Green Waffles with Pineapple & Black Beans and Pineapple Black Bean Salsa

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Green Waffles with Pineapple and Black Bean Salsa

Green Waffles with Pineapple and Black Bean Salsa.

So what constitutes a healthy diet?  It seems to be a contentious issue these days.  Some of us eat meat, others will not.  Some eat grains and legumes and others don’t; and so on and so forth.  So as you all know,  Angie at Fiesta Friday invited us to create “healthy” recipes that include leafy greens and pineapple.  Now I’m sure that there is no question about those two ingredients being healthy, but what about the other stuff around them?  As I created this entry, I asked myself if waffles were indeed healthy.  I suppose it might be debatable, like any other food these days, but I decided that one or two waffles every once in awhile could not be unhealthy.  After all, we are learning that the greatest contributor to our health is our state of mind! Happy people are healthy people, generally.  Following this rationale, these waffles made me extremely happy, therefore I can assume that they will contribute to my overall health!  Now how’s that for logic?

fiestafriday-healthy-recipe-challenge

So here is my next entry to this most awesome of recipe challenges.  The waffles are stuffed with fresh baby spinach, sweet pineapple tidbits and black beans.  They are crowned with a zippy pineapple black bean salsa that really make the waffles sing.  If you want a less healthy version (according to some), you can top them with some good quality bacon, or even bacon and eggs for an extraordinary breakfast or lunch.  The waffle base recipe is one that I have been using from Donna Hay Magazine, issue #86.  The rest is my own. I really hope you enjoy them, and please be sure to join us over at Fiesta Friday Healthy Recipe Challenge for a whole lot of amazing recipes with leafy greens and pineapple!

Savoury waffles are awesome for breakfast or lunch!

Savoury waffles are awesome for breakfast or lunch!

Green Waffles with Pineapple & Black Beans and Pineapple Black Bean Salsa

Ingredients:

1½ cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1½ cups buttermilk

¼ cup vegetable oil

2 eggs, separated

3 cups baby spinach, shredded

3 tablespoons green onion, chopped

1 cup pineapple tidbits, roughly chopped

1 cup cooked black beans, rinsed and drained

Method:

Place the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and mix to combine. In a smaller bowl, place the buttermilk, vegetable oil and egg yolks, and whisk to combine.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Set aside.

Place the egg whites in a medium bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form. Add the egg whites to the batter and fold in to combine.

Add the spinach, green onions, pineapple and black beans and mix thoroughly.

Heat your waffle iron. Add the appropriate amount of batter to your iron (mine takes about 2/3 cup). Once they are done, remove them to a plate and keep warm until serving time. Serve with butter and the pineapple black bean salsa.

Pineapple Black Bean Salsa

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh pineapple, diced

½ cup cooked black beans, rinsed and drained

¼ cup red onion, diced

¼ cup fresh red bell pepper, diced

¼ cup cilantro, chopped

2 teaspoons diced jalapeño pepper

1 tablespoon pineapple juice

1 tablespoon lime juice

½ teaspoon salt

Method:

Place the ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.

Who said waffles aren't healthy?

Who said waffles aren’t healthy?

 

42 Responses to “Green Waffles with Pineapple & Black Beans and Pineapple Black Bean Salsa”

  1. Donald McKenzie

    Healthy is no specific dish. It’s a well rounded approach to eating and to life in general (always allowing for the fact that some people have specific health problems that affect what they can eat).

    Reply
  2. Les

    An inspiration to further experiment with the new
    Waffle iron I got for Christmas! I will have to play when I get home. Great pixs.
    Les

    Reply
    • chefjulianna

      Thanks so much Les! Oh yes, you are more creative than me, so you will come up with some amazing flavour combinations! Maybe something inspired by Thailand? 😉

      Reply
  4. Elaine @ foodbod

    What a fab dish! I love the creativity and the flavours 🙂
    I must admit, I’ve been toying with another recipe idea for the challenge too…

    Reply
  7. Angie | Fiesta Friday

    Of course waffles are healthy, especially when stuffed with spinach and pineapple. I’d sandwich a piece of grilled chicken in between, too, and that would make a fabulous and filling meal. And healthy! I haven’t seen anything so creative and original. You’re on a roll! A round of applause for Jualianna, please 👏👏 Fantastic!!

    Reply
  8. Loretta

    I second Angie’s comment. How wonderfully creative and colorful. Yeah you! You definitely had your creative juices flowing for this one 🙂 Well done!

    Reply
    • chefjulianna

      Thanks so much, Loretta! I have been having so much fun coming up with recipes for this challenge! I still have tons more ideas, but not too much time to make them… and my husband is getting a bit tired of eating so much pineapple! 😀

      Reply
  10. Indu

    These savory waffles look gorgeous Julianna. They sure sound healthy too. I am with you on that its so confusing as to what is healthy. I think as long as we stick to natural foods whether plant or animal based we will be ok! Great job!

    Reply
  15. petra08

    If there was a love button I would have pressed that! I think enjoying your food and be happy it much healthier than any low fat diet! All that goodness and with a waffle, am drooling! 🙂

    Reply
  20. Sandhya

    Juliana,
    These waffles look so good! Love all the flavors in this recipe. I am going to make them for sure.

    Reply

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