I used to LOVE those just add water packages of mashed potatoes. I would add milk instead and feel oh so gourmet. I know that Idahoan brand is still gluten free (as of the writing of this post) but the list of ingredients is staggering and no longer as appealing to me. I am still struggling with finding out what other foods I may have intolerances too. With no insurance that is not an easy task. I have narrowed it down to corn and possibly rice that are the offending stomach ache inducers. My favorite stand by Idahoan potatoes contain corn so I went on a quest to find a good substitute.
I have fallen in love with coconut flour and try to incorporate it into just about everything I make. In an effort to use up the foods that I can no longer eat I made Alan a packet of Idahoan. They smelled incredible. I tried to think of a good substitute for my raging craving and realized I was out of anything even resembling a potato. I knew coconut flour would have a similar consistency from using it in my brownie breakfast cereal. A few big questions remained. Would my Nutiva Organic Coconut Flour be adaptable to a mashed potato flavor? Would coconut flour really make a fitting substitute or just become a gross mess? I think you know the answer since it would be silly for me to write a detailed post about a disaster.
Ok I’ll indulge you… My first attempt at creating coconut flour mashed potatoes smelled terrific. I popped those babies out of the microwave and quickly turned to set the overly hot dish on the counter. Little did I know that at that exact moment my kitchen rug and my little feet would decide to go to war. I tripped on the rug and sent hot potatoes flying all over the floor, my leg, the washing machine, the dryer, the walls, and the refrigerator. I even found some lingering inside a cabinet later that evening. The tiny speck left in the bottom of the bowl was amazing! I promptly cleaned up the mess and tried again. Within minutes I was eating the best mashed potato substitute I could ever dream of.
In September of last year I put together a coconut flour guide highlighting 7 different brands of coconut flour. I tested each brand using my Best Coconut Flour Chocolate Mug Cake Ever. Since then I have had many people email me asking if I had tried their favorite brand. Once I got enough responses like that I knew I just had to do another coconut flour roundup.
I love testing new products and sharing my results with you all. I have been making my Low Calorie Banana Muffins for breakfast most mornings, so I decided that I would test out the new brands using that recipe. These days I only make the chocolate one on occasion for dessert as it is incredibly rich and decadent.
I originally planned to test these flours using my 108 calorie banana mug muffins, but my diet has changed and I have adapted the recipe to fit my new dietary needs. Over the past few months I have had to cut out all added sugar and sugar substitutes. Sugar has been making my heart race and then making me incredibly sleepy until 20 minutes after consumption I’m out like a light. I believe it may be reactive hypoglycemia. If any of you have experienced this I’d love to here from you in the comments. I’m still looking for answers and gave up on doctors a long time ago.
As most of you know I have had to cut out corn products and derivatives as well. I am still learning how corn affects me and what products I can and cannot tolerate. So I eliminated my favorite stevia due to it containing dextrose and eliminated vanilla extract due to possible corn as well. If anyone has a good corn free stevia recommendation I’d love to hear it.
So, I will be making these simplified added sugar free Banana Bread Mug Muffins for this test.
Here are the brands you all asked me to compare in no particular order. Coconut World, My Elixir of Life, Nuts.com, Honeyville, Shiloh Farms, Earth Circle Organics, Yankee Trader, and Mercola. I emailed all of the companies but only got responses from the first three. I didn’t want to wait to get this information out to you guys. Here are the three companies that responded. If I get responses from the other companies I will update the post with their information and a test of their flour as well. If you have a coconut flour you would like me to test, or are interested in a comparison of any other gluten free food or product please please let me know. I love doing these tests for you guys and sharing my results!
I began with a control group muffin using my go to coconut flour Nutiva. You can see my results of my last coconut flour comparison here.
I made two cute mug muffins using the Simple Banana Bread Mug Cake recipe I eat for breakfast every day. It is quick, healthy, added sugar free, and uses few ingredients. For the rest of the testing I decided to make the mug cakes as I do every morning; in a cereal bowl. They may not be as pretty, but they take less time and effort than dirtying two mugs or microwaving two separate cakes.
All of the flours in this test came in close and tasted great. Here’s how they stacked up.
Overall out of this test I believe Coconut World Organic Coconut flour to be the best. It has a sweeter flavor than the other brands which I consider a plus for mug cakes and added sugar free baking in general. Alan is not a big coconut flour fan. He says it is gritty. He tolerated this brand well and said it was the least gritty of the flours in this test. I found Coconut World to have the best texture, rise, and flavor. The recipe worked with no modifications to ingredients or time.
NUTS.COM Organic Coconut Flour
2 tbsp = 14 Grams (0.5 oz)
Calories: 60
Fat: 1.5 Grams
Carbs: 10 Grams
Protein: 2 Grams
Fiber: 6 Grams
Nuts.com fared well in my testing. In fact all of the other brands came in so close that I will be listing them in no particular ranked order.
Nuts.com was the second sweetest out of the flours I tested. It was slightly gritter than the Coconut World flour but not in a way that would negatively affect baking. The nuts. com coconut flour did not need any adjustments in ingredients although I must note that it did take an additional 30 seconds in the microwave. it was not set at the three minute mark. This flour makes a denser yet still amazingly tasty bread than Coconut World or My Elixir of Life. I can see it working well in brownies or other baked goods that need a denser less fluffy result.
My Elixir Of Life Gluten Free Organic Coconut Flour
My Elixir of Life Coconut Flour was less sweet that the other brands. It would lend itself fantastically to Coconut Flour Buttermilk Biscuits or other savory coconut flour baked goods where sweetness is not as desirable. This flour produced an edible muffin with good flavor. My Elixir Of Life flour produced a muffin that was lighter in color and did not rise as much as the other flours in this test. Alan thought out of the flours tested that this one was the grittiest. I enjoy the texture of coconut flour. While this may have been slightly grittier I still quite liked it.
I was scrolling through Pinterest one day a few months ago and stumbled upon an amazing looking grain free foccacia bread recipe from Gourmande In The Kitchen. I tried it and it was pretty flippin tasty. Ever since I tasted that bread I wanted to recreate it for use as a gluten free deep dish pizza crust. I tweaked the ingredients, subbed a few out, and added my own spices then doubled the recipe ending up with my own fantastic gluten and grain free pizza crust creation. Continue reading →
I often blog about my breakfast. I can’t help it. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. The foods are simple, the coffee is hot, and I am still in that warm half asleep state. It is my time to relax first thing in the morning before I switch over to my always on the go super busy life. I have been eating this meal everyday for about a month. It is so simple I did not think to share it with you guys, until now. After eating it everyday for a month and smiling every morning over this hot bowl of banana breakfast pudding (aka paleo oatmeal) I decided this recipe was long over due for sharing. Continue reading →
I have finally decided to do my first rafflecopter giveaway! one lucky person will win 1 pound of gluten free grain free coconut flour and over 18 dollars in gluten free coupons from companies like Namaste, Udi’s, Crunchmaster, and Enjoy Life. I was given this coconut flour by Bob’s Red Mill when I asked for it to write my comparison of 7 top coconut flours. The coupons are from the Washington DC Gluten Free Expo. I do not buy many gluten free prepackaged items due to my corn intolerance so I figured I would pass on these awesome coupons to you guys. Continue reading →
I love coconut flour. I bake with it as often as I can and eat it at least once every day. Some people would call me obsessed. Low calorie, high protein, low carb, high fiber, this flour has amazing benefits! What’s not to love? I have tried my fair share of coconut flour recipes from other food bloggers. Most worked out fantastically, but some flopped. After reading a bajillion comments on those recipes the common consensus was that the brand of flour may be the reason for the recipe failure. Coconut flour absorbs a ton of water. Coconut flours differ in how finely they are ground and how much fat they contain as well. I really wanted to figure out which flours worked best and why. Continue reading →
Do you ever find yourself with an ingredient that you bought once a while back and never used again? Before we moved into our RV, I would just let those items hide out in the backs of cabinets and linger on top of the refrigerator. Sometimes those ingredients would get lucky and I would need them for a recipe before they expired, sometimes they ended up being tossed out during spring cleaning only having been used once. Our RV is only rated to hold 1483 pounds worth of “stuff”. When I began weighing out the items in my life, I realized just how much stuff I had. I was amazed to find I had around 35 pounds of weight just in flour and another 20 pounds in spices. Continue reading →
Who doesn’t love banana bread? I confess I can eat a whole loaf in one day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That is not usually a healthy or diet friendly thing to do. Continue reading →
I have been craving cookie dough ice cream ever since I became a celiac. I finally came across some made by So Delicious. It is dairy free and gluten free and has the most incredible cookie dough chunks I have ever had! I ate the entire pint in one sitting. The pint cost about 5.50 which is way out of my price range for a pint of ice cream. I wanted to save my money and buy it again, but then I had a better idea. Continue reading →
I bought a can of pumpkin to make the famous paleo pumpkin pancakes I had heard so much about. I tried them and for me they were way too eggy. I much prefer the two ingredient banana pancakes as far as texture and flavor. So I had most of a can of pumpkin left for experimentation. I was growing tired of eating my brownie batter paleo oats* after eating them 7 mornings in a row on our road trip. Don’t get me wrong they are delicious I was just finally on chocolate breakfast overkill. Continue reading →
be adaptable to a mashed potato flavor? Would coconut flour really make a fitting substitute or just become a gross mess? I think you know the answer since it would be silly for me to write a detailed post about a disaster.
