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DC area folks, you need to try Swapples


Emily T

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DC-area whole30ers, I need to share my newest food discovery! Swapples! They are waffles - made out of vegetables. Made locally at Union Kitchen and available at Union Grocery (3rd and F NE). 

 

Before you freak, these are not SWYPO - they are not meant to be enjoyed as traditional waffles with syrup or fruit - they are savory. Four flavors are out right now - spicy spinach, tomato basil, everything bagel, and sweet potato curry. The spicy spinach is the yummiest flavor but has some whole kernel corn in there so its for day 31!!

 

Today I made a sweet potato curry waffle topped with curried chicken salad (mayo, chicken, curry powder, and raisins) and roasted red peppers. I also did a spicy spinach with mashed avocado, fried egg, and bacon, and tomato basil with a burger plus lettuce/tomato/onion and some mayo. 

 

Their main base is yuca root so they are higher in starch - I would definitely not recommend it as a common replacement for veggies during your meals - but they are perfect as a packable, grab-and-go snack after a workout or on mornings where you do not have a ton of time. 

 

https://swapfoods.com/

 

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Sorry but I'm going to be a Bad Guy.  Based on the fact that Whole30 disallowed Mel Joulwan's sweet potato waffle in her cookbook (and Mel is a close buddy of the Hartwigs), I'd have to say that these waffles are out for Whole30.  

 

Also, even the swapples website toutes the fluffy waffle-like texture of these items so they are indeed trying to recreate all the standard waffley stuff just without the standard waffle ingredients.  From the website: With no flour but all of the same "fluff"

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Uh oh, sorry!  I'm calling SWYPO... 

 

The idea is to change your relationship with food... that includes not making things that you used to enjoy out of compliant ingredients. These are a processed food product meant to replicate a waffle... 

 

These are also not a great 'snack'.  They don't have protein or fat involved so a starchy 'waffle' isn't going to be even mini-meal worthy... 

 

Sorry, typing the same time as LadyShanny

 

Edit one more time to say that the Spinach one has corn in it so even if they were not SWYPO, which they are, they aren't necessarily ingredient compliant.

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Not totally sure I understand this at all. These are entirely made of vegetables and do not have a fluffy waffle texture in any way, they have the texture of like a sweet potato fritter. They don't have any strange flours or ingredients, and I would hardly call them processed (ingredient list is like five items - veggies and spices).

 

If I were to form this into a patty I assume it would be no problem to use as a base for protein and fat? If I understand this correctly we are banning this because of the shape...which would mean banning zoodles because you are trying to recreate spaghetti, or banning a portobello "bun" for trying to replace a burger bun. 

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Also, just wanted to add...I am not new to whole30 and I've completed three in total, which helped me identify a meal plan that works for my body. I experiment a lot with whole30 vs paleo vs primal, but the one thing I have always held to is the no SWYPO rule. I truly do see the value of this rule and have talked my partner down from banana pancakes on more than one occasion. 

 

All that to say, I am not trying to cause a problem, I just was super excited to see a product with such a short ingredient list and so much potential for making a variety of on-the-go meals and thought other health conscious clean eaters might be interested, at least in the flavors that are compliant with whole30. They actually taste delicious, which is rarely something you can put into the same sentence as "convenient" so I wanted to share.  

 

But perhaps save them for day 31. 

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My concern is that there is no complete ingredients list on their website. Take a look at the sun dried tomato one or the everything. They list spices that make "everything" flavor, but not the rest of it. What's holding it together? If you blend sun dried tomato and basil, you're not going to get something you can "waffle" without something else going on in there. 

 

The only one that could potentially work as listed on the website is the sweet potato because you could mix mashed sweet potatoes with curry powder and throw it in a waffle iron. 

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My understanding is that the veggies are mixed with yucca which is a starchy vegetable known for it's doughy properties when processed. Technically all the ingredients are compliant but it's definitely something made out of vegetables that is trying to be a 'fluffy waffle'.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hey all!

 

Just wanted to say thanks for the mention! We wanted to hop on here and offer some additional information that might be useful in this conversation.

 

1. To SugarcubeOD's point, yes, the wonderful thing about yuca is it's natural binding properties. You do not need egg, flour, or any stabilizers to produce a dough, which is how our SWAPPLES™ are made.

 

2. Laura_Juggles our full list of ingredients will be posted soon on our site, if you have not yet had the chance to find them in stores. We apologize for the delay! We are in the process of updating the pages to launch our online store. If you would like a list of ingredients, please do not hesitate to reach out via our website contact form. The ingredients are really IT. There is nothing "holding it together" but the yuca (woohoo!) No eggs, no dairy, no nuts, no flours, no sugar, no soy - just veggies, spices, avocado and coconut oil. Truly.

 

3. The only "processing" involved in our production process is changing the shape of the yuca root (not sure if that is considered processing, of course up for interpretation). But that's it  :)

 

4. SWYPO rule - interesting (and great name)! Never had heard of it before now, though we do understand those following the Whole 30 protocol would want to follow this rule, it makes sense. But, if its any consolation, if you were to take a piece of yuca and sprinkle it with the spices in each of the SWAPPLES™ flavor, it would be the same thing, just a different shape. We don't add anything that would take away from the "wholesomeness" of each of the ingredients when we prepare them.

 

Have a wonderful week everyone - and all the praise in the world for making the commitment to eat clean!  :)

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