Grains, Gluten, and Flours....What do I use??

Apparently I've been baking a lot of gluten and grain free goods, without even realizing it. I make my own flours and milks as bases for my recipes, so I know exactly where everything is coming from that I feed my daughter -- We really took "no processed foods" to the extreme. (I do make exceptions from time to time, but you get the idea.).

Yet I hear from so many people who are avoiding gluten and grains.  So I decided to investigate further what acceptable flour replacements would be.

Here's what I discovered:

Many foods that I thought were a grain, such as quinoa, actually aren't. Although it looks like a grain and is often confused as one, quinoa is a relative of spinach, beets, and chard.   Quinoa is a complete protein, containing all 9 essential amino acids, and is packed with many beneficial nutrients.

Uncooked Quinoa - there are many different colored quinoa, yet they are all similar
in nutritional value and white is most commonly found in stores.

"While no single food can supply all the essential life sustaining nutrients, quinoa comes as close as any other in the plant or animal kingdom."  ~ Huffpost Healthy Living

Who would have thought??

And so many grain free foods make perfect flours to use in baked goods and bread.  I've used many on the grain free list, and most are suitable replacements near a 1:1 ratio with any traditional flour normally used (such as whole wheat). Some of these flours can be expensive to purchase, but if you buy the whole food and make the flour yourself, you will save a lot of money (especially if buying in bulk).  A little goes a long way, and it's much easier than you think.

Uncooked Quinoa ground into flour

I have a Vitamix and absolutely LOVE it.  I am a big advocate of it because you can do and make just about anything in them.  They are a bit pricey up front, but in the long run, they are SO worth it.  My mom had an original one for 30 years before I, unknowingly, gave it away (sorry!).  I can go on and on about the benefits of them, but will stop here because that's not the purpose of this post.

I imagine any high speed blender would work, as well as a coffee grinder (you can get those fairly cheap to grind a small batch). I have never tried using a food processor, so not sure how well that would work, but it's worth a try.

So if you are avoiding gluten and grains, but still want to enjoy muffins, cakes, breads, pastas, etc....you can!

Grains or Made From Grains:

Barley
Bran
*Bulgar
Couscous
Farina
Graham flour (Wheat)
*Kamut
Montina Flour
*Oats
Orzo
Rye
Semolina
*Spelt
*Wheat - Make sure GMO free, as nearly 90% of US crops are genetically modified
Commercially made stock (Chicken, beef, vegetable in either powder or liquid usually contains some kind of grain)  Make your own for free.  Find out how, here.

Gluten Free Grains:

Corn - Make sure GMO free as nearly 90% in the U.S. is genetically modified
*Millet
*Rice
*Sorghum
Teff

Grain and Gluten Free:

*Almond
*Amaranth
Arrowroot
*Buckwheat (also called Kasha) - somewhat gritty - 3:4 Buckwheat to traditional Flour
Cassava
*Chickpeas (also called Besan and Gram Flour)
Coconut
Cottonseed
Dal - similar to lentils, rich in Vitamin B, roast before grinding to flour
Fava Bean
Flaxseed - This would not replace flour
Lentils
Manioc
Mesquite Flour
Potato Starch/Flour
*Quinoa
Sago
Sesame
Taro Flour
Soy - make sure you get GMO free as nearly 85% of soy in the U.S. is genetically modified
Tapioca - I've used to replace cornstarch - not sure it would hold as a flour
Plantain Flour - peel, slice and dry plantains (dehydrator, oven, or sun), then grind into flour
Yam Flour

Uncooked Chickpeas can easily be turned into flour for much cheaper than store bought Besan

* These are foods I regularly make into flours and use in recipes.  The others, I may use regularly, but not in place of flour, so not sure how well they would do. I am working on a pasta made from lentils though, so stay tuned!

On a side note, what about yeast?   Yeast is gluten free.

If substituting any of these grain and gluten free flours, I would start with a 3:4 ratio (grain/gluten free: traditional), and go from there.  Have fun with it and don't be afraid to eat your favorite foods.  Everything can be modified, it just may take some getting used to!

Some grain and gluten free recipes:

Chickpea Chia Crackers
Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls
Power Packed Bagels
Quinoa Cake Stackers

Power Packed Bagel - Gluten and Grain Free - Recipe Here

Good luck on your healthy journey and please feel free to share what you've tried!

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