COCONUT FLOUR

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AngelSprings

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Relationship to Diabetes
At risk of diabetes
Hi

Like most diabetics bread send up my blood glucose levels, also potatoes, and to be honest these are two of my favourite foods! I usually cook a meal in the evenings consisting of meat and about five low carb vegetables, 2 - 3 ounces of new potatoes, a good Bisto gravy made with one tablespoonful of granules, but even this sends up my BG levels. And if I make a sandwich at lunchtime out of two slices of bread the same thing happens. To be honest sometimes I reach the point where I think "What the hell, life is too short, I should be enjoying my food and not worrying about it all the time."

By the way I'm Type 2, not, as yet, on any medication. Prior to having the three Covid vaccinations my readings two hours after a meal were in the sixes but shortly afterwards they began hitting the tens, and they haven't gone down since.

I don't enjoy eating protein all the time, as I've mentioned I'd like to incorporate a sandwich at lunchtime. Burgen bread sends up my readings, also seeded bread, though I do enjoy them, and the slices in HiLo bread are too tiny to do anything with! I quite enjoy Ryvita's but they are around 8 carbs for one. Three would be 24 carbs, and that is quite a lot of carbs for not much return.

Now yesterday I came across on You Tube a chappie (Head Bangers) who demonstrates how to make Naan wraps out of coconut flour, and I had a go at making them, and they turned out quite well, but I wasn't too keen on their consistency. They were too soft and not 'bready' enough. However, two hours after eating a couple of them my BG levels had
dropped down to 6.7, which I was very pleased about. The thing is I don't want to spend my days making coconut wraps, certainly not when the sun is shining and I can be out there. So my question is, does anyone know of any ready made coconut wraps that are not too expensive and do not taste like cardboard? I'd also appreciate any coconut wrap recipes where the wraps have a bit of substance to them. (I can have a go at making them when the sun isn't out!)

A few years ago I was diagnosed with a small hiatus hernia, and do find that certain foodstuffs irritate my digestive tract. For instance, a while ago I purchased a breadmaker and was successful in making low carb bread, but there was something in it, possibly the oatbran or similar, that irritated my esophagus. And the same thing happens if I eat anything made out of almond flour.

Sorry for going on for so long. I don't post often! But I would appreciate any feedback on coconut wraps/Naan bread, etc.

Best wishes.
 
I've not tried them, but you can buy low carb wraps, not sure what they're made of, but I suspect they're expensive :(.
I've made my own lower carb rolls in the breadmaker, then baked them in the oven, but they have oat bran (or I also use wheat bran) in, so might be a problem for your oesophagus. I tried making a naan with the recipe, and because of the wheat gluten, the dough really doesn't want to roll as it's v springy, and springs back to it's original shape!
Could you try experimenting with coconut flour, wheat gluten and yeast, so it's more bready?
I'm not sure I've answered your question really! Sorry.
 
Hi Windy
Thank you for your helpful reply. As you mention, I can imagine the low carb bread dough being difficult to handle when attempting to make Naan breads.

I have been trawling the web looking for a solution to making the Naan breads more 'bready', but haven't yet been very successful. I've got to be careful what I add in case it irritates my digestive tract.

This morning I caught the bus to visit a large Asian Supermarket in the hope of finding Coconut wraps but had no luck. I've read somewhere that coconut flour isn't readily available in India, and when it is it's quite expensive, so that probably is the reason.

Many thanks.
 
Have you tried gram flour (besan/chick pea flour) flatbreads? I'm wondering if that would be any good. There's an Italian flatbread called farinata you could try, but it's a bit more pancakey than bready. And you'd still have to make it yourself.
There's a massive Indian supermarket near me, and I've never seen coconut flour bread there either, I'm afraid. They do everything else under the sun though!
 
AngelSprings said:
Hi Windy
Thank you for your helpful reply. As you mention, I can imagine the low carb bread dough being difficult to handle when attempting to make Naan breads.

I have been trawling the web looking for a solution to making the Naan breads more 'bready', but haven't yet been very successful. I've got to be careful what I add in case it irritates my digestive tract.

This morning I caught the bus to visit a large Asian Supermarket in the hope of finding Coconut wraps but had no luck. I've read somewhere that coconut flour isn't readily available in India, and when it is it's quite expensive, so that probably is the reason.

Many thanks.
Click to expand...
Somebody made coconut roti on Master Chef so I looked for a recipe.
100g coconut flour, 20g psyllium husk, half tsp baking powder, 400ml warm water.
Looked OK but they undercooked them.
 
I too have this problem so I’ve commented so I can see any replies, I made some low carb bread yesterday with almond flour eggs and baking powder it was awful
 
WendyB61 said:
I too have this problem so I’ve commented so I can see any replies, I made some low carb bread yesterday with almond flour eggs and baking powder it was awful
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The recipe I tried was for rolls and also had mozzarella and cream cheese, my note says Needs work. They were more like scones than bread.
 
Hi Windy, I've tried incorporating chickpea flour into the wraps and they did not taste good. Plus the chickpea flour is quite high in carbs. Leading Lights: the recipe for the coconut roti's on Master Chef is almost identical to the one I made, and the results were too soft, tasted too much of coconut flour and were not 'bready enough'. I know exactly what you mean Wendy B61, almond flour bread tastes awful. I've tried quite a few almond flour recipes and not liked them. However, all is not lost, after trawling the web I've found a recipe for tortillas which I like. It comes under the heading Keto Tortillas: Gluten free, Low Carb Tortillas made with almond flour. (Uno Casa). They are trying to promote a tortilla press, but I made mine all by hand. Nor do I have a food processor, which they recommend.

I tried rolling the dough out between two pieces of greaseproof paper, and it doesn't work as it sticks. I had to flour the board with almond flour then roll out.

I had one of the tortillas for lunch with two sausages in it spread with grain mustard, and whilst not seemingly healthy it really hit the button taste wise. And two hours later my BG reading was 6.7.which pleased me.

I think the dough could be quite versatile, though I haven't tried these yet. A circle of dough could be formed and made into a pizza with cheese, etc, then baked in the oven. It could be made into a Cornish pasty, meat and veg added, the edges crimped and then put in the oven. Sausage rolls.

The bottom line is that it tastes quite good and can be used instead of bread.

Best wishes.
 
I've found the recipe and they look nice! I'm missing some of the ingredients, but will have a go making them soon 🙂
Sarah
 
Hi Sarah, pleased that you looked up the tortilla recipe, and I do hope that you like it if you decide to make it.. As luck would have it I already had quite a few of the required ingredients, such as the apple cider vinegar, xanthan gum, because I'm always trying out different low carb recipes to keep my blood glucose levels in check. Not all of them successful, as you've probably gathered. Let me know how you get on.

Earlier on in the day I mixed up all the ingredients and put it into the fridge ready for me to roll out. I shall probably make a wrap tomorrow morning for breakfast, and have a fried egg on top.

Best wishes.
 
The trouble with coconuts is (a) they are not grown in the UK and (b) they are high in saturated fats. Almonds are a disaster for the environment, they need vast amounts of water to ripen.

None of these flours other than the real stuff behave as flour should. The key is the absence of gluten, so you have to use all sorts of agents to bind it together. I’m T1, of course, so it’s not really an issue for me, but I really couldn’t be bothered with all the additives you need. I do use Gram flour, that’s made from chickpeas, for making poppadoms and other stuff in Indian recipes. In fact, a poppadom is a nice low carb snack.
 
Hi Mike, I take your points about coconut and almond flour, but chickpeas are grown in India, as are some of the supply of coconuts (also grown in other countries in Asia), so I'm not sure that swapping chickpeas flour for coconut flour would significantly change the environmental impact of coconut flour, though I agree with your point about almond flour and water use. I don't use much of either of them to be honest, as they're quite energy dense, and I'm on a diet :(.

I try and live as "green" a lifestyle as I can too; no car, no flights, buying second hand, minimal heating in the winter, vegetarian diet etc, so I'm mindful of my food choices also and their impact.

I make rolls from a mixture of vital wheat gluten, wheat bran and flaxseed (linseed) meal to mimic wheat flour rolls. They're pretty close to wheat flour bread. The only additive I'd put in that wouldn't be in wheat flour bread is psyllium husk, which is what fybogel is made from, I think it works as a bulking agent to reduce the density of the flaxseed.

mikeyB said:
In fact, a poppadom is a nice low carb snack
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I've used gram flour in the past for making pakoras and farinata, but I'm not sure I agree with you about poppadoms being a low carb snack as they're 46g/100g of carbs. I know they're light, so you're not getting much for each poppadom (3-4g per poppadum), but I could eat loads of them and have limited self control, so don't keep them in the house.

Hope you have a nice Easter break, Sarah
 
I was disturbed to see a grower having to discard and put for composting tons and tons of what looked like perfectly good beetroots because he could find no market for them. He used to export a lot but the transport costs are now such that nobody was buying them. He couldn't even give them away.
I grow lots of veggies but you are always fighting against some pest or other. The mice have eaten my just coming up peas, eaten the pea and left the green shoot on the top of the soil, they were covered by a net to stop birds but the mice thought they were fair game. Badgers trashed my carrots and sweetcorn last year, and it's a constant battle against slugs and maggots in apples and plums. It makes you realise how much pesticides are used commercially so you get perfect produce.
 
WendyB61 said:
I too have this problem so I’ve commented so I can see any replies, I made some low carb bread yesterday with almond flour eggs and baking powder it was awful
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Have you tried Liv Life bread? it's really quite good. available in Waitrose and some coops. No I don't work for them lol. 3g of carb per slice 80cal.
 
The water arguement is a bit of a red herring.
Any plant needs water.
Coffee beans need it.
It takes 128l to produce your cup of coffee.
Easter? It takes around 2,045l to make just one bar of chocolate.
As to animal farming, it takes around 3,000l to make a burger.
As to almond flour, they no longer flood water, times change.
 
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