Almond Flour – Do’s, Don’ts and Whys

Are you new to using almond flour or want to learn more about it?

Almond Flour Do’s and Dont’s

Here are a few tips for using almond flour and why you should be using it as a gluten-free flour.

Baked goods made from cornstarch, rice flour, and soymeal are not flavorful. Almond Flour makes great baked goods.

 Properly prepared, almonds are basically a perfect food, about equal in protein, fat, and carbohydrate.

Almond Flour vs Almond Meal

Almond flour is made from almonds that have had their skins removed. Almond meal is courser and uses whole almonds that still contain their toxic coatings. Read your recipes carefully to see which product they call for.

Almond Flour

• Almond flour is a healthier product, as it is made from blanched almonds.
• It is ground into a finer texture with a neutral taste.
• Finely ground Almond Flour is very light, good for baking.
• Check Bob’s Red Mill brand for these

Almond Meal

• Almond meal is generally not blanched, leaving the seed husk which carries most of the phytic acid.
• It is darker and has a heavier consistency than almond flour.

Uses for Almond Flour

• Simple almond flour pancakes can be cooked, frozen, and popped into the toaster when “bread” is desired. This is a great excuse to enjoy some organic ghee, coconut butter, or crushed fruit topping.
• Almond flour can be used to coat foods before baking and makes a good crust for quiche.
• It won’t rise like wheat flour but makes excellent muffins, crusts, and small loaves leavened with baking powder.
• Be sure to keep almond flour refrigerated or frozen, as with all other flour, nuts, cereals, etc. 

When to Avoid Almonds and Other Nuts

1. If you struggle with any Retro Viruses such as Herpes, Shingles or Epstein Barr, Almonds (and all nuts and seeds) have a high amount of Arginine. Nuts, coconut meat, coconut butter (not coconut oil), and chocolate will aggravate Herpes viruses.  Take L-Lysine, away from food, to counteract the Arginine on the day you choose to eat nuts or just avoid them altogether. Grains have the highest amounts of Arginine. Read more here. 
2. If you have chronic immune problems, don’t eat quantities of nuts or nut flour. They can be inflammatory in large amounts.
3. All nuts are rich in calories. If you are trying to lose weight, use Almond Flour and Almonds for flavor and a little fat, but not for large snacks.
4. Nuts are hard to digest unless soaked overnight to remove Phytic Acid and other anti-nutrients. Soak and dehydrate them with guidelines from Nourishing Traditions cook book. Or buy them already soaked and dehydrated. 

For more information on nuts and seeds, their preparation, and their uses, listen to “Preparing Nuts & Seeds: Podcast” on iTunes or my website. You can also check out my article “Nuts and Seeds; The Good and The Bad“. If you enjoyed this information, please consider sharing it and subscribing to my newsletter!

 

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