{"id":36242,"date":"2014-07-02T06:11:28","date_gmt":"2014-07-02T10:11:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?post_type=feature&p=36242"},"modified":"2018-10-18T05:29:28","modified_gmt":"2018-10-18T09:29:28","slug":"new-ingredient-familiar-foods-the-healthy-coconut-flour-cookbook-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36242","title":{"rendered":"New Ingredient, Familiar Foods: The Healthy Coconut Flour Cookbook (Review)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Coconut<\/a><\/p>\n

The fine flour ground from dried coconut flesh is high in fiber and protein, low in carbohydrates, and gluten free.\u00a0 According to writer, popular blogger<\/a>, and personal chef Erica Kerwien<\/a>, the flour can be used in a variety of foods and has many health benefits. It\u2019s better for blood sugar and weight maintenance because of high fiber content, and it\u2019s suitable for grain- and gluten-free diets.\u00a0 In Kerwien\u2019s new cookbook, The Healthy Coconut Flour Cookbook<\/em> (Fair Winds Press, 2014)<\/a>, coconut flour is featured in recipes for cakes, cookies, and brownies, for sure, and also crepes, flatbread pizza, shepherd\u2019s pie, and Mexican lasagna.<\/p>\n

As a person with Type 1 diabetes and celiac disease<\/a>, Kerwien\u2019s cookbook appealed to me for health reasons. I want to eat well and diversely while counting my carbohydrates and avoiding grains with gluten. Her cookbook\u2019s attractive design and photography promised more — delightful, tasty, and even beautiful food.<\/p>\n

Kerwien started experimenting with alternative carbohydrates in the early 2000s, when her young son became ill and before he was diagnosed with Crohn\u2019s disease<\/a> in 2005. In an e-mail interview, she reported that, before her son\u2019s illness, she had \u201calways loved to bake and cook, but didn\u2019t spend much time doing so\u2026 beyond salads, pasta, and brownies.\u201d Changing her and her son\u2019s diet to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)<\/a> was \u201ca huge paradigm shift\u201d for her. The transition was \u201ca gradual process, over months and years,\u201d according to Kerwien. \u00a0Her first cookbook, Cooking for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet<\/em> (Ulysses Press, 2013)<\/a>, offers a range of recipes \u2013 from sweet to savory \u2013 and includes a one-chapter primer on the diet, which was originally developed by a physician for people with celiac disease but later adopted for use by people with digestive disorders.<\/p>\n

Like her SCD cookbook, Kerwien\u2019s Healthy Coconut Flour Cookbook<\/em><\/a> offers a variety of recipes that cover meals, snacks, and sweets. The presence of local strawberries in the market prompted a craving for a shortcake-type dessert. For a recent occasion, I made the Yellow Cake recipe and served it with whipped cream and berries as recommended. The recipe was simple to follow, with only eight ingredients and all of them common ones but for the coconut flour. (I used Bob\u2019s Red Mill<\/a>, available at my grocery store in the gluten-free baking supplies section.)<\/p>\n

As I put the cake pan in the oven and watched the baking through the window, I was a little worried. It seemed wetter than regular batter, and, indeed, the measure of coconut flour (just \u00bd cup), as compared to the measure of other ingredients, was small. I baked it for a few extra minutes, cooled it on a rack, and removed it from the pan. It held together like a cake. In her \u201cBaking Tips\u201d section, Kerwien explains that coconut flour is a hydrocolloid, \u201cabsorbing moisture and binding ingredients together.\u201d This may explain what I noticed as a wet look, and other bakers should anticipate that the experience of using coconut flour in recipes would be different from using wheat and other grain flours.<\/p>\n

The taste and texture are also distinct from regular cakes. Kerwien\u2019s aim in developing recipes for baked goods, she told me, is to \u201cmake it have great taste and texture in its own right, possibly even better.\u201d One of my family members, who enjoyed the cake, called it \u201ctasty and different\u201d and \u201cnot sugary in a cake kind of way,\u201d although I found it sweet enough. Everyone agreed that the Yellow Cake was a good base for fruit and cream. I would liken it to a sponge cake. Remarkably, there was no taste of coconut to the cake \u2013 the flavor disappears while cooking — which should encourage people who dislike coconut to try these recipes.<\/p>\n

I cooked one of the book\u2019s savory recipes for dinner, the Chicken Piccata. Both coconut and almond flour are used to coat the chicken before saut\u00e9ing in oil and butter. The results superseded other recipes for the same dish in both taste and ease. My family found it delicious and far more delicate than the breaded chicken piccata often served in restaurants or prepared at home with chicken breasts dredged in egg and flour. We ate it with quinoa on the side instead of pasta.<\/p>\n

\"Chicken<\/a><\/p>\n

Other recipes I am eager to try are Scallion Pancakes with Soy Ginger Sauce, Cake Brownies, Garlic-Cauliflower Breadsticks, and Matzo Ball Soup. The pictures and Kerwien\u2019s commentary entice.\u00a0 For these and all the recipes, she suggests additions (frosting for the brownies!), side dishes, and substitutions. When I made the Yellow Cake, I followed her advice for reducing carbohydrates even more by replacing maple syrup with Stevia<\/a> as sweetener. Readers following a vegan diet will appreciate Kerwien\u2019s tips for substituting milk and egg ingredients with palm oil, coconut oil, and flaxseed mixed with water.<\/p>\n

There are several recipes here in the \u201cBreads\u201d category: flatbread, cornbread, tortillas, and biscuits. What\u2019s missing is a sandwich bread or roll, and Kerwien admitted in the interview that \u201cgood bread is hard to replicate, and even harder is a good bagel.\u201d People who love sandwiches may want, therefore, to bake her tortillas or flatbreads.<\/p>\n

Kerwien has tested \u201ctricky or more complicated recipes with readers to make sure a recipe is reliable.\u201d Even though ingredients and techniques may be new \u2013 a dairy-free Vanilla Cr\u00e8me frosting is made from soaked cashews and Medjool dates \u2013 readers are in Kerwien\u2019s good hands. The Healthy Coconut Flour Cookbook<\/em><\/a> has an internal coherence to it, and a staple recipe may be tweaked for variety or even used in a more complex recipe as a base. Tips and instructions appear in places where they\u2019ll have most relevance to readers.<\/p>\n

The book is thoughtfully written and designed, the recipes are tested and doable, and the food is good for your health and your palate. Kerwien told me she \u201cmake(s) food to enjoy\u201d and is \u201chappy when others enjoy them as much as I do.\u201d The Healthy Coconut Flour Cookbook<\/em><\/a> conveys that spirit: this is food, and cooking, to enjoy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Other recipes I am eager to try are Scallion Pancakes with Soy Ginger Sauce, Cake Brownies, Garlic-Cauliflower Breadsticks, and Matzo Ball Soup. The pictures and Kerwien\u2019s commentary entice. For these and all the recipes, she suggests additions (frosting for the brownies!), side dishes, and substitutions. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":36245,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1463,1452],"tags":[647],"yoast_head":"\nNew Ingredient, Familiar Foods: The Healthy Coconut Flour Cookbook (Review)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Like her SCD cookbook, Kerwien\u2019s Healthy Coconut Flour Cookbook offers a variety of recipes that cover meals, snacks, and sweets.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36242\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jane Kokernak\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36242\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36242\",\"name\":\"New Ingredient, Familiar Foods: The Healthy Coconut Flour Cookbook (Review)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36242#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36242#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Coconut-Flour-Cookbook-Home.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-07-02T10:11:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-10-18T09:29:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/9d40892bd58d8398b649f913860636f8\"},\"description\":\"Like her SCD cookbook, Kerwien\u2019s Healthy Coconut Flour Cookbook offers a variety of recipes that cover meals, snacks, and sweets.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36242#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36242\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36242#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Coconut-Flour-Cookbook-Home.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Coconut-Flour-Cookbook-Home.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":398,\"caption\":\"Coconut Flour Cookbook\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=36242#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"New Ingredient, Familiar Foods: The Healthy Coconut Flour Cookbook (Review)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\",\"name\":\"ASweetLife\",\"description\":\"The Diabetes Magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/9d40892bd58d8398b649f913860636f8\",\"name\":\"Jane Kokernak\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca9a61cbd1e6ab69df622082d9aae997?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca9a61cbd1e6ab69df622082d9aae997?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jane Kokernak\"},\"description\":\"Jane Kokernak teaches in Northeastern University\u2019s College of Computer and Information Science as communications specialist, working with graduate students and faculty on writing and speaking to different audiences. 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