I woke up this morning with a severe hankering for a soul food breakfast. I wanted waffles. I wanted maple syrup. I wanted doughy, fluffy goodness. I wanted to cheat on my diet with everyone bone in my body and taste bud on my tongue.

I was given a waffle maker nearly seven years ago, which I have probably used twice, maybe three times in my life. Since switching to the Paleo diet in 2012, I’ve never even opened the cabinet in which it has been stored, patiently waiting to be put to its purpose.

Instead of going to iHop or Mimi’s Cafe and completely ruining my diet on this foggy, Sunday morning, I decided to get creative and construct a Paleo alternative that would satisfy the fiercest of cravings.

The following recipe makes three full-sized waffles.

Basic Ingredients List:

• 1 3/4 cups almond flour.
• 3 whole eggs.
• 3/4-1 cup of So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk (I used just a little over 3/4 cup, but you can water it down to a full cup and the texture is the same).
• 1 1/2 tsp of Baking Powder.
• 2 tsp of pure vanilla extract.

Mix-In Ideas:

• 6 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes.
• 4 tbsp Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips.
• 1/4 cup blueberries.
• 1/4 cup diced banana.
• 1/4 cup diced pecans, walnuts, or almonds.
• Get creative! You can stir in just about everything as long as it’s not liquidy. If you do add fruit (such as the blueberries), so with just 3/4 cup of coconut milk in the recipe above.

Instructions:

Spray your waffle-maker with a non-stick spray. If you’re a true Paleo-follower, avoid canola or soy-based sprays, which are the most common on the market. I actually found a coconut oil spray at Whole Foods a few weeks ago, so it’s been my standard for cooking everything lately! You can also just dip a paper towel in cooking oil and rub the waffle-maker if you don’t have any sprays.

While the waffle-maker preheats, combine all ingredients from the waffle-base ingredients list. Stir until well-mixed. It should be a little thicker than normal pancake batter but thinner than a brownie batter. Once fully combined, stir in any mix-in ideas from above. I added coconut flakes and the Enjoy Life chocolate chips – I was going all out! I also added a tbsp of cinnamon, a personal favorite. I think cinnamon accentuates the flavors in chocolate and the homeopathic benefits make it a win-win!

A huge bowl of batter.

Once the waffle-maker is warmed up, spoon batter into each of the four compartments. DO NOT OVERFILL. I used about 1/4 cup batter per section, which covered the bottom but did NOT fully hide the metal indentations. The waffles will fluff up, so you need to leave room for them to grow without overflowing the machine. My waffle-maker has preset timers on it, so I didn’t have to pay attention to cook times, but I would say it was roughly two minutes per side.

This sucker is HUUUUGE.

I will admit, these waffles pack a substantial caloric punch: for my recipe (with coconut flakes and chocolate chips), each waffle was about 700 calories with roughly 29 grams of carbs, 58 grams of fat, and 26 grams of protein. Fortunately, I found it to be sweet enough without any syrup and it was EXTREMELY filling. I’m STUFFED.

I’m going to try to modify the recipe to bring it down under 600 calories – perhaps a blend of coconut flour and egg whites will help. I’ll have to play around with it! In the meantime, this recipe satisfied every craving and paired perfectly with a hot cup of coffee this morning.

Bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori