Crispy AIP Waffles

Breakfast is the meal AIP rearranges hardest, because eggs and grain flours disappear and most of what used to fill that gap goes with them. The specific trust-fall here is the batter: thin, almost watery, nothing like what a waffle batter is supposed to look like right before it hits the iron. Pour it anyway.

Coconut flour is high enough in fiber that it may ease some of the digestive load a body on AIP is already carrying, and tapioca starch gives the batter the structure it would not otherwise have. Together they turn something that looks wrong in the bowl into something genuinely crisp once it comes off the iron.

There is a version of this where you eat 2 waffles standing at the counter and never really notice you ate them. Don't let that happen here. Slow mornings deserve an actual plate, a fork, and a minute of paying attention before the syrup or honey goes on, both used here in a modest enough amount that this stays breakfast and doesn't tip into dessert.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup tapioca starch
• 3 tbsp coconut flour
• Pinch sea salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup avocado oil (or melted coconut oil)
• 3 tbsp maple syrup (or honey)
• 2/3 cup coconut milk (or tigernut milk)
• 1 tbsp avocado oil or coconut oil, for greasing the waffle iron

Method

Preheat your waffle iron and allow it to come fully to temperature before you begin - a properly heated iron is the difference between a crispy waffle and a stuck one.

Whisk the tapioca starch, coconut flour, salt, and baking soda together in a mixing bowl until combined. Add the avocado oil, maple syrup, and coconut milk and whisk until the batter is smooth with no lumps. The batter will look thinner than a grain-based waffle batter. This is correct.

Brush the waffle iron generously with oil on both the top and bottom surfaces. Pour the batter into the center of the iron, using roughly half the batter for a standard two-waffle iron. Close the lid gently and cook until the steam escaping from the sides slows noticeably, about 4 to 5 minutes. Do not open early - the waffles will tear before they are set.

Lift the lid carefully. If the waffle releases cleanly with a fork or tongs, it is done. If it pulls or sticks, close the lid and cook for another minute. The outside should be golden and firm; the inside light.

Serve immediately, or transfer to a wire rack (not stacked on a plate) to preserve the crisp edges while you cook the second waffle.

*Adapted from Thriving On Paleo*