When I had SIBO, Waffle Sandwiches were my go-to SIBO sandwich bread. I enjoyed them with breakfast sandwiches, grilled chicken sandwiches, peanut butter and honey sandwiches, and even hamburgers.
I think Waffle Sandwiches are my best SIBO secret… But they are hard to make and take a lot of time. I’ve been hesitant to post this recipe because it is labor intensive and requires a blender, a waffle iron, a panini press, and a little bit of patience and skill. But if you want something to replace bread that isn’t a green leaf then this recipe is wonderful! It’s the closest thing I ever got to SIBO sandwich bread that stayed within the SIBO Specific Food Guide. Now, I’m not going to promise it tastes and feels just like bread, because it’s not light and fluffy and full of wheat and yeast. But it is soft on the inside and a little crispy on the outside like a grilled panini sandwich.
Waffle Sandwiches are a bit of a process to make. First, make macadamia nut waffle batter. For my guideline recipe, I like Danielle Walker’s Blueberry Waffle Recipe in her book Against All Grain: Delectable Paleo Recipes to Eat Well & Feel Great– omit the vanilla, honey, and any added fruits. Next, gently stir in 2 tsp of an Italian herb blend- thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano, etc. (Simply Organic Italian Seasoning is my standard). Make sure the herb blend is a combination of herbs only and does NOT include any fillers or sugars. Alternately, you can sprinkle herbs right onto the batter after you have poured it into your waffle iron but before you close the lid.
Next, cook your waffles on your waffle iron. Be sure to go slow with getting used to cooking waffles made from nuts. They burn much more quickly, so start at a lower cooking temperature and know that this macadamia nut batter produces extremely fragile waffles. Take your time pulling the waffles out of the waffle iron. You may even need to add a little extra oil directly to the iron in order to get the outside a little firmer so they don’t fall apart when you take them out. (I have had more than one round of these waffles crumble to pieces which sucks because macadamia nuts are outrageously expensive to buy. But I usually get the right temperature on the second round.) Once the waffles are cooked and cooled, throw them onto a panini press and toast away. This will flatten the waffles into bread sized thickness and crisp up the outside to hold the waffle together providing the structure to keep a sandwich intact. Remove them from the panini press and ta-da!
Now you have a SIBO sandwich bread!
Lastly, build the sandwich of your dreams. My favorite was a breakfast sandwich with homemade breakfast sausage, a fried egg, and aged cheese. Every now and then, when I could tolerate it, I would add a few slices of the higher FODMAP avocado. My family packed these to the mountains for trips in the woods, camping, traveling, flying, and even picnics with friends.
If you know you are going to want a sweeter sandwich like a peanut butter and honey or almond butter with some stewed strawberries or blueberries leave out the added herbs and go ahead and include vanilla extract or almond extract.
If you want a more traditional lunch sandwich Primal Kitchen Mayonnaise is a SIBO-safe condiment. It does not contain added sugars or strange spices or garlic. While I did not have the option of lunch meat when I had SIBO, there are now several different brands of lunch meat or deli meat that do NOT contain gum, thickeners, sugars, garlic, or “other spices.” Plainville Farms Oven Roasted Organic Turkey Breast is one brand. I can find that at Costco.
Waffle Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1/2 cup coconut milk (I like Natural Value Organic) (no gums or thickeners)
- 3 Tbs coconut oil or butter melted
- 1 cup raw macadmia nuts
- 3 Tbs coconut flour
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp Italian herb blend
Instructions
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Preheat your waffle iron. This is the hardest part of the entire recipe as macadamia nuts burn easily. I used multiple waffle irons and found the medium setting worked the best. If you have a waffle iron you know runs hot try the lowest setting first.
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Place all of the ingredients, except the herbs, into a highspeed blender. If you forget and blend in the herbs it will turn your waffles green and the flavor becomes a little intense…weird… it kinda ruins it.
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With my Vitamix I like to blend on the "frozen dessert" setting, but if you don't have that setting try starting on low and moving up to high speed for about 60-90 seconds or until a thick and smooth batter has formed. (You don't want any chunks of nuts.)
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If you need, add a little butter, oil, or spray oil to your waffle iron to ensure the surface is non-stick. Scoop the batter onto your waffle iron and spread out evenly as desired.
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Sprinkle with herbs if you did not add those in earlier.
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Close the lid and cook until done. Usually 3 minutes, but be sure to watch as those macadamia nuts burn easily. You want the waffle to be a golden brown but it likely won't actually turn crispy until you place it in the panini press later…
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VERY VERY GENTLY, pull out the waffles. They are super fragile and may break easily. Place onto a cooling rack.
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Next, turn your panini press on high.
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Finish cooking all of your waffles.
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Once the waffles are cooled place them on your panini press, close the lid and flatten and sear them for 15-30 seconds. Remove and let cool.
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Enjoy with your next sandwhich or burger. (You can also freeze these and pull them out and toast them in the toaster to thaw.)
Linda Palmer says
I have been on the SIBO diet for 3 1/2 weeks now, and have been jonesing for a sandwich. The bread recipes I have tried taste awful. So today I tried your sandwich waffles and loved the result. My small town had no raw macadamia nuts so I bought roasted salted ones and left out the added salt in the recipe. I had an ancient four square waffle iron with an adjustable heat dial and it worked perfectly on medium. I have no panini press so I used my clothes iron with an upside down cake pan for the bottom. Just flipped them after 15 seconds. Worked great! I think I also might make a sweet version of these waffles for breakfast because I’m sick of eggs and the usual SIBO recipes for pancakes/waffles taste just as awful as the bread. Yours are delicious!
Question: have you tried making these with raw blanched hazelnuts? At half the cost I’m tempted to give it a try unless you have already ruled it out.
Thank you so so much for this recipe. You make me believe I might get through this after all. Especially since for 3 weeks now my stomach has felt great!
Elena Wistey says
Linda,
Your creativity is inspiring! Such a clever method for a homemade panini press. I’m so glad you found a bread recipe you enjoy. YAY! I haven’t tried making the waffles with hazelnuts so you will have to try it and let us know how it goes.
Elena
Linda Palmer says
Elena,
I tried making these with raw blanched hazelnuts today. I left out the herbs and added a little saccharin, vanilla, and nutmeg so I could use them for breakfast waffles. They came out just fine, but you really gotta like hazelnuts. (I do.)
If not, the taste might be a little strong. I think my next batch will be half and half macadamias and hazelnuts. Looking for the goldilocks mix ๐
Linda
Linda Palmer says
Forgot to click on the stars. Five stars, of course!
Mariel says
Hi Elena,
Thank you for the recipes. I made these yesterday and unfortunately had severe bloating after :/ Do you have any idea what in the waffle might have caused that?
Elena Wistey says
Hi Mariel,
Hmmm… Sometimes it can be hard to tell what triggers a SIBO reaction. Do you know that all of the ingredients are safe for you? The SIBO diets are all places to start and should be tailored to your needs- so sometimes even though something is “SIBO-safe” it may not be something your specific body can digest. With that, these are the first few questions I ask myself when something like this happens….Did I double check the coconut milk was just coconut and water, with no fillers or thickeners or gums? Did I eat too many? My herbs are just herbs, right, no fillers? Are the macadamia nuts old or coated with something? Was I stressed out when I ate or just after? Was my equipment clean- was the waffle iron covered in sugar from previous use?
If everything checks out, then I will wait a couple of weeks, try the recipe again and eat a smaller portion. Alternately, I would try the ingredients separately and see if I reacted to any of them…
Elena