Getting to know the properties of the flours you have access to is always a good idea.
Because this is a lifestyle and not a diet - desserts, pies, breads etc can form part of your new lifestyle.
I own a really cheap coffee grinder so grind a lot of my own flours. For the price of the coffee grinder and the price you save by grinding your own - it is definitely worth getting (and just a tip - buying whole spices and grinding them is so much better too!!)
The information for the various flours below will include the categories of Fat, Net Carbs, Fiber, Protein and Price that I pay for it (I will include where).
Sunflower Seed Flour:
1 Tablespoon weighs 8g
1 Cup weighs 100g
Depending on if you have a coffee grinder or not, Sunflower Seed Flour can be a very versatile flour at a very low cost. Many recipes that require almond flour can often be substituted out for sunflower seed flour.
Fat: 51g
Net Carbs: 11g
Dietary Fiber: 9g
Sugar: 2.6g
Protein: 21g
Price: R35 per kilo
(I buy sunflower seeds from Osman's in Athlone, then grind my own)
My Top 3 Recipes that include sunflower seed flour:
Almond Flour:
1 Tablespoon weighs 7g
1 cup weighs 100g
You can grind your own Almonds from blanched almonds or from raw almonds - blanched almonds will yield a whiter flour. Raw almonds will give the flour a more whole meal look.
Almond flour is the most expensive of the flours but it is also probably the tastiest.
Fat: 49g
Net Carbs: 10g
Dietary Fiber: 12g
Sugars: 3.9g
Protein: 21g
Price: R145/kg
(Price I pay - ground raw almonds - Montague Gardens)
My Top 3 Recipes that include Almond Flour:
Coconut Flour:
1 Tablespoon weighs 9g
1 Cup weighs 85g
Coconut flour ticks many of the boxes. Its a great price - its the has the closest resemblance to normal flour, when you bake with it - it comes out like white flour products. Sounds great right? Well, not so fast.
The downside with coconut flour is that it can have a distinct coconut taste - and in some recipes - it leaves you with a strange dry mouth feel. Some people can stomach that - but for me that has texture issues - its not something I can actually handle.
I have managed to come up with a few recipes that use coconut flour without the issues noted above - and because of the good properties - I am always trying to make more of them.
Fat: 10.7g
Net Carbs: 28.6g
Dietary Fiber: 35.7g
Sugars: 21.4g
Protein: 21.4g
Price: R62/kg
(Lemcke from Takealot)
HEBA
1 Tablespoon weighs 7g
1 Cup weighs 100g
With 74 Heba Pap recipes on this blog alone - I would think HEBA is one of the most versatile flours. A little goes a long way - it requires less additional ingredients (such as psyllium) - If you make the plain bread - a slice works out to less than 1g net carbs each!
It has a "grainier" texture - so its great for those looking to transition from brown bread.
Fat: 21.9g
Net Carbs: 8g
Dietary Fiber: 32.8g
Sugar: 8g
Protein: 21.7g
Price: R39 per 200g bag - R195/kg
Psyllium Husk
1 Tablespoon weighs 5g
Psyllium husk isn't a low carb flour, but it is often added to low carb recipes to help in place of gluten.
It is a soluble edible fiber and prebiotic.
It can also be used to aide with constipation - and is way gentler on your colon than the normal laxative.
Fat: 0g
Net Carbs: 11.1g
Dietary Fiber: 77.8g
Sugar: 0g
Protein: 0g
Price: R49.95 for 200g - R249.75/kg
(Food Lovers Market)
Where exactly do you get the almond flour from?
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ReplyDeleteis flax seed flour allowed if yes what can be made with it?
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