Flax for Your Health

Flax in my opinion (which doesn't count for much since I'm not a nutritionist or medical professional) is a super food. It contains so many nutrients that are good for us. Its packed with fiber (both soluble and insoluble fiber) and omega-3 fatty acids - two things we need more of in the typical American diet. We seem to know how to get the omega-6 fatty acids (French fries, potato chips, or pepperoni pizza - all bad for us). Some other foods high in the omega-3 fatty acids are salmon, herring, trout, and sardines.

I buy golden flax in bulk from a health food store and grind it (coffee grinder works perfectly) as I need it. If you grind more flax than you need it should be refrigerated for up to a week. Flax goes rancid easily because of its high fat content. You can purchase flax seed meal (freshly ground is better) - just keep in in the refrigerator. The health food store I use sells two kinds of flax seeds the golden and the darker variety. They have the same nutritional value, but I like the taste of the golden better (of course the golden cost more).

Flax finds its way into many things around my house: pancakes, waffles, yeast bread, sweet bread, cookies, smoothies, etc. I also sprinkle it on yogurt or applesauce (my kids call it sprinkles). Flax can be substituted for some or all of the butter/oil in recipes. If a recipe calls for 1/3 cup of oil, I replace it with 1 cup of ground flax seed - a 3:1 substitution ratio. Watch baked goods closely when you substitute with flax seed because they tend to brown faster. I usually just add a little more liquid when I substitute with flax seed, but you could also leave out an equal amount of flour in a recipe.

There are tons of websites with info on flax for starters check here or here.