Mesquite Millet Sorghum Waffles with Spicy Sweet Cashew Sauce (gluten free, vegan, low sugar, wheat free, Candida friendly)

Sunday mornings call for rich, tasty waffles.  Especially Easter Sunday mornings when I won't be eating baskets of full of candy.

A couple weeks ago I went on an online shopping spree for ingredients, which included whole sorghum grains and mesquite flour.  I've been reading about mesquite flour everywhere it seems, and the food blog community is using it in everything from pancakes to cookies to bread to savory dishes.  I had to try it.  As for the sorghum, I've wanted to get my hands on the whole grain.  Not only can you cook it up like any whole grain to use in pilafs, soups, or whatever, I heard you can pop it like popcorn.  Plus, I want to try sprouting it, grinding it, and make it into an Essene or Ezekial bread type loaf.  

My waffle craving seemed like a good opportunity to give these new ingredients a spin. Mesquite flour has a unique cinnamon-coffee-chocolate flavor and it gives baked goods a beautiful rich brown color.  When added to baked goods (about 2 tablespoons per cup of flour) it lends a rich, earthy, spicy twist that is oh-so-yummy. As for the sorghum, it combined beautifully with my trusted friend millet for a waffle that is crisp on the outside and moist and chewy on the inside.  Hooray!  But the best thing, by far, about these waffles is that they don't give me that terrible brick-in-the-bottom-of-my-stomach feeling that regular wheat waffles always did.  Why, darling?  Because they are gluten-free and fabulous!!!

I didn't make these very sweet, so if you like a sweeter waffle add more xylitol or use a squirt of agave or your favorite sweetener.  I drizzled these with a quick, easy, and super tasty cashew butter sauce  and it was heavenly.  Whole grain and fabulous, these are waffles you can feel good about that will leave you feeling satisfied.  They are high in fiber, protein, and full all those great vitamins and minerals.  While I'd say these are Candida-diet friendly, they are not low carb, and mesquite flour does have naturally occurring sugars.  While they are whole grain and there is only a small amount of sugar per waffle, if you are in a stage where you are very strictly watching your carbohydrate and sugar intake you may want to wait a while on making this or just give yourself a smaller portion size.   I've included approximate nutritional information below.

If you try these waffles, and like the overall technique, be sure to try  my Sprouted Quinoa Millet Waffles and Sprouted Buckwheat Coconut Waffles.  Wrap leftovers tightly and freeze for later; place a frozen waffle in a toaster oven or toaster and they crisp up like a dream.  Leftover batter can be thinned out a little and made into pancakes! Enjoy! 

 

Mesquite Millet Sorghum Waffles

yield: 4 5-inch square waffles, plus a little leftover batter 

If you don't have sorghum, feel free to substitute whole buckwheat groats, or use whole grain quinoa (use 3/4 cup millet and 1/4 cup quinoa).

• 1/2 cup whole dry sorghum grains
• 1/2 cup  whole dry millet grains
• 2 tablespoons mesquite flour
• 1/4 teaspoons allspice or 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon corn-free baking powder
• 2 teaspoon xylitol, a pinch stevia powder, 20 drops stevia liquid, or 1-2 tablespoons agave, maple syrup, or brown rice syrup
• 2 tablespoon ground flax seed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoon coconut oil, warmed to liquid (or other oil)
• water

THE NIGHT BEFORE...

1. Rinse quinoa and millet, and place to soak in water overnight or for at least 5-6 hours. 

IN THE MORNING...

1. Drain grains, and rinse well.
2. Place grains in blender, or if using immersion blender, a large blending cup.  Level grains, and add just enough water to cover. 
3. Add the salt, mesquite flour, flaxmeal, allspice, baking powder, oil, and xylitol. Blend until well mixed and smooth.  It will be a thick batter, but if it is too thick to blend properly, add a little water at a time just until it blends. Let sit for 10-15 minutes for flax to fully absorb liquid.
4. Heat up waffle iron, greasing if necessary (I like to brush the iron with melted coconut oil).
5. Once heated, fill waffle iron. Close iron and bake as directed in waffle iron user's manual, until waffle stops steaming and starts to smell done. I found that about 7 minutes in my waffle iron was just about right.
6. Remove from iron and let cool a minute or two on a rack, the waffle will continue to crisp up.  Serve warm with your favorite syrup, spread, or the tasty cashew sauce below...

Approx nutritional information per waffle (about 4 waffles per recipe): 260 calories, 9.5 f fat, 39 g carb, 6.4 g fiber, 2.4 g sugar, 6.2 g protein

Spicy Sweet Cashew Sauce

yield: about 1/4 cup sauce, enough for about 2 people

• 2 tablespoon cashew butter
• 3-4 tablespoon water
• pinch allspice or cinnamon
• pinch mesquite flour
• dash salt
• squirt agave, to taste

1. Warm cashew butter and water until cashew butter softens.
2. Add other ingredients, and whisk together until smooth and creamy, adjust agave/seasonings to taste.
3. READY!

variations: substitute your favorite nut or seed butter for the cashew butter, or alter the seasonings to fit your preference!

Comments

[Peter]

This sounds and looks incredible Kim. I'm one of the partners in the Casa de Fruta mesquite flour and would love to be in touch off line(Peter_Felker@hotmail.com). I have been making GF mesquite waffles for tests and promotions and the other night my wife asked me to make them for dessert for company. I generally just eat them all day long with a glass of milk like a cookie and dont bother with syrup.

Peter