When starting on a healing journey at Healing Arts many patients are muscle tested to stay away from wheat or gluten and need to find alternatives. Listed below are some of my favorite alternatives when baking or breading.
Almond flour
Nutrition benefits - Almond flour is great if you are eating paleo or keto. Almonds help lower cholesterol. Almond flour is high in fiber and full of vitamin E. It’s also a good source of iron and magnesium. Less calories and carbs than coconut flour for those who are counting.
I have used it in baking brownies, cookies, breading chicken. Keep flour in refrigerator so the nut oils don’t go rancid.
Coconut flour
Nutrition benefits - High in fiber and healthy fats also makes it paleo and keto friendly. One of the healthy fats in coconut flour is lauric acid which is hard to find in other foods and is good for the skin and thyroid. Again, because of the high fat content keep coconut flour in refrigerator.
When substituting it for wheat use only 1/4th the amount of coconut flour. If the recipe calls for 1 cup wheat or white flour then use only 1/4 cup coconut flour. Eggs are important in coconut flour recipes because without eggs the coconut flour is dry and will fall apart. I have made breads with it, just know it will be a dense bread that is so good! I also use coconut flour to make macaroons, brownies and muffins.
Buckwheat flour
Nutrition benefits - Despite its name buckwheat is not wheat but a nutrient-packed, gluten-free seed that is high in both protein and fiber. Its health benefits include cholesterol-lowering effects, anti-hypertension effects and improving digestion by reliving constipation.
Buckwheat is beneficial because it’s high in fiber and contains high levels of rutin, which is a type of antioxidant. Antioxidants can help protect the body from damage caused by free radicals, which can cause oxidative stress, affecting your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. For more info on the health benefits of buckwheat, click here.
My family loves buckwheat pancakes! Also for breakfast there is hot cream of buckwheat cereal you can make easily like you would grits. I also use buckwheat flour to make chocolate chip cookies.
Oat flour
Nutrition benefits - Eating oats helps lower cholesterol, lower high blood pressure and reduces the risk of heart disease and so does oat flour. Oats are considered safe for those with a gluten allergy or gluten intolerance. Oat flour is also high in fiber. I suggest purchasing sprouted oat flour to get the most health benefits from it. When oats are sprouted their more nutrient dense. Easy to make oat flour at home by using a food processor. 1.25 cup of rolled oats makes 1 cup oat flour. Oat flour is great when making oatmeal cookies. I also love using oat flour with rice flour to make banana bread.
Rice flours
Nutrition benefits - Rice flour is high in fiber and contains an essential nutrient called choline which is important for the liver. Therefore rice flour can help improve liver health. Brown rice flour contains the husk and therefore has more fiber and B vitamins than white rice flour.
I have used rice panko bread crumbs for breading. At the store a lot of gluten-free breads are made with rice. Brown rice pasta is my favorite, very similar to regular pasta which I’m sure if you are adventurous enough you can make your own brown rice pasta at home. I have been adventurous enough to make homemade mochi using sweet rice flour which is different than regular white rice flour and I love making a pound cake with white rice flour.
