flours

[cuttos]

I have been using oats and psylium husks to make my muffins is there any other good flour substitutes that are healthier or tastier than these?
I also tried almond meal but that turned out a bit flatter

[Rowyn]

There are tons--quinoa, soy, millet, almond, coconut, garbanzo bean, sorghum.... One of the best for a bb'er type diet is a low-carb/high protein baking mix. Bob Mill's makes one, they call it low-carb baking mix, also Nutsonline makes another one. Its a mixture of flax, sorghum, various bean flours and such. Its a little coarse, so its best for quick breads, muffins, oatmeal cookie type things, not good for actual cakes and such that require a very light flour. I am not a gluten-free person, but I often use gluten free recipes since they often contain healthier versions of regular flours.

[goalorientgirl]

There are tons--quinoa, soy, millet, almond, coconut, garbanzo bean, sorghum.... One of the best for a bb'er type diet is a low-carb/high protein baking mix. Bob Mill's makes one, they call it low-carb baking mix, also Nutsonline makes another one. Its a mixture of flax, sorghum, various bean flours and such. Its a little coarse, so its best for quick breads, muffins, oatmeal cookie type things, not good for actual cakes and such that require a very light flour. I am not a gluten-free person, but I often use gluten free recipes since they often contain healthier versions of regular flours.

They make coconut flour?!?! Oh my god, I can't believe I never thought of this! Any gluten free version of flour I haven't tried is good by me. I'm going to go out and find me some/grind up a coconut.

I use rice and potato flour mainly - together (rice and potato together taste more like wheat flour then either alone, I find), they taste pretty good, and sometimes corn flour; they're all pretty decent protein.

[andrerox80]

There are tons--quinoa, soy, millet, almond, coconut, garbanzo bean, sorghum.... One of the best for a bb'er type diet is a low-carb/high protein baking mix. Bob Mill's makes one, they call it low-carb baking mix, also Nutsonline makes another one. Its a mixture of flax, sorghum, various bean flours and such. Its a little coarse, so its best for quick breads, muffins, oatmeal cookie type things, not good for actual cakes and such that require a very light flour. I am not a gluten-free person, but I often use gluten free recipes since they often contain healthier versions of regular flours.

haha, i was gonna tell the op to ask you b/c i knew you'd know them all. i've used almond, peanut, and garbanzo bean. i don't know why i typically use oat bran and wheat bran instead of a flour but i do. pretty much always nowadays. btw, isn't nutsonline an awesome source? i'm totally gonna check out that flour. love that place. and bob's redmill always rocks. that's the brand of wheat bran i use. the oat bran, fyi, is t joe's.

[Rowyn]

haha, i was gonna tell the op to ask you b/c i knew you'd know them all. i've used almond, peanut, and garbanzo bean. i don't know why i typically use oat bran and wheat bran instead of a flour but i do. pretty much always nowadays. btw, isn't nutsonline an awesome source? i'm totally gonna check out that flour. love that place. and bob's redmill always rocks. that's the brand of wheat bran i use. the oat bran, fyi, is t joe's.

For where you are at with your eating, you should put the flours back into your baking;) While the bran contains good minerals and fiber, it is also an appetite suppressant (and a laxative) if you eat too much and doesn't have the protein and such the other types of flours do. It is an "additive" to muffins. You must have some serious bowel stuff going on if you eat entirely bran! I make a bran muffin that is pretty high in it, but it still has flour as well.

Most any nut, bean, or grain can be ground into flour, there is a huge variety out there. The issue is learning to bake with them, though, since they don't act like regular white or wheat flours. Sometimes you have to combine various types to get the right blend, which is why the low-carb baking mix is nice, it already has it all blended together.

Nutsonline IS awesome. Iherb is a good source to find all the various stevia flavors much cheaper than in the stores, and they have a new customer discount thing on the home page. Also naturesflavors.com has organic natural fruit and nut extracts, which I love. Its hard to get a strawberry muffin to taste like strawberries with straight fruit, it gets baked out. And I don't want to add all the cals in jam, so an organic strawberry extract works great. They also have natural food colorings....great for moms who want to make "normal" looking cupcakes and such that kids crave from the grocery store;)

[oregonchick76]

There are tons--quinoa, soy, millet, almond, coconut, garbanzo bean, sorghum.... One of the best for a bb'er type diet is a low-carb/high protein baking mix. Bob Mill's makes one, they call it low-carb baking mix, also Nutsonline makes another one. Its a mixture of flax, sorghum, various bean flours and such. Its a little coarse, so its best for quick breads, muffins, oatmeal cookie type things, not good for actual cakes and such that require a very light flour. I am not a gluten-free person, but I often use gluten free recipes since they often contain healthier versions of regular flours.

I didn't know Bob's had a low-carb mix! That's great! I am lucky to live within 20 minutes of their mill, and I often buy 25lb sacks of rolled oats there. I'm going to have to check it out.

[Rowyn]

I didn't know Bob's had a low-carb mix! That's great! I am lucky to live within 20 minutes of their mill, and I often buy 25lb sacks of rolled oats there. I'm going to have to check it out.

Lucky! Now you can make protein brownies with real flour;) Truth, their low carb mix is very high in protein, so whenever you bake with it, it changes the macros of the food quite a bit (in your favor).

[Emma-Leigh]

I have been using oats and psylium husks to make my muffins is there any other good flour substitutes that are healthier or tastier than these?
I also tried almond meal but that turned out a bit flatter


There are tons--quinoa, soy, millet, almond, coconut, garbanzo bean, sorghum....
^^ this... Most health food shops have a stack to choose from (although not necessarily 'healthier'). I don't use a lot of soy flour, but the things I use regularly and that are relatively easy to find:
- Oat bran
- Barley Bran
- Coconut flour (nui)
- Fine rice-bran (lotus)
- Buckwheat flour (lotus)
- Almond meal (flour)
- Linseed Flour & linseed Meal (stoneycreek)

I also use a lot of protein powders as the basis for a lot of my cooking - with blend / plant based proteins (fermented rice, chia, hemp, pea, etc) working very well.

I've also seen/ or have used occasionally:
- Brown Rice flour
- Corn Flour
- Chick Pea Flour (besan flour)
- Split Pea Flour (four leaf)
- Quinoa Flour
- Millet Flour
- Chestnut Flour
- Amaranth Flour

There are also chia seeds, various other flours (brazil, hazelnut, etc), andddd you can also use odd things like cacao powder, and sprouted grains/ seeds/ nuts (puree first).



One of the best for a bb'er type diet is a low-carb/high protein baking mix. Bob Mill's makes one, they call it low-carb baking mix, also Nutsonline makes another one. Its a mixture of flax, sorghum, various bean flours and such. Its a little coarse, so its best for quick breads, muffins, oatmeal cookie type things, not good for actual cakes and such that require a very light flour. I am not a gluten-free person, but I often use gluten free recipes since they often contain healthier versions of regular flours.
Unfortunately not available in Australia - the 'best' of the low carb stuff we have is a brand called 'empower foods' <-- which tends to simply replace the carb with wheat gluten and the like. :rolleyes:

[cuttos]

^^ this... Most health food shops have a stack to choose from (although not necessarily 'healthier'). I don't use a lot of soy flour, but the things I use regularly and that are relatively easy to find:
- Oat bran
- Barley Bran
- Coconut flour (nui)
- Fine rice-bran (lotus)
- Buckwheat flour (lotus)
- Almond meal (flour)
- Linseed Flour & linseed Meal (stoneycreek)

I also use a lot of protein powders as the basis for a lot of my cooking - with blend / plant based proteins (fermented rice, chia, hemp, pea, etc) working very well.

I've also seen/ or have used occasionally:
- Brown Rice flour
- Corn Flour
- Chick Pea Flour (besan flour)
- Split Pea Flour (four leaf)
- Quinoa Flour
- Millet Flour
- Chestnut Flour
- Amaranth Flour

There are also chia seeds, various other flours (brazil, hazelnut, etc), andddd you can also use odd things like cacao powder, and sprouted grains/ seeds/ nuts (puree first).



Unfortunately not available in Australia - the 'best' of the low carb stuff we have is a brand called 'empower foods' <-- which tends to simply replace the carb with wheat gluten and the like. :rolleyes:



I ended up coming out of the health food store with coconut flour AND carrot cake mix
I thought why not put 1/4 cup of that and the rest with my protein powder that way its a win win :)))

[andrerox80]

The issue is learning to bake with them, though, since they don't act like regular white or wheat flours. Sometimes you have to combine various types to get the right blend

this is very true. things aren't always just simple substitutions for white or whole wheat flour.

[Rowyn]

this is very true. things aren't always just simple substitutions for white or whole wheat flour.

Especially the bean flours, whoa. I used too much garbanzo bean flour in muffins the other day and it is VERY crumbly and dry. But its a nice color and texture. It is very annoying when baking experiments go wrong when you spend so much buying the ingredients!

E-L, I made your peanut butter oatmeal cookies the other day with the lo-carb mix, they were fab!;) I had to freeze them so it would take more effort to eat one lol.

[cuttos]

when measuring things when it says on a pack 30g prepared is it the same calories as 30g say muffin flour mix compared to 30g muffin?

[Rowyn]

when measuring things when it says on a pack 30g prepared is it the same calories as 30g say muffin flour mix compared to 30g muffin?

"Prepared" means that you added whatever ingredients the package told you to add to the muffin mix. So if you add an egg and oil, the muffin that results is not the same cals as the muffin mix had been, even if it weighs the same.