Cooking with ground flax seeds?

[natrfrk]

I buy whole flax seeds and grind them myself because I read the ones that are already ground can go rancid quicker. I have been throwing them into sauces (after cooking just before eating) or sprinkling them on fruit salad. I need to sneak more into my daughter's diet and I am thinking of putting them in meatloafs and maybe mixing them in with veggies just before roasting them. Will that change their healthful qualities? Can it make them rancid and unhealthy to cook them in the oven? Will we still get the benefits just as if we ate them raw? And how else do you sneak them into your children's food? My dd has no idea that I put them in HER food, or she would refuse to eat. She's really good about eating most things that I tell her are healthy, but she won't even try nuts or seeds... Anyway, I have snuck them into her soups and chili, things like that. She'd notice them on fruit, so I haven't done that with her food yet. But she loves meatloaf and she loves roasted veggies. So, I'd like to try and sneak them into those if the cooking won't make them rancid or ineffective...

[bhnash]

They can take the heat. I bake with them, adding them to cookies and such. Putting some in sauces and meatloaf is a great idea!

[gillmings]

When they're cooked (heated), they lose the healthy oil benefits, HOWEVER, they're still a great source of fiber in cooked items. So, I guess it depends on what you're giving them to her for.

If you're wanting her to the good Omega 3 benefits, try sprinkling them on top of foods, AFTER they're cooked.

Does she like nuts? Maybe you can mix some with chopped/ground nuts and see if she'd like to dip her fruit in it.

Also, don't sell her short. It's amazing how many times I've stood on my head to sneak something into my kids' food, only to find out they have no problem with eating it straight up, undisguised. Some people really like the nutty flavor.

DH will eat it sprinkled on oatmeal. It's pretty good mixed into yogurt or a smoothie, too.

Oh, and make sure you freeze what you grind, and not for more than about a week, or it will still go rancid.

[GardenGirl639]

You could put them in oatmeal, especially if you've already added cinnamon and raisins (color). Any baked good....muffins, brownies.

[natrfrk]

Thanks. Well, she doesn't like nuts, or oatmeal. But I will put them in her meatloaf. And I will continue to use them in sauces and soups. I'm mostly giving them to her for the fiber. But all the benefits are desirable.

[JeanM]

I have read that they lose their nutrients when cooked; however, Sue Becker from the Bread Becker's "believes" that they retain more nutrients than they are given credit for. She bases this on the fact that when her customers add them to the whole wheat bread they bake, they notice health benefits. Sometimes, you just have to do a thing and note yourself what it does for you and your family. Many times I've read testimonies from people swearing by a certain food or product that some "professionals" will say cannot be.....you can't argue with the results though. Well, maybe you can, but..................

Jean

[Pam3937]

I'm happy to read this thread. I've been using ground flaxseed meal for years and love how it adds great fiber to stuff. I've gotten to where i bring a shaker of it already ground, to a restaurant and sprinkle it on my salads in place of croutons, and also to my entree.

How can you tell if its rancid? I've bought the pre ground Bob's Red Mill brand, for years and keep it in the freezer and it seems to last a long time. I mean it tastes just fine. It doesn't have a rancid taste that I can tell. I can tell if nuts or oils go rancid but not this. Mine can be in the freezer for 3-6 months. True, maybe some of the beneficial part is lost but rancid?

I would suggest caution with using too much flaxseed with children. I mean I would up the intake very slowly. Some can handle flax better than others. Even adults. Our digestion systems are all diff. I remember making pancakes for my grandson and adding flax. It was all that much per pancake, but after he'd eaten them he developed a severe abdominal cramping and had to rush to the bathroom, which resulted in a diarrhead type gushing reaction. I realized it was too much for him. Now keep in mind, I made a batch for about 15 pancakes bc my family was going to eat them, so I put in a small palmful and therefore ea. pancake wouldn't have too much in it. Just suggesting and giving my opinion, that's all.

[gillmings]

The information I gave on that was from Dr. Andrew Weil. It basically starts to go rancid as soon as it's ground. That IS what causes it to lose it's benefits. It may not be rancid enough to taste or smell, but it still is. He says if you freeze it immediately after grinding, it will keep it from going rancid for a few days. I often keep it a little longer than that, about a week.

The benefit of that type of oil goes hand in hand with being really unstable and easily damaged/rancid.

Damaged = rancid, whether you can smell or taste it. Obviously, the worse it gets, the more it will affect taste/smell.

[justkim]

If your daughter likes smoothies, it's easy to sneak in flax seeds.

[pamelaw]

The caution with any heat applied to Flax is that it changes it from a healthy, pure Omega 3 and it becomes changed into a carcinogenic substance because the EFA is easily damaged by heat.

I no longer make my Flax/Sesame/Sunflower Baklava because of this or include it in anything that will be heated up.

I do put it in my smoothies or grind it up to swallow immediately. The only heating I am willing to do is to boil water, let it cool some and add the flax to make a flax tea if I feel the need for it in my eliminative channels.

HTH,