Flax Seed Flour – freshly ground as needed
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Flax Seed Flour / Meal
Flax seeds… touted for their amazing nutrients, are also known as the “holy binder” of raw foods. So what makes them so magical when it comes to using them in recipes? For being such a tiny, itty bitty seed, it has an outer hull consisting of five layers. The outermost layer, called the epiderm, contains the mucilaginous material that is activated in the presence of liquid. Give it a stir and a little time to relax and bam (!) you have a slimy substance known as mucilage or gel.
Flax seeds contain both the soluble and insoluble types and can be very bulk-forming in the colon. This process can be a real blessing for those who suffer constipation, but it can also hinder movement when you don’t drink enough water with them.
To get the best bang for your buck in nutrition, grinding the seeds is the way to go. You can even blitz them in a spice grinder, cracking the seeds… making it possible to benefit from the core nutrition of the seed. There is some benefit to just soaking the seeds in water and obtaining the mucilage. That mucilage is known to help to prevent toxic build-up in the bowel during fasting or a healing diet. Only you can feel your body’s response to individual foods, so pay attention. :)
Taste-wise, flax seeds don’t have an overpowering taste, so it won’t alter the flavor of your foods unless you use too much. They can add a delightful nuttiness to just about any recipe. Some of you may be sensitive to the taste or don’t care about it. If this is you, chia seeds can often be used as a substitution or be cautious in the volume you use in a recipe. For a standard, family-sized recipe, you don’t want to add more than about 3 Tbsp of flax flour to it if you are sensitive to the taste.
Ingredients:
Yields 1 1/3 cup flax flour / meal
Preparation:
- Place the flax seeds in a dry blender grain container, Bullet, coffee or spice grinder.
- Grind until it resembles a flaky flour.
- Use it right away — store leftovers in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Whole flax:
- According to MayoClinic.com, whole flax seeds do not offer the same benefits as ground flax seeds. The whole seeds can pass through your digestive tract without breaking down, detracting from their health benefits. Ground flax seeds are sure to digest and supply your body with valuable fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and protein.
- Many people used soaked flax seeds in recipes in their whole form… I, too, use to do this and do it from time to time but now find myself grinding it into flour so my body can better assimilate it.
- If you find a recipe using whole seeds and wish to convert it to ground flax, you might need to adjust the amount used. It will alter the texture, as well.
- When water is added to flax seeds, it will create a mucilage that suspends the seeds. You can not rinse this mucilage away, which is what creates a binder in recipes. When soaking, the volume will increase as much as 9so be aware that a little bit goes a long way.
Ground flax:
- The Omega-3 fatty acids (which help fight inflammation) present in flax-seed are located inside the seeds, and therefore, the seeds need to be opened to access the nutritional value. You can grind the flax-seed using a dry blender container used for grinding grains, coffee or spice grinder to ensure that you are reaping the benefits of flax-seed.
- I recommend grinding the seeds as needed because the oil in flax is highly unsaturated. Because of this, it means that it is very prone to oxidation (rancidity) unless it is stored correctly. This step is required to make the nutrients available (otherwise, they just “pass-through”). Should you grind up too much at one time, you must protect those oils by storing it in the fridge or freezer, in dark containers, preferably being consumed within a few weeks of grinding.
- Ground flaxseed is often sold or referred to as “milled flax,” “flaxseed flour,” or “flaxseed meal.”
- When ground flax is mixed with a liquid, it turns into a slurry, and when allowed to sit for a short time, it forms a gel.
© AmieSue.com
Do you need to soak flax seeds to neutralize the anti-nutrients? How does that work then? How do you soak them then grind them? Or do you grind them then soak them (but then they would be ground and not live to germinate). Flax seeds confuse me.
Donnagail
Good morning Donnagail,
Please read through the following posting as well as the comments. https://nouveauraw.com/grains-seeds/flaxseeds/
This ought to answer your questions. Blessings, amie sue
When a recipe calls for sprouted flax, what does it usually mean?
Example is: 1 Tablespoon sprouted flaxseed
In a smoothie recipe
or in a recipe for baking something.
I take it not to mean as in sprouts, but soaked in water for 2 hours or so.
Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you for any help you can give.
Hello Gail,
I don’t see people using that term to often, but I am guessing that they are referring to flax that has been soaked in water. That is one of the ways that you can prepare so your body can better digest it. It depends on the recipe creator. But if it were me, I would add a Tbsp of flax seeds to my smooth, blend it, and enjoy. By blending the seeds, you are cracking the shell which is the other way of making it nutrient available to your body.
If you are wanting to know how they are using it in a baked recipe, I would always check in the recipe creator and ask them if they aren’t clear on their instructions. Often times people make “flax eggs” to bake with instead of chicken eggs. Usually the ratio is 1 Tbsp of flax to 3 Tbsp of water. Mix them together in a little bowl and let it sit for a bit, it will absorb all the water.
Does this help? Good night and many blessings, amie sue
Is ground flax
flour and ground flax meal the same thing and can you trade usibg them both.? Is one more effective than the other? Thanks
They are the same thing, Mary. Whole flax seeds ground to a powder. It’s always best to grind your own as needed. Since flax seeds are high in healthy fats, they can go rancid. Keep them stored in the fridge or freezer if you have the space. :) amie sue
Hello. I am new in raw foods and dehydrating and was wondering… As stated before flax seeds can go rancid.Are they still healthy after dehydrating for couple of hours? Do they keep their beneficial qualities after dehydrating? Thanks
Good evening Yael,
They will keep their nutritional value if dehydrated no higher than 115 degrees (F). amie sue