waffles

My right big toe is a mess again, ever since the walk to Hanam (tell me if you want to see photos!). While I convalesce, I can do limited walks, and I re-dress my bandages around three times a day as the first-aid cream works its weird magic on the oozing wound. Meanwhile, since I'm more or less confined to my place (except for walks every other night), I decided to experiment, yesterday, with that package of BochaSweet pancake/waffle mix.

The recipe called for nut milk—which I have in the form of almond milk—and coconut oil, of which I have none. I do, however, have coconut milk, coconut cream (not the same thing), and coconut butter, a waxy substance that smells pleasant but is harder than shortening at room temperature and, as it turns out, unmicrowaveable. (It burns when you microwave it, but it stores well, at least, for years with no rot.)

I tried a teaspoon of the waffle mix dry, and it tasted better than just good—very cinnamon-y—which made me hopeful. So I made a batter with the recommended 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons of nut milk, and 15 g of an admixture of coconut butter and MCT oil (medium-chain triglyceride, recommended to ketoheads), of which I have two expensive bottles. MCT oil can be found in coconut oil, and it can be derived from coconut oil, but it's not normally a cooking oil because of its low smoke point. MCT oil can also be derived from palm oil. FYI, it worked fine.

Following the package instructions, I made enough batter for 5-6 waffles, and 5-6 waffles is about what I got. The waffles were overall okay in terms of taste, but a bit dry in texture. I'm sorely tempted to ruin the whole low-carb aspect of the mix by adding mashed bananas to the batter next time, but if I did that, then, really, what would be the point of having the mix at all? As things stood, I microwaved a mix of frozen blueberries, butter, and granulated BochaSweet to make a makeshift "syrup," and that served me well enough. Still, while the waffles were good, they felt a bit lacking. 

But that's what happens when you remove real sugar from the equation. Blueberries contain fructose, but they're also fibrous and low-glycemic, which makes them keto-friendly. Ketoheads are never supposed to eat dried fruits (described as "carb bombs"), nor should they eat most fresh fruits aside from berries. So: no peaches, bananas (the worst), grapes, etc. These are all high-carb fruits.