About Grandma Lou's Flax

Flax is a source of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fat, which is necessary for the proper function of many organs, and flax is a high source of dietary fibre.

Golden Flax was chosen for its lighter taste, compared to brown flax, and for it’s nuttier flavour. Golden flax is very similar in composition to brown flax, so it has all the nutritional value for which flax is known.  Flax seeds, ground flax or roasted flax can be added to most baked goods without altering the recipe.

Flax is easy to incorporate into your diet, but for your body to fully benefit the seed coat must first be broken, ideally right before you use it.  A clean coffee grinder works well for milling flax, in fact one that has a hopper and storage area is the easiest to use, but any coffee grinder works well.  Roasting flax in the oven at 350F for 5 minutes on a metal cookie sheet also works to break down the seed coat.  The natural oils in flax begin to oxidize as soon as the seed coat is broken.  For this reason, ground flax should be used soon, however it can be kept in a dark, air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.  Once ground or roasted flax can be added onto cereals, salads, yogurts, smoothies or even stirred into juice, keeping in mind that flax should be slowly incorporated into you diet, a reasonable amount would be an increase of a 1/2 tsp daily until you are having 1 to 2 tablespoons daily.

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Currently available are our 908g (2lbs) bags of golden flax.  These can be picked up directly from Grandma Lou.  Email grandmalou@mcdougallacres.com for further information.

 

Flax Substitutions*

For fat substitution use a 3:1 ratio when substituting flax for oil in a recipe.  For example:  3 tablespoons of milled flax can replace 1 tablespoon of butter, margarine, shortening or oil.

For egg substitution mix 1 tablespoon of milled flax with 3 tablespoons of water in a small bowl and let sit for 1-2 minutes.  The mixture will become gel-like.  Add to your recipe as you would an egg.

 

Storing Flax*

Whole Flax Seed:

You can store whole flax seed, which is clean, dry and of good quality, at room temperature for up to one year.

Ground or Milled Flax Seed:

To keep flax fresh, you should grind it as you need it - a coffee bean grinder works really well.  You can keep ground flax refrigerated in an airtight, opaque container for up to 3 months.

 

How Much Flax to Eat*

Flax can upset your digestion if you add too much, too quickly.  Eating two tablespoons of milled flax daily provides 3.5g of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fat.

 

* Flax information was quoted from the Flax Council of Canada web-site:  www.flaxcouncil.ca