Almonds and Almond Meal

Raw Almonds – Serving Size: 1/4 cup

Calories: 160

Calcium: 8% Daily Value (based on 2,000 calorie diet)

Protein: 6 grams

Almond Meal – Serving Size: 1/4 cup

Calories: 180

Calcium: 8% Daily Value (based on 2,000 calorie diet)

Protein: 7 grams

My son doesn’t like eating almonds, so we’ve found some good ways to “hide” almond meal in food:

Oatmeal

A good breakfast to hide almond meal in is oatmeal.  We use steel-cut oatmeal.  I make it according to the directions on the packaging.  Before removing it from the stove, I stir in some butter (Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread, Soy-Free), brown sugar, and almond meal.

Pancakes

Pancakes are another easy way to hide almond meal.  You can substitute up to 50% of the volume of flour called for in any recipe. (Example: If the recipe calls for 2 cups of flour, you can use 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of almond meal.)

My husband is the pancake-maker in our family.  He makes a great Vegan pancake using wheat flour that the kids love for breakfast or dinner.  Whenever we eat it for dinner, we typically serve scrambled eggs, fruit, and Calcium-fortified orange juice for a more complete meal.  Since his pancake recipe (below) uses whole wheat flour, he only substitutes almond meal for 1/4 flour.

My Husband’s Pancake Recipe:

Mix the following ingredients together:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup almond meal

2 Tbsp. sugar

4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

Add in:

2 cups of rice milk

4 Tbsp. vegetable oil

He uses a big electric griddle to cook them on.

Any Baked Good

You can use the same substitution equation from the pancake section for any baked good.  I’d love to hear some other recipes that worked really well with the almond meal substitution!  So, please let me know if you figure out some other good ones.