10 Healthy flours to use in your kitchen for your family
Are you looking for healthy flour alternatives to choose from!
Living a healthy lifestyle is very much important for people belonging to all age groups. That is why it is worth using alternative healthy flour types substitutes for your favourite recipes. These ingredients can help you lose weight and maintain a balanced diet.
For those of us who are trying to lose some weight, we need to be careful what types of food we eat. We have to decrease the amount of carbohydrates in our diet so we do not gain too much weight. Read this helpful post on different types of healthy flours and how they work in recipes to get some ideas of the regular healthy flour alternatives.
The best 10 healthy flours and their nutritional benefits
1. Premium whole wheat flour
Often eaten by Indians at all times of the day, wheat is a popular carbohydrate source for its high nutritional value. It is composed of starches, and each gram contains 4 calories. Fibre content, concentrated in wheat bran, helps maintain a healthy weight, keeps heart disease and certain cancers at bay, and so on. Proteins account for 7–22% of dry weight of wheat, and gluten—a large family of proteins—makes up around 80% of its protein content.
Wheat flour, whole-wheat and otherwise, can be used to make bread, cookies, crackers, and tortillas. Whole wheat flour will give baked goods a denser texture, darker colour, and stronger flavour compared to products made with white flour.
2. Sorghum flour (Jowar atta)
Jowar, an ancient Indian cereal grain, is incredibly rich in nutrients. Jowar flour contains protein, carbohydrate, and dietary fiber, which promotes growth and development. When eaten regularly with other whole grains, jowar can lower blood sugar and support weight loss. Jowar also contains calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium, and sodium—all of which are great for the bones. Jowar is also a good source of vitamins thiamine, niacin, folate, and riboflavin. These vitamins promote overall health by boosting the immune system and strengthening the heart.
Jowar flour is used to make many savoury Indian flatbreads and snacks, including rotis, crackers, nimki, cheela, dosa, and more.
3. Water chestnut flour (Singhara Atta)
Singhara is found in high amounts of fibre, potassium, manganese, copper, and many vitamins. They are also very nutrient-dense and contain more than 4 grams of fibre and 3 grams of protein per 100-gram serving. These properties make singhara a great addition to your weight loss diet. Studies have shown that eating plenty of fibre may help promote bowel movements and also reduce blood cholesterol levels. Singhara or water chestnuts are a particularly low-calorie food, since they contain 74% water. They're classified as high-volume foods, which means they either contain a lot of water or air. Including high-volume foods in your diet can help you achieve weight loss goals in an easy way. That is why it is also considered as one of the healthiest flours for weight loss.
People use Singhara atta for making rotis, puri, samosas, papdi chaat, halwa, matthi, and many other flavorful dishes.
4. Gram flour (Besan atta)
Gram flour is a high-protein, gluten-free, nutrient-packed ingredient that works as an alternative to flour in recipes. The gram flour contains more protein than wheat flour and is higher in minerals which makes it important for strong bones, teeth, immune system, and muscle function. Eating besan flour products may help reduce the risk of diabetes since it is high in fiber, which helps regulate blood sugar levels.
Thus besan flour can be used to make all kinds of Indian flatbreads, such as dosa and paratha, and it's also perfect for thickening sauces, soups, stews and curries.
5. Buckwheat flour (Kuttu ka atta)
Buckwheat flour contains almost all the essential amino acids that are the building blocks of our body's proteins. Lysine, an amino acid that is not abundant in most other grain flours, is found in buckwheat. Soluble fiber, which is known to aid digestion, is also present in buckwheat. This fiber can prevent heart disease and diabetes.
Kutu ka atta is generally used on fasting days for making puris and pakode.
6. Finger millet flour (Ragi flour)
Ragi flour is made from ground finger millet (also known as Ragi) and is loaded with essential nutrients that should be in your diet. It's rich in dietary fibres, proteins, potassium, and carbohydrates. Ragi flour is also a very good source of minerals like calcium and iron and vitamins like riboflavin and thiamine. Ragi flour benefits include improved digestion, reduced heart disease risk, slow ageing, and diabetes control.
Ragi can be used to make a variety of recipes, such as bhakri, roti, idli, vada, dosa, pudding, porridge, and papad. Ragi can be substituted for wheat in any recipe.
7. Amaranth flour
Amaranth has many antioxidants which includes gallic acid and vanillic acid. These Antioxidants help in fighting free radicals, byproducts of normal cellular activity, which further helps in reducing everything from signs of ageing to heart disease. Researches also show that amaranth can help slow down the body’s immunoglobulin E production, which helps in reducing inflammation.
Amaranth flour is a terrific thickener for soups, sauces, and stews.
8. Barley flour (Jau atta)
Beta-glucan is a type of soluble fiber that comes from barley's cell walls, and it can be found in foods like barley flour. When ingested, it becomes a gel-like substance in your gut, which further affects digestion and absorption of nutrients. This gives you the feeling of fullness, so you don't want to eat as much during a meal. The barley's insoluble fibers, which don't dissolve in water and add bulk to food, also help protect against constipation and bowel diseases by keeping things moving through your system smoothly. These fibers can also help reduce the risk for diabetes by helping you better manage your blood sugar levels.
Barley flour is used in the preparation of many different varieties of bread. It can also be malted to create a type of barley product called malt flour, which is then used as a malt supplement for certain types of bread. Barley flakes may be added to porridge. They can be added to soups and other dishes as well. Barley flour can be mixed with other flours to make flatbreads and is malted to create beer.
9. Multigrain Atta
Fibre-rich multigrain atta has a number of dietary benefits and is also said to be one of the healthiest flour for rotis. Multigrain atta is rich in dietary fibre, which acts as a natural laxative for your body and improves your digestive health. It helps keep you feeling energetic and happier and improves your overall diet by keeping you from developing constipation problems. Those who consume foods rich in dietary fibre find that it alleviates their indigestion-related problems, including headaches and other skin conditions.
Generally, multigrain atta is used to make rotis, breads, cookies, cakes and many other savoury dishes.
10. Corn flour (Makka Atta)
Atta Maize flour is a good source of magnesium, which can help maintain a steady heartbeat and keep blood pressure at normal levels. The fibre in the flour binds with bile salts, freeing your body from cholesterol and making it healthy for the heart.
Corn flour is used to thicken soups, stews, sauces and other dishes. It can also be used as a coating for food like pizza dough and fried fish.
So, this was all about the nutritional facts and benefits of some of the healthiest flours that can be a good choice in your kitchen. Browse through various other healthy flours like high fiber Kathiya wheat flour, bajra atta and many others at I Say Organic and buy flours online to live a healthy lifestyle.
About I Say Organic
At I Say Organic we strive to provide you with the purest and most natural food available. Our products originate from certified organic farms while our selection of organically grown produce is harvested under stringent quality controls and to the highest industry standards. Our aim is to help as many people as possible achieve optimum health and fitness through organic products. So, whether you're looking for fresh fruits & vegetables, rice, lentils & pulses, millets & grains, dried spices, dry fruits & seeds or any food item, we have it for you!
FAQs
Q1: What are the healthiest types of flours?
Ans: Whole wheat flour, buckwheat flour and multi-grain flour are considered as some of the healthiest types of flours.
Q2: Which flour is low in calories?
Ans: Whole wheat flour is known to have the lowest calorie content.
Q3: Which flour has no gluten?
Ans: There are many flours which are gluten free. Some of them are- Amaranth flour, Buckwheat flour and sorghum flour.
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