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Family Kitchen
Salt, Pepper, Flax
Something tells me that “Get More Omega-3s into my child’s diet” is probably not super high on your to-do list right now. (My guess is that it hovers close to number 20: “Organize Polly Pocket shoes.”) Probably because getting that micro about feeding your children is a luxury you cannot afford right now — it’s tough enough just to survive a meal without them spilling their milk all over it. But if you do feel you are up for it, I figured out a pretty organic way to work Omega-3-rich flax into my regular cooking. Chances are you have a salt, pepper, and olive oil station near the stove. (If you don’t, why not??) If you fill a little bowl with ground flax and give it a permanent home next to the rest of the kitchen VIPs, you’ll find yourself suddenly chucking a handful into breading for fish and chicken cutlets, into bread, muffin, and cake batters, into pancakes, where the tiny little flecks become miraculously camouflaged by a good fry marks. In short, you will do it without thinking — which is just about the most mom-friendly strategy I can think of.
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7 Comments
Rach commented on Mar 15 10 at 7:04 pmOh my god! Genius – thanks Jenny! I have some old flax I bought – does it go bad?
Anna@tallgrasskitchen.com commented on Mar 15 10 at 11:35 pmI love it! We keep ours in the fridge, but it still manages to get tossed into oatmeal, yogurt, bread, salads, smoothies and pasta. You hardly notice it’s there. It can go bad, so its best to grind it frequently yourself, or keep it in the fridge if its preground
Becka commented on Mar 16 10 at 2:14 amYes! We just bought some milled flax seed and I’m throwing it in everything :) SO good for your family… and yes, it can go bad. The milled goes much quicker than if you buy the seeds themselves and mill them at home.
Meghan commented on Mar 16 10 at 8:56 amIt is my understanding that the flax seeds have to be ground in order to get the omega 3. So just throwing them into a dish doesn’t help. I could be wrong.
admin commented on Mar 16 10 at 9:38 amI’ve never heard that…I get Bob’s Red Mill Ground Flax.
admin commented on Mar 16 10 at 9:44 amI usually keep the bag in the fridge and replenish my bowl as I run through it. It will get kind of rancid if it sits there long enough — another reason to throw it in your batters by the handful.
Stacie commented on Mar 16 10 at 2:25 pmIt’s true that flax seeds need to be ground in order for your body to take full advantage of their health benefits. And that, when ground, they will go rancid if left out for a while (or even if left in the fridge for too long).
There’s a very complete post about flax on ChowMama you may want to check out: http://www.chowmama.com/2009/02/02/dig-in-flaxseed-for-omega-3s-banana-date-mini-muffins—with-flax/
It’s best to keep a bunch in the fridge, most whole, some ground. Then replenish the ground as you run out. I love the idea of keeping a little pinch bowl available, too (I’d leave it in the fridge over night). Brilliant!
Oh… and wheat germ is great for you, too. Same rules apply about going rancid, keeping in fridge, etc. I already use it tons. Maybe I’ll keep a pinch bowl of that around, too.
Thanks for the inspiration!
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