Let's Talk about Mesquite Flour...

I was recently challenged by the new cookbook I got, Super Natural Cooking: Five Delicious Ways to Incorporate Whole and Natural Foods into Your Cooking -- thanks to the great recommend of a friend! I am learning so much about cooking with low (to almost none) processed, natural, and nutrient-full ingredients.  Mesquite flour was on my list of new things to try.  Yes, like she says in her book, it is quite difficult to find this flour and spendy, but worth a try.  Whole Foods didn't have it.  I ended up ordering it online.  

Most of us are familiar with mesquite being used to add flavor to meats on the grill.  Mesquite flour comes not from the wood, but is made by grinding the long beige-colored seed pods into powder or meal.  For Native Americans, mesquite meal was an important part of their daily diet.  Mesquite trees thrive in arid desert climates like the Sonoran Dessert in Arizona, in Texas, and parts of California.  They require no help from fertilizers or irrigations.  If you've been to the Phoenix area, you'll know what I mean...  They're EVERYWHERE!

Mesquite flour has a sweet, nutty taste, with a hint of molasses, and Brian said hint of cinnamon and coconut as well.  It is gluten-free, and packs a punch of nutritional value!  Of course, it's high in dietary fiber and packs 11%-17% protein including lysine (which Brian carries a container of in his backpack 24/7).  It's a great source of calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, and zinc.  Most importantly for me, it is has a low glycemic index.  Mesquite takes about 4-6 hours to digest unlike wheat that digests in 1-2.  That means for me, I won't get hungry every second!

This is her mesquite chocolate chip cookies.  Turned out a little darker than what she had pictured in her book, but yummy just as well.   I didn't tell Brian or Niko that I was making it.  Brian walked in after work and found the smell, interesting--in a good way!  He tried it and loved it!  He likes the wholesome, cinnamony flavor.  Niko tested it and absolutely loved it!  He requested for me to make more, even though he hadn't even made a dent in this batch.  I, on the other hand, am kind of a "smell" person...  I smelled the flour before I used it and found the smell a little bit unpleasant, but that's me.  Someone else may not think that, Brian didn't.  I like the cookie, but maybe will like it more had I not smelled the flour first.

I will make it again as my guys absolutely loved it--with it's nutritional value, for sure it will be a regular in our home!

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A year ago today, my friends from Okinawa surprised me with a "sayonara book" and a lunch at my all time favorite restaurant.  I am still deeply touched today - - I am Loved...