tip: OAT FLOUR

There is no denying that all-purpose flour turns out some pretty delicious baked goods.  But it is also made up of mainly "empty calories."  Sometimes you just need a few empty calories in life, we've all been there!  But if you cook a lot for yourself, and if you love baked goods as much as I do, than you might think about exploring flour substitutes in order to make those calories count for something instead of just taking up space on your thighs!

A lot of alternate flours can be tricky and require a lot of math and experimenting in order to figure out the right quantities.  However, oat flour is wonderful because you can just plug it right into any recipe without having to change the quantity!  It will substitute 1 = 1 for any recipe that calls for all-purpose flour.  This is great news because oat flour is higher in both fiber (which will help your body break down those pesky carbs) and protein than all-purpose flour. 

I personally like to use Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Oat Flour which consists of finely ground oats and nothing else.  You can buy it in bulk online at the link above or in smaller packages at your local Whole Foods or other health food markets.

*IMPORTANT: Oat flour does have a slightly different taste than all-purpose flour.  While you can substitute the quantity without any problem, it will give a different flavor to your baked goods.  I often prefer the oat flour flavor, but it does not work with everything.  You just have to experiment in order to find out which recipes work with this flavor and which do not!


GTBB,
Bad Joan