Semi-OT: Coconut Flour for Low Carb

I decided to add a little liquid egg (like EggBeaters) and 1 Tbsp of coconut flour to my hamburger mix tonight. Coated the pan lightly with coconut oil.... yumola! I had a bunch of WW points left today, so I splurged on a nice juicy burger for dinner. I had it on a Flatout multigrain Flatout with flax (unlike you, Kiralynx, I don't have any sensitivities to grains) with lettuce. I figured adding to the meat would give me more filling dinner. I am stuffed! Drinking lots of water helps, too.

So... my question is EGGS, what is the thinking about using so many eggs? I understand the need for the liquid in the recipes, but are gluten free folks trading having these wonderful baked goods for high cholesterol? Just wondering how most within that community balance that out. I prefer using egg substitute liquid which is super low cholesterol. I buy a brand at Save A Lot that I actually like better than Egg Beaters. I used it in my muffins, and they turned out so moist.

Emilia wrote: So... my question is EGGS, what is the thinking about using so many eggs? I understand the need for the liquid in the recipes, but are gluten free folks trading having these wonderful baked goods for high cholesterol? Just wondering how most within that community balance that out. I prefer using egg substitute liquid which is super low cholesterol. I buy a brand at Save A Lot that I actually like better than Egg Beaters. I used it in my muffins, and they turned out so moist.

Eggs have been released from the cholesterol prison. They were falsely accused by those that didn't know good cholesterol from bad.

Emilla, take a gander at this: http://www.garytaubes.com/writing/artic ... g-fat-lie/

EVIDENCE BASED scientific studies are proving that the conventional belief that saturated fats including eggs are bad for you and increase your bad cholesterol IS WRONG!!! Far is not the enemy--it's not why we are fat and it's not why we are sick. Eggs are not bad for us.

Yes, I know the thinking has changed, but when I see a recipe call for 8, 10, or even 12 eggs, I tend to think that is a lot of cholesterol---good, bad, or otherwise. We aren't supposed have more than about 250 mg. a day to begin with! And even though one won't eat the entire recipe, it still seems like a lot to me. That is why, for recipes, I try to use liquid egg substitute without the cholesterol.

Emilia wrote:That is why, for recipes, I try to use liquid egg substitute without the cholesterol.

I'm curious to know what kind of information you are relying on that convinces you that "liquid egg substitute" is healthy. Radioactive iodine doesn't have any cholesterol. Would that be OK, too?

" We aren't supposed have more than about 250 mg"

We who? Source please. (I'm not an Atkins follower, so I don't know if that's where your info is coming from.

People who are not low carbing may eat cheesecake, souffles, frittatas, quiches too. Reasonable servings are ok. The evidence shows that it's CARBS, not eggs and other saturated fats that are responsible for elevated "bad" cholesterol. I know that's hard to wrap your mind around after decades of being told the opposite.

Emilia wrote:I decided to add a little liquid egg (like EggBeaters) and 1 Tbsp of coconut flour to my hamburger mix tonight. Coated the pan lightly with coconut oil.... yumola! I had a bunch of WW points left today, so I splurged on a nice juicy burger for dinner. I had it on a Flatout multigrain Flatout with flax (unlike you, Kiralynx, I don't have any sensitivities to grains) with lettuce. I figured adding to the meat would give me more filling dinner. I am stuffed! Drinking lots of water helps, too.

Yes, definitely it would make it filling!

So... my question is EGGS, what is the thinking about using so many eggs? I understand the need for the liquid in the recipes, but are gluten free folks trading having these wonderful baked goods for high cholesterol? Just wondering how most within that community balance that out. I prefer using egg substitute liquid which is super low cholesterol. I buy a brand at Save A Lot that I actually like better than Egg Beaters. I used it in my muffins, and they turned out so moist.

Read Weston Price on the "Oiling of America."

Also, http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-dise ... holesterol is of interest.

Gary Taubes' material is also interesting.

Realize, I've been eating around 60% of my calories from fat for the last almost ten years. I lost 180 pounds. My cholesterol was normal... until I became symptomatic with what proved to be uterine cancer. After the cancer surgery, my cholesterol dropped to normal again.

It's carbs that kick the cholesterol, especially the triglycerides, into a cocked hat.

Eggs, especially eggs from pastured hens, and if you can find and afford them, ones not fed soy, are a spectacular food.

I used ten eggs in my last loaf of coconut bread. I also got 20 portions out the loaf, which means that I ate half an egg per portion.

Eggs, like non-hydrogenated coconut oil, have been unfairly demonized.

One of the ways to look at this is to think about all the stuff you are eating while avoiding eggs because you think they're "bad".

So what do you eat for breakfast, for example? For most Americans, it's some sort of toast with sugary topping (jam, cinnamon sugar, etc), sweetened pastry or sugary cereal (even the so-called "heatlhy" cereals are often full of it), coffee with sugar or sweetened fake creamer (no cholesterol--whooppee!), maybe a glass of fruit juice (really high in sugar). If you really looked at the impact that kind of breakfast has on your blood sugar and cholesterol, you will be truly horrified.

Then look at the impact of an egg (virtually NONE). Meanwhile the fat and protien in eggs keep you satisfied and alert so you don't reach for the midmorning danish in the office or extra sugar in your second and third cups of coffee.

If you have Netflix, there's a documentary that helps explain this very well, called "Fat Head". Now, he set out to dispel some fo the myths in "Super Size Me". I don't really think the message is that eating McDonalds all the time is good for you (and when you watch the movie, watch what he doesn't eat as much as what he does--he doesn't drink sugary sodas or fake milkshakes, he doesn't eat the fries, he doesn't eat the sweets). The fast food gimmick obscures his real message that the conventional thinking about "healthy" foods and diet is really screwed up. But he gives really good, animated explanations of how your body processes carbs vs. fats and protiens, and what real evidence-based research is saying about how to really eat healthy.

Janknitz,

Yes, it's very interesting. My mom battled high cholesterol for most of the last thirty years of her life. She did everything the doctors told her: ate low fat, ate carbs instead of fat, took her statins.... she had muscle pains and couldn't get her cholesterol down, and heart attacks.... (we'll skip over the fact that I strongly believe that she had undiagnosed sleep apnea).

Mom's classic breakfast was cereal, with sugar, and skim milk (which is higher in lactose than regular milk). Her typical lunch was a sandwich with lots of bread and very little filling. After my Dad retired, Mom quit cooking, and they ate out, which meant things full of HFCS.

Connection? I think so.

I also think there's a connection to my style of eating and the fact that when I had my cancer surgery, I was handed all sorts of "it's not if you have X, it's how much." And I had NONE of the Xs, Ys, or Zs they predicted. Indeed, one of my surgeons had interns in to look at my incision to see how an incision of this type (24" long) SHOULD heal, not how it TYPICALLY heals.

As a consequence, I'm perfectly happy to use eggs, and lots of them!

Yes and if you do low carb on a budget - eggs are your friend. They are affordable, and neat and tidy protein packages, if hardboiled they come pre- wrapped for travel.

BlackSpinner wrote:Yes and if you do low carb on a budget - eggs are your friend. They are affordable, and neat and tidy protein packages, if hardboiled they come pre- wrapped for travel.

Not to mention readily available no matter where you travel!

**ive heard coconut oil when heated does not turn into trans fat unlike olive oil

***im also allergic to dairy, wheat gluten,

**weight loss is always good


**

Just thought I'd kick this thread up for a bit of holiday cheer.

I've continued experimenting with coconut flour.

For Thanksgiving, I baked a turkey dressing, My husband, who dislikes dressing of any kind, liked this. In fact, the said he would be happy to have it throughout the year with things other than turkey.

I've also been making pecan-coconut pancakes. My recipe makes eight generous pancakes, which serves four people. Bit of butter and some honey on them, and, YUM!

Oh, and tonight's dinner had coconut buns served with it... oysters with garlic butter, Parmesan cheese, and Cajun seasoning. I'd asked my Dad if he was willing to be a guinea pig. He said firmly, "No!" and then I said, "It involves oysters...." whereupon, he said, "That's different."

I think I'm going to have to try fried oysters with coconut flour, since both Dad and my husband like fried, and I won't fix stuff with grains....

I would be interested in some of your recipes. I am always looking for good low carb alternatives.
I agree the carbs are bad especially after looking at 25 years of so called "healthy grain" diets. For those looking for evidence, I can offer some expieriences. Everyone is different, so maybe this applies or maybe not.

A year ago is started to feel something was wrong. I cut back starchy carbs and replaced them with protein and very low glycemic load carbs. Cholesterol and triglycerides dropped. My doctor was a amazed. For most people here the above applies.

The following may or may not apply to others here as much:
This year I found out the true source of the somewhat off feeling that I had: Coeliac. Going off the remaining wheat and other gluten sources really helped. Small of gluten were still destroying my intestines. Needless to say, I had a field day with some gluten free alternatives. My triglycerides jumped up to the top end of normal. For me the message is clear, a diet with high glycemic carbs will raise triglyceride, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels. Ultimately that will result in apneas that need to be corrected with cpap if weight increases (caused by high blood sugar levels) or restriction of airways from inflamation (caused by gluten or excess breakdown products from high blood sugar levels). The gluten was destroying my gut, joins and nervous system in my legs and back.

Linus,

I highly recommend to you Breaking the Vicious Cycle by Elaine Gottschall. It's the lifestyle I follow, and have followed for ten years now. It literally saved my life.

I believe I have celiac, though I don't know for sure, because I couldn't get doctors to admit there was anything wrong, and when I pointed out that a gluten-free / starch-free diet helped, THEN they wanted to test -- but I refused to go back on gluten / starch for the sake of their tests when I was feeling fine without it. My niece DID do the test, and does have celiac.

I have a Cuisinart muffin top pan, and make a recipe of buns in it which are just perfect for eat-your-heart-out, Ronald McDonald , Egg McMuffins -- one muffin, a couple strips of crisp bacon, thinly sliced sharp cheddar, and two eggs fried together in a small pan to just fit the muffin.

I also do cheese and bacon muffins -- I must try them in my muffin top pan -- I bet than would be delicious with the eggs added.

And pizza -- I had missed a really good pizza! Now I can again have one!

Ironically, I developed the apnea when in the process of losing a significant amount of weight, so don't count on weight loss to eliminate them.

My doctors were convinced I should be diabetic... and I swear the fact that I am not has disappointed them.