I have been grinding seeds and adding them to the flour portion or recipes for a long time.
Many times I did it the hard way, grinding them as I went for the recipe.
Sometimes I ground them ahead and kept them in a bag in the freezer ready for use.
But it still wasn't the most efficient way to do it.
And it is easier to persuade the kids to use as well when there is no mixing of funky green and brown stuff into their cookies!
So I made up a flour mix the other day that was as easy to use as getting flour straight out of the bag and I heard no fuss from my daughter when we used it to make her cookies.
QK FLOUR MIX
TOOLS – You'll need a coffee grinder to grind your seeds. Take care not to burn out the motor by grinding in short spurts. And NEVER wipe it out with your fingers while it's plugged in. Because of the way it's designed, the chance of accidental injury is pretty much non existent because the lid needs to be on to operate it, but better safe than sorry I always say. You never know if it could malfunction or grow a brain of it's own someday.
Unplugging it's a good habit to get into at any rate.
You'll also need a good quality freezer container. It doesn't have to be overly large because it's best not to grind your seeds too far ahead to maintain the nutrient value.
INGREDIENTS – You will need seeds of your choice. My favourites are
– sunflower (shelled)
– pumpkin (these are a nutritional powerhouse and also said to help combat worms, sounds good to me!)
– flax (a great source of fibre and helps to lighten up the seed mix)
– sesame seeds – raw (you can get them toasted but I like raw better, they are sweeter. If I want a light and sweet recipe, sometimes I will use only sesame seeds. The skins are noticeable in the finished product but when you get used to them they are no big deal and of course are another source of fibre.
– raw almonds – it's hard to get them these days, but if you can, the are another amazing addition. You can even buy almond flour.
Pretty much any nut or seed can be ground to make your own fresh flour with a variety of nutrients and benefits.
Here's how I mix mine up.
SEED MIX
When I made this round I only had
- pumpkin
- sunflower
- flax
so I did a grinder full of each one which amounted to 2 cups of ground seeds.
ADD TO…
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 1/2 cups white flour
When I go shopping and get more seeds, I will probably mix up another batch that includes more seeds and dry milk powder, it can also be used as a portion of your flour mixture.
TIP: Mark your mix on your container. If you use a ziploc baggie, write it on the bag. If you use a container, you can write it on a piece of paper and tape it on. This way when you need to make another batch you don't need to look it up again. Or if you make it differently and want to do it again, you will know exactly how you did it. It makes refilling a breeze.
I will keep you posted with my next QK mix, I'm going to make it a little bigger next time too.
