Where to buy the nut flours and the recipes to use them

I will eventually provide the background information about why my family has eliminated grains, sugar (except honey), and most dairy and beans from our diets. Because I have spoken to many people about our dietary changes and they have been asking where they can affordably purchase the nut flours and how to use them, I am going to discuss this information first so that these folks can get started.

Nut Flour

I use almond flour and coconut flour. There are other nut flours, but I have not tried them. If you find other nut flours you like, please let me know.

Almond flour can purchased from many companies. On the recommendation of Melissa from Holistic Moms Network, we purchase from Honeyville Grain www.honeyvillegrain.com. Honeyville Grain is the most cost effective almond flour Melissa was able to find. I tried to find a better price but could not. In order to reduce cost, I purchase 25 pounds for $119, which includes shipping, and I share with two or three friends.

Again based on Melissa’s unbeatable recommendation, I purchase coconut flour from Tropical Traditions www.tropicaltraditions.com. They run periodic specials. A special ending on October 26 is purchase one get one free (4.4 pounds) for $12.95. To give you an idea of how little it takes to bake with it, 1/3 cup can make 6 muffins!

Coconut Oil

I intend to discuss the many benefits of coconut oil at a different time but will mention it now because Tropical Traditions is having an incredible sale, and the recipes below use coconut oil. One gallon of Tropical Traditions coconut oil is on special for $32.50, which to my knowledge is an unbeatable price. The special ends October 26. I will be ordering two today. For comparison, fifteen ounces of coconut oil costs approximately $15 to $20 at the health food store. My family uses just shy of one gallon of coconut oil a month. We sauté and bake with it and put it in smoothies.

Recipes

I use almond flour for pancakes. We feel immensely lighter and more energetic eating these than regular wheat flour pancakes. We think they taste better too!

I tweaked a recipe from Low Carb Diets http://lowcarbdiets.about.com.

·         1 cup almond flour

·         2 eggs

·         1/4 cup water (for puffier pancakes, I use ¼ tsp baking soda. The original recipe says to use sparkling water instead)

·         2 T coconut oil

·         1/4 teaspoon salt

·         2 T sweetener

Mix all of the ingredients except coconut oil. Stir in melted coconut oil. Cook on a low to medium heat. Nut flours cook and burn quickly, so don’t take your eyes off of them until you develop your rhythm. The 2 T honey make these pancakes sweet enough that syrup is unnecessary. They are very good with some organic butter melted on them.

I have tried almond flour to make bread, biscuits and pizza crust. They are pretty much “yuck” as my son would say.

I use coconut flour for muffins. I am told that coconut flour makes great pancakes, but we like our almond flour ones so much that I haven’t tried them.

I tweaked a recipe from Low Carb Diets for the muffins.

Ingredients:

·         3 eggs (room temperature - important)

·         1/3 cup coconut flour

·         ¼ cup melted butter or melted coconut oil

·         ½ teaspoon vanilla

·         ¼ teaspoon salt

·         ¼ cup honey

·         ½ teaspoon baking soda

·         2-5 Tablespoons water (see below)

·         ½ cup raspberries or blueberries (or other fruit)

Preparation:

Heat oven to 375° F. Prepare pan with a generous amount of butter or coconut oil. This recipe makes six "regular"-sized muffins.

1) Whisk or beat the eggs until whites and yolks are well-mixed. Add salt and vanilla and mix until combined. Add honey.

2) Mix the remaining dry ingredients -- coconut flour and baking soda.

3) Mix the dry and wet ingredients together. Now you will whisk in water, one tablespoon at a time. The coconut flour will absorb the liquid from the wet ingredients. You want to get it to a consistency that will hold up the berries, but not be too thick. I usually end up using 3 to 4 Tablespoons of water.

4) Mix in the melted coconut oil or butter. We prefer coconut oil.

5) Gently mix in the berries and divide among 6 muffin cups. Bake for about 15 to 18 minutes, or until just turning golden on top. If using frozen berries, which I do, bake about 5 to 10 minutes more. Inserting a toothpick or knife will work to determine if they are done.

Helpful hint –Do not make a pan of muffins with some having berries and some not, because they will finish cooking at different times and the muffins without berries will overcook.

Comments

[Dawn from Tropical Traditions]

Hi! We noticed that you are referring potential customers to Tropical Traditions! We really appreciate that you love our products and are out there sharing with others. We wanted to make sure that you knew about our referral program. We have included some information about it below:

We know that many of our first-time customers have come to us as a result of recommendations from our loyal customers. So now we want to reward you for people you send our way. Many people have already taken advantage of this great offer since we announced it last year. For every NEW customer that opens an account with the Healthy Buyer's Club and makes a first-time purchase, if they note you as the friend that referred them, you will earn a coupon for two FREE quarts of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil, a $70.00 retail value!! And there is NO limit as to how many FREE quarts you can earn!

Here's how it works: refer a friend to make a purchase from any of our hundreds of high quality products. When they fill in their account information, there is a place to choose "How did you hear of us?" In the drop down menu, they will choose "Referred by a friend." Underneath this will be a place that says: "Referred by (User ID):" with a place to type in your Healthy Buyer's Club user ID. Every Healthy Buyer's Club customer has a unique User ID. You can check your account online to see your User ID if you are logged in (if you are not logged in, you will need to log in.) If your friend completes their purchase with your User ID entered, you will receive a coupon that you can redeem at any time for 2 FREE quarts of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil.

In addition, your friend that is referred to us and makes a first-time purchase will also receive a FREE gift, our book "Virgin Coconut Oil: How it has changed people's lives and how it can change yours!" This book is packed with testimonies and solid research showing how healthy coconut oil is, and it also included over 85 recipes showing how one can incorporate coconut into their diet. The book will be added automatically to any first-time customer that uses someone's User ID as a referral. So start stocking up on FREE quarts of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil now by referring new customers to the Healthy Buyer's Club!

You can read more on our website at: http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/referral_program.htm

We appreciate your posts! Please let us know if we can do anything to assist you and have a great day!

Regards,

Dawn
Tropical Traditions
Customer Service
866-311-2626 Ext. 2

[Melisa]

Hi, is there a difference between almond meal and almond flour?