a pretty big mess, in his haste to chow down.  He cleaned it all up afterwards, though – can’t leave any to waste! 😉

Swerve: The Cinnamon Toast Test

I am all about natural alternative sweeteners.  You will never, ever see me using splenda, but you’ll often see me using stevia/erythritol blends (Truvia, PureVia).  So of course, when I heard about a new natural sweetener, Swerve, I just had to try it out.  The lovely people at Swerve were kind enough to send me a sample of the granular, confectioner’s style, and single-serve packets (with the most adorable baking kit).

Because I usually have cinnamon toast every morning with Truvia, I knew I had to do the cinnamon toast test with Swerve to see how it compared.

Swerve is made with erythritol and ogliosaccharides from plant fibers, and they boasted no bitter aftertaste (like that of stevia), so I knew the cinnamon toast would show whether that was the truth immediately.

For my cinnamon toast, I toast a slice of bread, slather it with some coconut oil (or butter), sprinkle it with sweetener (1 packet), and a hefty dose of cinnamon.
I am happy to say that they are telling the truth – no aftertaste whatsoever!  It really tastes exactly like sugar.  That being said, truvia is definitely sweeter, which I’ve sort of grown used to, but comparing to sugar, it has exactly the same level of sweetness and flavor.  Truvia definitely has a slight aftertaste (because stevia is slightly bitter), so if you can’t handle the aftertaste, Swerve is your best choice!  I can’t wait to try it in my baking; it measures exactly the same as sugar, so you don’t need to do any conversions before starting a recipe!
Swerve definitely passed the cinnamon toast test with an A+!
Disclaimer:  While Swerve did send me a free sample of their products to try, all opinions are my own.  I was not required to give a positive review (or a review at all).  I just wanted to share something I’m excited about with all of you!
 
 
Before I leave you all today to spend time with the kitty (it’s his first birthday), I want to kindly ask you all to vote for my friend Andrew’s band, The Scene Aesthetic, in Billboard’s Battle of the Bands!  The contest is for the best unsigned artists across the U.S., and The Scene Aesthetic was chosen as one of three in the Northwest – if they win this round, they’ll move on to the Battle of the Bands gig, and if they win that, they’ll perform at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards, which is an amazing opportunity for them!!  I have no doubt that they’ll win if they make it to the next round; Andrew’s an extremely talented musician, and I’m sure you all will love them!  Definitely check them out and vote!
Andrew’s music is what I always listen to when I’m feeling homesick at all (for my Pittsburgh family or my Seattle family), and it always makes me feel better!  Here are a few pictures back from 2006, the first time I ever saw them play live: