Coconut Flour: A Healthy Alternative to White and Wheat

Guest Post by Calie at Broccoli Cupcake

I consider coconut products a must have for our healthier lifestyle and that includes coconut flour. Coconut flour has the unique ability to transform “treats” into nutritious, health-promoting version of their original self. Because it contains natural sugar, baked goods made with coconut flour require less added sugar, which is always a good start.

Coconut flour is one of the healthier flour options out there for several reasons. It is made up of 14% coconut oil (see the Coconut Oil Challenge), 58% dietary fiber and 28% water, protein and carbohydrates. It is also gluten free and higher in protein and dietary fiber than any other flour making it a great alternative to both white and wheat. Because it’s high in fiber it promotes feelings of being full and provides all the benefits of a fiber rich diet.

Diets high in fiber are proven to:

• Promote heart health
• Facilitate digestion and enhance digestive health, which in turn helps detoxify the body
• Improve cholesterol
• Support the immune system

Here are a few ways to add coconut flour to your diet.

• Use it in place of traditional flour for breading meat or vegetables. This works especially well in Thai-style dishes where the coconut flavor enhances the taste.
• Use it as a thickening agent in soups or stews
• Add it to smoothies
• Use it to replace a portion of flour in cookie and cake recipes. If using it to replace all of the flour follow the tip below.

If you enjoy cooking with coconut flour and are looking for more recipes and ideas, Cooking with Coconut Flour: A Delicious Low-Carb, Gluten-Free Alternative to Wheat, is a great resource.

Tip: When replacing all of the flour in a recipe with coconut flour, use one egg per ounce of coconut flour for baking. The egg replaces the gluten and keeps the flour from falling apart.

Recipe: Rinse and cut up 1 lb of chicken tenders into bite size nuggets. Dip in egg or coconut milk and roll in coconut flour to coat. For extra “crunch” and more coconut flavor add unsweetened coconut flakes to the flour. Coat a baking dish with coconut oil and bake until chicken is fully cooked and coconut flakes are browned. Approximately 25 minutes. Serve in place of frozen/preserved chicken nuggets or add to other dishes. Delicious on rice with curry sauce, in salads or on top of quinoa with steamed veggies. Use can also substitute shrimp for chicken – Yum!

What’s your favorite coconut flour recipe?

Broccoli Cupcake is a place to find and share information about living a happy, healthy lifestyle. The contents are fueled by Calie’s personal journey to improve her health and the health of her family. Calie is a work-from-home media relations consultant, mom to two unruly boys and health and wellness junkie. Tune in every other Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. for Calie’s healthy living tips on Fox 17 Tennessee Mornings.