Review: Surprisingly Vegan Waffle Mix

Before I was tested for food sensitivity my diet was incredibly reliant on eggs, dairy, and wheat, so you can imagine my dismay when I tested sensitive to all three things and was told to give them up.*  When I did so, I decided to shift to eating foods that naturally didn’t contain any of those things, rather than search out substitutes for my old staples.  My theory was that vegetables can be really awesome at tasting like vegetables, and meat can be… well at the time eating any meat was a huge struggle, but it was one I eventually expected to pay commensurate dividends.  But the vegan milks just remind me of how much better actual milk is, and the thing that makes gluten-containing food delicious is gluten.  Plus the imitation food tends to be incredibly processed in order to more closely approximate their originals.  If I was going to put a ton of work into learning to cook and enjoy different foods, I might as well pick the healthier of the two.

But everyone needs easy carbs some times, and more than one thai restaurant in my neighborhood now recognizes me on sight, so I needed some new options.  John served this vegan, gluten free waffle mix (referral link: Charity Science) at an EA event and I have to say: it’s pretty good.  Not good enough you’d choose it over regular waffles for taste alone, but pretty good.  The ingredient list is short and full of actual foods.

I seriously doubt this will apply to anyone else, but it’s interesting in light of my recent deep dive into appetite hormones.  When I eat waffles + syrup and nothing else, there is an obvious disconnect between different parts of my brain as to how full I am.  Each bite of waffle is ridiculously rewarding (indicating high ghrelin?), and yet I never seem to feel satiated, even as my stomach reports it is uncomfortably full.  I solved this problem by putting chia seeds in my syrup and interspersing waffles with swigs of protein powder (also mixed with chia seeds).  This seemed to get me the good parts of waffles while ensuring I also eventually stopped eating them.

One warning: they are not kidding about the cooking time for this mix.  It takes much, much longer than you are used to.  It is theoretically possible to turn this into pancake mix by watering it down, but I could never manage to give them enough time to fully cook.  Putting them in the waffle iron and walking away was easier.  The good news is they’re not as temperamental as regular waffles either, a few extra minutes doesn’t ruin them.  But do give them that extra time, or you will be eating batter.

*Many professionals believe that the test is purely a measure of what you’ve eaten, and that the immune reaction does not present a problem.  My personal experience is that I do much better when I avoid these foods.