What is Chickpea Flour?

In the United States, most people automatically think of wheat when a recipe calls for flour, but ground wheat is only one type of flour among dozens. Chickpea flour adds a nutty taste to baking, soups and sauces, and can substitute for wheat flour in most recipes. Both wheat-free and gluten-free, chickpea flour is also easier to digest than other wheat-flour substitutes, such as soy flour.

Identification

Chickpea flour is nothing more than dried chickpeas, ground to a flour-like consistency. Other names for chickpea flour include gram flour, cici flour and garbanzo bean flour. Besan is chickpea flour made with unroasted chickpeas. Chana is flour made from roasted chickpeas.

Nutritional Facts

One cup--92g--of chickpea flour provides 356 calories, including 52 calories from fat. A 1-cup serving of chickpea flour also contains 6g of total fat, 1g of saturated fat and no trans fat. With 53.2g of total carbohydrate, a cup of chickpea flour provides 18 percent of your recommended daily value--DV--of carbohydrate and 40 percent of the recommended DV of dietary fiber, as well as 41 percent of the recommended DV of protein. When you eat a 1-cup serving of chickpea flour, you'll also be getting vitamin A, vitamin K and several B-complex vitamins, including thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid and a full day's supply of folate. Chickpea flour provides 25 percent of the DV for iron, 74 percent of the recommended DV for manganese, and various amounts of other trace elements and minerals, including calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc, copper and selenium.

Availability

If your grocery store has an extensive international foods section, you may find chickpea flour in the Indian foods section under the names gram flour, besan or chana flour. Most groceries that sell Indian foods and ingredients carry chickpea flour, since it's a main ingredient in many Indian foods. Health food stores also carry a variety of non-wheat and gluten-free flours, often including chickpea flour. If you can't find chickpea flour locally, look for it through a health food supplier or co-op online.

Using Chickpea Flour in Recipes

Substitute 7/8 cup of chickpea flour for 1 cup of wheat flour for most baked goods. For yeast-raised breads, use 1 part chickpea flour to 4 parts wheat or spelt flour, says Margaret Wittenberg in "Good Food: The Complete Guide to Eating Well." In recipes that use flour for thickening, substitute chickpea flour for wheat flour or cornstarch on a one-to-one ratio. Use toasted chickpea flour for baking, Wittenberg advises, and untoasted for soups, fritters and dips such as hummus.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/160151-chickpea-flour-facts/#ixzz2PzLrWY6O

Crispy Roasted Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans) - Recipe

Don't these look so yummy. These are Crispy Roasted Chickpeas and they are super easy to make. You only need 4 ingredients. Please go HERE to get the recipe and step-by-step instructions (with pictures).
You won't be sorry!

Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas)

Garbanzo beans are a versatile and tasty legume. They can be tossed into salads, roasted, stirred into stews and mashed into a tasty, Mediterranean dip. But these tiny legumes are not only delicious, they also offer a lot of nutritional value. If you don’t already have garbanzo beans as a staple in your pantry, after reading the following nutritional information, you will most likely want to.

Protein

Garbanzo beans are a great source of dietary protein. Vegetarians would do well to add garbanzo beans to their diets. When paired with whole grains, garbanzo beans provide a source of protein comparable to that of meat or dairy products, without the worry of saturated fat or cholesterol. One cup of garbanzo beans supplies roughly 27 percent of daily protein requirements.

Fiber

Garbanzo beans, like other legumes, are rich in dietary fiber. Garbanzos contain both soluble and insoluble fiber. Each type of fiber works in different ways to keep the body in healthy, working order. Soluble fiber works in the digestive tract to move excess cholesterol out of the body. Insoluble fiber helps to prevent constipation and other digestive disorders. One cup of garbanzo beans supplies almost half of the recommended daily allowance of dietary fiber.

Manganese

Garbanzo beans contain significant amounts of the trace mineral manganese. Manganese plays an important role in energy production. It’s also an important component in the body’s antioxidant activity.

Folate

Garbanzo beans are also a good source of folate. This nutrient is vital for women of childbearing years. Consuming adequate levels of folate prior to pregnancy can prevent certain birth defects, such as spina bifida. One cup of garbanzo beans contains 70 percent of the RDA for non-pregnant adults.

Iron

Garbanzos beans are a good source of iron. Iron is important for energy production. Deficiencies often result in fatigue. Iron is especially important to menstruating women, as significant amounts of the mineral can be lost due to heavy periods.

Selection

Garbanzo beans can be purchased dried or canned. Look for whole, uncracked beans that are free from moisture, when purchasing dried garbanzos. Canned beans are a convenient way to purchase garbanzos. Unlike vegetables, garbanzo bean’s nutritional components hold up well to the canning process. Their protein and fiber content are only lowered slightly when canned. However, canned garbanzos do have significantly lower levels of folate than the dried beans. The canning process can deplete folate levels as much as 45 percent.

Storage

Dried garbanzo beans are best stored in an airtight container. Place the container in a cool, dry place, away from sunlight, and they will keep for well up to a year. Once cooked, garbanzo beans may be placed in a container and stored in the refrigerator for 3 or 4 days.

Preparation

To lower their sodium content, drain and rinse canned garbanzos before use. Dried beans should be soaked prior to use. This is simple to do. Just place the garbanzo beans in a container of water and soak overnight.

Whole Wheat Bread Recipe WITH Coconut Oil!?

WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Put all of these ingredients in Bosch and mix well:

9 Rounded Cups fresh ground hard wheat
2 T Salt
½ C Powdered milk

Add:
½ C Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil (or oil of your choice)
½ C honey (or sugar of your choice)
2 T Lecithin (supplement)
3 Eggs
5 C of very hot water

Turn mixer on an d as soon as dry ingredients are moistened add 2 ½ rounded T of
LeSaffe dry yeast while mixer is running. You may need to add up to 3 C of WHITE
flour while it is mixing if the dough doesn’t begin to clean the sides of the bowl. Keep it
“sticky” – makes a better loaf.. Mix for 10 minutes on 3 speed.

Take the dough hook out and cover the dough in the bowl; let set until dough rises to the
top of the lid.

Put out on floured surface and divide into 6 loaves. Form into loaves and put into large
non stick pans. Cover and let rise in warm place. (If not using non stick pans it works
best if you put some type of oil or shortening in the pans).

Let raise until double (or light). Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes (ovens vary).

Monique Jackson's Wheat Bread Recipe

Monique Jackson’s Wheat Bread – September 2009

6 C warm water
2 T Vital Wheat Gluten
3/4 C oil
2 T Powdered Milk or Instant Milk
3/4 C honey
2 T Dough Enhancer
2 T yeast
2 T Salt
15 C wheat flour

Put all 8 ingredients in Bosch with 6 ups of ground wheat flour and mix on speed 1 for 1
minute. Watch to see that the yeast is active and forming bubbles. Add 9 C of remaining
wheat flour. Mix for 10 minutes. Butter counter, put dough on counter with butter side
up and let rest 10 minutes. Cut into 4 equal sections and mold into 4 buttered 2 pound
loaf pans. Turn oven on to 170 degrees for one minute and then turn oven off. Place
pans in oven and set timer for 30 minute. After 30 minutes turn oven to 350 degrees
leaving pans in oven while it warms to 350 degrees. Bake for 34 minute.

•    I’ve even baked this in a Solar Oven & it turns out fabulous!

How To Take The Gas Out Of Lentils

Lentils are inexpensive legumes that are full of high-quality protein, fiber, iron, phosphorous, manganese and vitamin B1. These versatile vegetables also are free of cholesterol and slim on fat content. The outer coatings of lentils contain a substance called oligosaccharides, which is a complex sugar that can cause flatulence. Certain steps can help take the gas out of lentils, however.

To find out the steps go HERE to the original article. 

Ten Things You Probably Didn't Know About Lentils

Lentils have been a part of the human diet since the Neolithic times. These protein packed members of the legume family are just as easily served in a side dish as they are as a main course. Here's a list of ten things you didn't know about lentils.

1. Lentils are the only beans that don't need to be presoaked. Most types of beans in the legume family need to be soaked for hours prior to cooking to soften their tough outer shell. Lentils need only be pre-rinsed briefly before cooking.

2. There are ten different types of lentil beans. Brown lentils are by far the most common type of lentils beans, finding their way into lentil soups and casseroles most frequently. There are ten different types of lentils however, ranging in color from red to pink to yellow. Lentils also come in different sizes.

3. Lentils originated in central Asia. Lentils were one of the first crops to be cultivated by humans and date back to Neolithic times. Lentil seeds were recently discovered in Asia that date back more than 8,000 years. Lentils were later introduced to Egypt and Greece pre Biblical times. In the United States, lentils didn't make an appearance until the early 1900s.

4. Canned lentils do not lose nutritional value. Most vegetables and beans which are processed and then canned lose much of their nutritional value. Lentils retain their nutrition whether dry packed or canned.

5. Lentils provide more folic acid than any other unfortified food. One cup of lentils provides 90% of the recommended daily intake of folic acid, a crucial nutrient. Lentils are also an excellent source of protein, molybdenum, manganese, iron and fiber.

6. Lentils are considered the food for mourners. In Judaism, the round shape of the lentil bean is said to signify the circle of life.

7. There's a National Lentil Festival in the United States. Since 1989, the National Lentil Festival has been held in Pullman, Washington, where over one-third of the US lentil crop is grown. Festival goers enjoy an annual parade, lentil cook off, beauty pageant and golf tournament.

8. Lentils are a good legume for diabetics. Most legumes in the bean family are high in carbohydrates and must be eaten sparingly by those with diabetes. Unlike their cousins, lentils are high in soluble fiber and low in carbohydrates, and have been proven to decrease serum glucose levels and cholesterol.

9. Small lentils are more flavorful. The smaller lentils, mostly grown in the Middle East, are packed with flavor and considered to be the more favorable lentil for cooking. Larger lentils, more common in North America, lack the intensity of their smaller cousins.

10. Lentils were once used as packing material. The packing peanut industry grew out of lentils, which were used in earlier times in the middle to secure packages for safekeeping during shipping.