When I moved into Ben’s place a few months ago, I found a Belgian Waffler hidden in the recesses of his kitchen cabinets. He thinks it must have come with the apartment (and he’s been here for a few years so….). Anyway, I was ecstatic because I loves me some KITCHEN GADGETS!!!

But after reading Dr. Colin Campbell’s The China Study and studying Ayurveda, I’ve concluded that animal-related products just need to be minimized across the board up in here.

I’m not a strict vegan or even vegetarian, but I do respect others who practice faithful alliance to these causes. However, I think it’s easy for us–in our quest to be optimally fit, green, ethical or whatever–to get caught up in a sort of militant, fundamentalist hype that is just too closely associated with guilt and regret for my taste. I want to enjoy what I eat and get the most health benefits from it, bottom line. I am constantly educating myself on making the best choices as a consumer and not supporting the meat and dairy industries is a way I feel I can vote with my dollar.

Ok, on to the waffles.

Why Vegan?

As I said, I’m minimizing meat and dairy in my life (I challenge you to ask me about protein). I’ve bought only 1 dozen eggs from the farmer’s market in the last 6 months or so and only because it was included in the produce box I get every week.  It’s difficult to stay away from cheese, so that’s been our biggest concession. No cow’s milk for quite a while, although I’m beginning to get suspicious of all the extra ingredients in those cartons of almond and soy milk. No butter, only healthy oils and ghee. My problem with a lot of vegan recipes is the reckless amounts of oil they contain. This recipe uses 1 Tbls of coconut oil (and I’m still not convinced that it’s absolutely necessary) and no dairy.

Why Hipster?

No reason other than the tasty bit of  je ne sais quois that hipsters add to anything …. what? Hipsters need love, too.

Why 2.0?

Because this is the second version of this recipe I’ve made. And it sounds cool.

I’ve experimented with different flour combinations and the following is my favorite. Try substituting almond flour, rice flour, or coconut flour (with additional wet ingredients) if you are sensitive to gluten. Feel free to switch up the dried fruit or omit it entirely. Those dried blueberries are way too expensive. Some ideas: chopped nuts, craisins, candied ginger, diced pineapple, diced apricots, flax seeds.

The Recipe

Dry Ingredients

3/4 c. spelt flour

3/4 c. whole wheat flour (sub almond flour)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 c. dry coconut flakes

2 Tbls dried blueberries

dash each of cinnamon and cardamom

Wet Ingredients

14oz coconut or almond milk

5 Tbls applesauce

1 Tbls coconut oil

1 tsp cane or maple syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix dry ingredients together briefly, then add the wet ingredients and mix well. The batter should be on the soupy side. Ladle onto hot waffle iron. Cook 7-8 minutes on each side on med-low flame until crisp and browned. If you have an electric waffle maker, I have no idea how those work; I’m old school on the stove top.