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.
Liberally sprinkle spices all over chicken and pat with fingers to help them stick (rubbing the spices in will just make a wet sticky mess).
Wrap whole onions in aluminum foil and place in bottom of crock pot.
Set chicken on top.
If whole onions are too large for chicken to fit nicely in crock-pot, slice onions in half and re-wrap. Place any remaining onion in cavity of chicken.
Cover crock-pot in aluminum foil and then put on crock-pot lid.
Cook on high for 5 hours or until chicken internal temperature is 165 to 175 degrees.
Chicken will be tender and fall off the bones. To keep chicken intact use lifting tongs or two spatulas to lift carefully from crock pot.
One night recently I asked Alan what would be an interesting flavor for a chicken. We were low on groceries and when he opened the fridge he asked whether salsa would be good. I don’t know why I had never had such a delicious idea. I pulled together a few other things I had on hand and made the easiest tastiest chicken I have ever had come out of my crock pot. This chicken fell off the bones and had an amazing flavor. I thought the leftovers would be great as chicken tacos, but I had an even better idea for the leftovers. I grabbed my clean slow cooker and made this… gluten free easy chicken and sausage gumbo.
1 whole chicken sized to fit your crock pot (mine was 5 pounds)
1 16 ounce jar Garden Fresh Gourmet Jack's Special Salsa from Costco (Just called Garden Fresh Gourmet at regular grocery stores) or any salsa that contains a bit of sweetness
It was a few days before Christmas and I was out of my favorite corn free (corn lite actually) powdered sugar. There was no way I was driving the 30 minutes to whole paycheck to get some during the height of last minute Christmas shopping craziness. I needed a tasty frosting to ice my Betty Crocker Devil Food Cake Mix cupcakes that I planned to have as part of our Christmas eve calorie fest. I decided to try my hand at german chocolate frosting as no powdered sugar would be necessary. I drove the 2 minutes to the local Food Lion and grabbed the pecans and coconut shreds. The line was fairly short and the whole trip took less than the 30 minute drive out to whole foods would have. Yay! I had never made german chocolate icing before. I had always been the girl who grabs the convenient tub of Dunkin Hines and applied it liberally to cakes and cupcakes. Easy peasy. Of course with my new intolerance to corn that is no longer an option. I was surprised at how fantastic this frosting was. I couldn’t quit eating it by the fingerful. If you love coconut and pecans this frosting will amaze you too.
This recipe makes a lot of frosting. That left a bunch leftover to freeze,or eat by the spoonful or better yet slather on my Best Coconut Flour Chocolate Mug Cake Ever. I like that I can pull out premade frosting from the freezer for those unexpected “crap I need to bring a dessert” moments.
Combine the first five ingredients in a large pan over low heat.
Stir constantly until thickened which will take about 10 minutes.
Mix in coconut and pecans and stir.
If you want the icing to make pretty dribbles down the sides of your cake ice the cake before the icing cools. To ice cupcakes or for a thick easily spreadable icing wait until icing is completely cool before use.
This will ice a two layer cake. It freezes well for later use if you have too much or you can eat it with a spoon.
3.2.1269
Just look at that delicious gluten free German chocolate goodness
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 →
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.
