Almond Flour and Almond Milk

Almond Flour, my new find :)

I am searching for low carb alternatives for my fast days and was going through menus from the book "South Asian Health Solution" by Dr.Ronesh Sinha and found recipe for Almond Flour chapathis. 

Here is her article on Why Almond Flour?

There are some pros and cons for using Almond Flour. Please consult your doctor before using Almond Flour.

I did some research online to understand the differences between wheat flour and almond flour and was completely blown away with the nutrition fact comparison. I found the below facts here.

Type	Almond Flour (100g)	Wheat Flour (100g)
Protein	21.94	9.71
Carbs	19.44	76.22
Fiber	10.4	2.4
Potassium	687	149
Magnesium	275	25
Calcium	216	20
Iron	3.72	1.26
Glycemic Index	0	71

I just bought Almond Flour and made chapatis. It needs a little patience to make those as the dough is very fragile and breaks apart easily. So, go easy on rolling them. And make them a little thicker than regular rotis and 6" would be easy to make and heat them up. Heat them on a tava for a couple of minutes before you turn them over. You can use ghee or oil to shallow fry them. They tasted super yummy. Very rich in taste. I loved eating them just plain. There is a little sweet taste it. The tasted more like a desert than a main course. But on fast days manageable :)

Almond Milk

I have used Almond milk as a replacement to cow milk for several years now. I stopped using it last year assuming I might be missing on some of the health benefits of regular milk. The only difference I noticed is I gained more weight. A low-calorie substitute for milk. I have my morning coffee with unsweetened almond milk and can use it on cereals. It tastes super yummy with smoothies. I tasted it only once but loved the taste. You cannot make tea ad curd with almond milk though. I tried ;)

Type	Almond Milk (1 cup)	Cow Milk (2%) (1 cup)
Calories	30	120
Total Fat	2.5g	5g
Cholesterol	0mg	20mg
Sodium	150mg	116mg
Potassium	35mg	344mg
Carbs	1g	12g
Protein	1g	8g
Sugars	0g	12g

Almond milk is made by toasting and grinding almonds and then blending them with filtered water. One cup contains 30 calories, 2.5 grams of fat (and that fat comes from heart-healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats), 160 mg of sodium, only 1 gram of protein compared to 8 grams in a cup of cow's milk.

You can get protein from other sources like egg and cheese. Choosing almond milk over cow's milk when going on a low carb/low calorie diet is highly beneficial provided it suits you, meaning you don't have any nut allergies. 

One negative side of consuming almond milk is the presence of Carrageenan. It is an additive derived from seaweed and is used as a stabilizer and thickener. Although it is considered safe by the FDA, some scientists have raised questions about the potentially harmful effects of widespread carrageenan consumption. (You can read a review of the research, published in 2001, here.)

There are contradicting theories on carrageenan. I prefer Silk Brand. That is the reason I came back to regular milk. But I guess as a low-calorie option I am going to resume consuming almond milk for a 10-week program. I am positive it is going to make a difference. 

I am super excited about using Almond Flour and Almond Milk in my diet :)