Low Carb Baking Substitutes for Grains and Dairy

FLOURS
Coconut
Almond
Any other ground nut except peanuts
Arrowroot--use in place of cornstarch
Flax meal
Chia meal

DAIRY
Almond milk
Coconut milk
Any other nut milk except peanut and cashew milk

You make these yourself from ground nuts (or coconut) and water--that's all.

Simply substituting these ingredients for their commercial counterparts makes low-carb cooking/baking doable for the everyday person. Baking low-carb is a little trickier--it's gluten-free, so things don't rise like normal flours would, and baking time is longer. Approved flours are also thicker, as in the case of coconut flour--it sucks up ALL liquid within a 10-mile radius, I swear! Instead of trying to make low-carb substitutions to a commercial recipe, I advise caution: unless you are an experienced baker or food scientist, start out slow with actual alternative flour recipes from Paleo or low-carb websites.

When you get the knowledge you need, and the hang of Paleo-izing your food, you'll experience what I did: it's actually EASIER this way.

Example: grain flour is typically bought in a store pre-ground. When you choose to grind it yourself, the wheat has to be a certain type, and needs a certain grinder strong enough to handle the kernels. Commercial flour is usually bleached, nutrition stripped away, and "enriched" by adding back in B vitamins--no fiber. The resulting gluten in the flour--the thing that makes your breads fluffy and sponge-like--really causes problems for many of us.

Nut flours and coconut flour are fresh-ground in a blender or food processor from nuts or shredded coconut bought in the store as is. They're healthier for you because they're higher in protein, higher in enzymes, and in the case of almonds, higher in Omega-3. These flours are also way WAY lower in carbs and starches--what makes us store sugars as fat.

Yogurt can be made from nut milks--see recipe here.

Missing bread and breadcrumbs? Find a coconut-or almond flour-based recipe, bake it for bread (it isn't going to rise tall like wheat breads), or grind it to use as breadcrumbs.

Want pie? There are low-carb and Paleo pie crust recipes available.

Want tortillas? I'm attempting to make tortillas out of a coconut bread recipe with my electric tortilla press. In theory, it should work. If not, I'll try an almond bread recipe.

What crackers and chips? There's a recipe for that, even a recipe for using the leftover pulp from making almond milk. Actually, this is the reason why I'm trying to make coconut tortillas--I intend to put the round shapes in the oven and bake until crisp , then break up, or cut into 8ths before baking, then hopefully have "wedges" I can use for dipping and cheese-less nachos.

Unflavored gelatin is considered a low-carb or Paleo ingredient (high protein, no fat), so no-bake pumpkin pies abound--even CRUSTLESS pumpkin pies! (Just substitute coconut milk for the evaporated milk, but only use about 3/4 of the amount)

*Health alert--unflavored gelatin can set off gout attacks if used frequently. Suffering from gout? Read this.

Sugar-to-Stevia conversion chart

Missing pizza? Here's a recipe for pizza crust with no grains: http://newlyplanted.blogspot.com/2009/03/tasty-no-flour-pizza.html