Flaxseed

[Xochitl10]

My doctor recommended that I start eating flaxseed. I've gotten advice from a friend about incorporating it into my diet (adding it to lentil soup at the end of cooking, mixing it with granola/Grape Nuts and fruit as a yogurt topping). Does anyone else have ideas for eating flaxseed?

[TheMatt]

Well, if you want a ready-made flaxseed cereal, Uncle Sam has it in.

One thing I've heard from people who add it as a topping or add-in is that you get the most effective use of it if you grind it just before adding it (say in a spice grinder). Apparently your body gets use of the oils better than if it's whole.

But, yes, adding it to shakes, on top of cereals, hot and cold, on cooked veggies, that's how it's usually used.

[LauraB]

My doctor recommended that I start eating flaxseed. I've gotten advice from a friend about incorporating it into my diet (adding it to lentil soup at the end of cooking, mixing it with granola/Grape Nuts and fruit as a yogurt topping). Does anyone else have ideas for eating flaxseed?

Good for your doctor. Not many doctors are well-versed in nutrition. I don't know if your doctor mentioned this, but it's best to eat flaxseed 'ground', not whole. You'll get more benefit from it as it's more easily processed by your body. You can buy ground flaxseed at Whole Foods or natural foods stores like Mom's. Be sure to keep it refrigerated as it can get rancid, just like any other seed. I usually add my ground flaxseed into a protein shake for breakfast, or add it to cooked oatmeal -- I like Bob's Red Mill Steel Cut Oats.

[synaesthesia]

My sister made flaxseed cornbread. I've never tried the recipe myself. Just another idea might be to grind them up like sesame seeds into a paste sorta like tahini and add it to hummus? I feel like most variations are sweet, when it would very well in savory. I just bought an electric sesame seed grinder for this use amongst other spice grind purposes. I imagine you might have something like that from Japan?

[Xochitl10]

Thanks, guys. Especially for the tip on grinding.

I just bought an electric sesame seed grinder for this use amongst other spice grind purposes. I imagine you might have something like that from Japan?

I don't. I use a suribachi and surikogi (J-mortar and pestle) for grinding sesame seeds. I'll think of it as an easy morning workout.

[rkduggins]

I also use ground flaxseed in the ways already suggested. One thing the Red Mills bag says that I haven't tried is using flaxseed as an egg replacement when baking, which might be something to think about.