Why Almond Flour?

I realize that some of you don’t have dietary restrictions that require you to be grain or gluten free and so for you it might seem that there would be no reason to switch from wheat flour to almond flour.  The health benefits of almond flour are many and there are some other reasons that you might want to try almond flour.

Note- For all my recipes, I use blanched almond flour. Blanched almonds have had their skins removed and then they are finely ground. I would recommend buying blanched       almond flour online and there are several sources on my website.  It is very expensive to buy almond flour at grocery stores and you can’t be sure you will get almond flour that is ground finely enough to get a good baked product.

For many years I struggled with my weight.  I have always had a sweet tooth and I seemed to crave sugar/carbohydrates all the time.  Once I started eating cookies or crackers there was no stopping me. I knew that I wasn’t hungry, but I couldn’t seem to stop eating.  Since 2008, when I made the decision to try and change the course of my illness with real food, I haven’t really had to count calories or worry about my weight.

My illness forced me to take a very hard look at what I was eating and when I started following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, I became familiar with Almond Flour.  As I became more adept at baking with almond flour and everything started tasting really good, I noticed something that I hadn’t experienced in years. I could eat one muffin or cookie and I was satisfied.  I wasn’t craving more and more and for me this was a huge change and I know this is because of almond flour.

Almond flour baked products are very satisfying because of all the protein in the flour.  There is around 22 grams of protein in 100 grams (1 cup) of almond flour compared to white wheat flour which has 9.71 grams of protein per cup.  You can see why almond flour baked products leave such a sense of satiety. For those of you struggling to lose weight, I would encourage you to try baking with almond flour and see if you have the same experience that I did.

Some other health benefits of almond flour:

Heart Healthy

• High in monounsaturated (“good”) fat
• No cholesterol or sodium
• A top food source of vitamin E

Good Source of Fiber

• Almond Flour has 3 grams of fiber in 1 oz of almonds
• For those of us with compromised digestive systems, almond flour is gentler on the digestive system while still providing fiber.

Weight Management

• Satisfy appetite longer
• 6 grams of power- packed protein
• 3.5 grams of fiber

Almond Flour tastes really great!

Source: Almond Board of California 2015

Storage of Almond Flour:

• Keep Almond Flour cool, dry and out of direct sunlight
• I recommend keeping a sealed container of Almond Flour in your fridge for easy access.
• Almond Flour freezes nicely and will keep for several months in the freezer.  Just remove flour before you are ready to use and let it thaw a bit and refill your container.

Restoring your health…one bite at a time.

xoxo

Jackie