Flaxseed questions..

[infomama]

I bought a bag of Bob's Red Mill Organic golden whole flaxseeds and will be incorporating it into our green smoothies starting tomorrow. My questions...

I'll be using a designated coffee grinder for them. Should I just grid away till they are like powder?

From what I read we should start with 1T a day (more than 2T is more than the body needs I understand). Yes?

How about dd's (3 and 7)...how much should they get?

[infomama]

bumping...

[mommylamb]

I just bought ground flaxseed with blueberry from Trader Joe's and it has a powder like consistency. Not sure if it has to be that way, but that's what the ground stuff is like.

[essnce629]

Yes, you just grind the whole seeds like you would coffee. It has to be ground to get the benefits. I have a separate coffee grinder for flaxseeds, but I'm not sure if that's a must. I buy them whole since they have to be refridgerated as soon as they are ground or they will go bad quickly. Are the ground TJ's ones on the shelf? Are they vacuum sealed? Adult dose is 1 tbsp a day, but you can have more. For DS1 I just sprinkle it in his yogurt and don't measure. It's probably less than a tsp. DS2 gets a teaspoon of flaxseed oil in his yogurt every day. If I make a smoothie I'll add a tbsp of ground or a tbsp of the oil. When I maked my whipped oatmeal everyday (I'm obsessed with it) I add 2 tbsp of ground flax, but I'm making about 4 cups of oatmeal total.

[mezzona]

we grind to powder and just use the coffee grinder and clean well between use.

eta 1 tsp. once a day. i share w/ dd1

[infomama]

Thanks guys. I am really looking forward to this addition to our diets. Whipped oatmeal??? do tell....

[mommylamb]

Yes, you just grind the whole seeds like you would coffee. It has to be ground to get the benefits. I have a separate coffee grinder for flaxseeds, but I'm not sure if that's a must. I buy them whole since they have to be refridgerated as soon as they are ground or they will go bad quickly. Are the ground TJ's ones on the shelf? Are they vacuum sealed? Adult dose is 1 tbsp a day, but you can have more. For DS1 I just sprinkle it in his yogurt and don't measure. It's probably less than a tsp. DS2 gets a teaspoon of flaxseed oil in his yogurt every day. If I make a smoothie I'll add a tbsp of ground or a tbsp of the oil. When I maked my whipped oatmeal everyday (I'm obsessed with it) I add 2 tbsp of ground flax, but I'm making about 4 cups of oatmeal total.


Hmmm... interesting. The TJ ones were just on the shelf and not vacuum sealed. If it said refrigerate after opening, then I missed it. I'll double check. Not good.

[essnce629]

Whipped oatmeal??? do tell....

Omg, it's to die for! Someone on here posted it and I've been eating it almost every day since (and I'd rarely eat oatmeal before)! I use flaxseeds instead of chia seeds. Here's the recipe: http://www.katheats.com/kaths-tribute-to-oatmeal

My favorite combo is with peaches added. While it's cooking I take frozen organic peaches and chop them up. After the bananas are all whipped up and I've added the vanilla, I add the peaches. Once the peaches are warm I serve it in my bowl and sprinkle the top with a little bit of brown sugar and unsweetened dehydrated coconut flakes. The brown sugar melts on the top and I don't stir it in. This way, each bite has a little bit of carmalized brown sugar on it-- soooo good!

I've also added blueberries instead of peaches, strawberries, and a combo of strawberries and blueberries. My favorite is still the peaches but the other combos are good too.

It's 1:30am and now that I've posted this I'm really craving some!

[brittone2]

Another idea is a one minute muffin. You use flax as the "flour" and it is cooked in a mug in the micro.

I will do this for a quick healthy snack for myself or the kids sometimes. It is fresh on my mind because I did a chocolate one last night actually :)

I use half flax, half almond flour for mine (since I am mostly grain free).

The basic recipe is on page 1 at the link below, and then you can come up with about a thousand other successful variations. We use coconut oil sometimes, butter sometimes, etc. I sweeten w/ erythritol/stevia but you can sub whatever sweetener/sugar your family uses.

I have done blueberry, I've added a natural banana extract I have from frontier, cinammon, and a few nuts to make it like banana bread, etc.

Just an idea for you to try if you are looking for ways to eat it.
http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/lowcarb-recipe-help-suggestions/497336-thank-you-4-1-minute-muffin-recipe.html

eta: if you don't mind the flavor of flax you can do all flax. I try not to overload on it so I sometimes use almond flour or half almond half flax. You should melt the butter or coconut oil in the mug first, then proceed w/ adding the rest of the ingredients. I don't think the original recipe specifies that very well.

[essnce629]

Another idea is a one minute muffin. You use flax as the "flour" and it is cooked in a mug in the micro.

I will do this for a quick healthy snack for myself or the kids sometimes. It is fresh on my mind because I did a chocolate one last night actually :)

I use half flax, half almond flour for mine (since I am mostly grain free).

The basic recipe is on page 1 at the link below, and then you can come up with about a thousand other successful variations. We use coconut oil sometimes, butter sometimes, etc. I sweeten w/ erythritol/stevia but you can sub whatever sweetener/sugar your family uses.

I have done blueberry, I've added a natural banana extract I have from frontier, cinammon, and a few nuts to make it like banana bread, etc.

Just an idea for you to try if you are looking for ways to eat it.
http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/lowcarb-recipe-help-suggestions/497336-thank-you-4-1-minute-muffin-recipe.html

eta: if you don't mind the flavor of flax you can do all flax. I try not to overload on it so I sometimes use almond flour or half almond half flax. You should melt the butter or coconut oil in the mug first, then proceed w/ adding the rest of the ingredients. I don't think the original recipe specifies that very well.

Hmmm, very interesting. I think I'm going to try that right now at 1:36am!!!! What is almond flour exactly? Is it just raw almonds ground into a powder? I don't have almond flour but I have raw almonds. I hope it's not "eggy" tasting since I don't like eggs.

[essnce629]

Ok, it's now 2:48am and I just finished my 1 minute muffin! Sooo good with a little bit of butter and honey on it! I did half flax, half almond flour (just ground up my almonds in the grinder) and added a 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract and about an 1/8 cup of frozen blueberries (run under water to defrost first). It puffed up perfectly and wasn't eggy at all. I don't do splenda, so I did a little more than a 1/2 tsp of sugar. What a great way to get your flax! I'm going to try it with coconut oil and ground coconut instead of almond flour next. Thanks for the recipe!

[brittone2]

Ok, it's now 2:48am and I just finished my 1 minute muffin! Sooo good with a little bit of butter and honey on it! I did half flax, half almond flour (just ground up my almonds in the grinder) and added a 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract and about an 1/8 cup of frozen blueberries (run under water to defrost first). It puffed up perfectly and wasn't eggy at all. I don't do splenda, so I did a little more than a 1/2 tsp of sugar. What a great way to get your flax! I'm going to try it with coconut oil and ground coconut instead of almond flour next. Thanks for the recipe!
Awesome. Glad you liked it. We've done a million variations and they almost always come out pretty tasty. I did a chocolate one the other day-unsweetened cocoa powder plus a little extra sweetener (we don't use splenda either; I use erythritol/stevia blend). That works for those times I really want something in the evening w/ a cup of tea :) We've done blueberry (I like this w/ coconut oil), banana bread, more gingerbread type spices, etc.

GLad you liked it. I'm thankful to the creator of that recipe because we've been using it for years and find it super handy.

eta: you can also use other nut flours: pecan meal is good too. We buy blanched almond flour to have on hand for other baking, but you can totally just grind almonds like you did :) Or you can buy already ground almond meal at TJ's. The meal is a little more coarse and the skins are still on the almonds. Almond flour has a finer consistency and skins are taken off the almonds which can make it look more golden and less brown.

[essnce629]

We buy blanched almond flour to have on hand for other baking, but you can totally just grind almonds like you did :) Or you can buy already ground almond meal at TJ's. The meal is a little more coarse and the skins are still on the almonds. Almond flour has a finer consistency and skins are taken off the almonds which can make it look more golden and less brown.

I read somewhere last night when I was looking up almond flour, that the antioxidants in the almonds are in the skin, so maybe it's a good thing to keep them on. I'll look for the almond meal at TJ's. Is it in the nut section or with the flaxseeds/cereals?

I don't like eggs, so this is a good way to get in a daily egg and some protein.

[brittone2]

I read somewhere last night when I was looking up almond flour, that the antioxidants in the almonds are in the skin, so maybe it's a good thing to keep them on. I'll look for the almond meal at TJ's. Is it in the nut section or with the flaxseeds/cereals?

I don't like eggs, so this is a good way to get in a daily egg and some protein.
I haven't purchased from TJs in a while but I think it is in w/ the nuts.