Is It Possible To Grind Flaxseed With No Coffee Grinder?
Flax seeds are a great food to add to our daily diet, not only do they give us great dietary fibre, but also have several other health benefits such as antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids and can even be used as a vegan egg replacement.
This flax seed cannot be eaten whole, meaning you have to eat ground flax seeds to have this nutritional benefit, however, don’t be disappointed if you don’t have a coffee grinder on hand to grind these flax seeds, as you can grind them in many other ways too.
Some ways you can grind your flaxseed at home is by using; blenders, a pestle and mortar, a pepper mill, a food processor and even more, allowing you to use your flaxseed in a variety of recipe for vast health benefits.
We have composed a short informational guide below that will explore more about how you can grind your flaxseed at home without a coffee grinder.
What Is Flaxseed & Its Benefits?
Before we get on to how you can grind up your flaxseed without using a spice grinder or a special grinder for flax, let’s understand what flaxseed is first and how the beneficial nutrients of this daily fibre can be good for our diet.
Flaxseed is classed as a superfood and is also known as linseed, the seed itself has to be ground to get the effect of flaxseed benefits and can come in the form of capsules and even flaxseed oil for consumption. The seed also comes in either a brown or golden colour.
The taste of flaxseed is nutty so best suits homemade salad dressings and other savoury dishes, but can also be sprinkled on top of porridge or yoghurt for digestive health.
Benefits
We know this flaxseed is in all the health food stores and health topics on the internet, but what makes it so good?
- Flaxseed per day gives you healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
- It can be used to boost fibre intake in a variety of dishes.
- Lowers blood sugar.
- Great for heart health and nail health.
How To Grind Flaxseed Without a Coffee Grinder
If you find yourself with some types of flaxseed that haven’t been ground yet, you can make your own ground flaxseed like you find pre-packaged in grocery stores.
Most people would just grind flax seeds coffee grinder style or use other manual grinders, but if you don’t have any on these hand, follow our methods below.
Make Ground Flaxseed With a Blender
A great way to make ground flax seeds without using manual grinders for coffee is by using a blender. All you need to do to grind flaxseeds with a blender is by putting one cup of flaxseed into your blender and grinding it with the correct pulse settings, be careful not to blend your seeds too much with these methods as it can turn into nut butter.
Downfalls of grinding your flaxseed in a blender are that you will have to feel the level high enough to reach the blades, meaning you will create leftover ground flaxseed, however, this can be used in other recipes such as flaxseed egg so does not have to be wasted.
Try a Food Processor
The food processor will grind your seeds similarly to how a blender will but doesn’t require you to use larger quantities of flaxseed as the bowl is more shallow for this processer. You can simply grind your seeds in a food processor by using the pulse settings until it reaches your desired consistency.
This will probably only take 1-5 minutes and can be stored in an air-tight container afterwards.
Grind With a Mortar & Pestle
This method might be old-fashioned but is still effective for making flaxseed powder. Simply fill your mortar until it’s 1/4 full and grind in circular motions with the pestle until the seeds crush into ground flax seeds.
Use a Pepper Mill
A pepper mill can be used as a flax grinder but will take a lot of time to work as you can only use small quantities of flaxseed at once. Make sure to wash out your pepper mill then fill it with flaxseed and twist the top to grind up the seeds into a bowl.
This method can work well when you want to make seeds into flaxseed for a particular dish such as to use as an ingredient for baking or a salad with ground flaxseed.
Get a Flax Mill
If you don’t have a coffee grinder why not get a flax grinder/mill? These flax grinder devices are a plug-in device similar to a food processor tool and save you from having to spend time picking out flaxseed remnants from your blender or pepper mill.
Flaxseed Meal Recipes & Uses
After learning all the different ways you can grind flaxseed without a coffee grinder, you might curious to learn about what you can add these nutrients to, whether a smoothie bowl, flaxseed to mayonnaise or even flaxseed into cookies.
We have listed out some flaxseed meal recipes you can try out to get the effects of flaxseed nutrients in your daily diet.
Add It To Smoothies
Adding in a tablespoon of flax to your daily protein shake or smoothie can help lower blood sugar levels, just make sure to add plenty of water too as it will thicken up smoothies easily.
Sprinkle Over Cereal
Whether you eating Weetabix or porridge, sprinkling over a tablespoon of ground flaxseed can give your breakfast a variety of health benefits.
Stir Into Salad Dressings
Salad dressings and other sauces can be mixed with brown flaxseed once a ground for a thicker consistency, nutty taste and omega 3’s benefits.
Add-In a Nut Butter Recipe
If you are making a nut butter recipe in a blender, you can make it more nutritious in minutes just by adding some of your homemade ground flaxseed powder in, the flavour of flax also blends nicely with nut butter and can give it a nice golden colour.
Use It For Baking
You can use ground flaxseed in baking good such as banana bread recipes, and it can also be used as a replacement for oil within recipes by making a flaxseed egg, allowing you to avoid eggs if you are vegan too.
Add-In Large Dishes
Larger pasta dishes such as lasagna or a veggie pasta bake can benefit from a small spoon of flaxseed, not only will this thicken it up, but also allow you to gain more health benefits from the dish.
How Do I Store Ground Flaxseed?
After you have ground your flaxseed you should ensure that you store it correctly, this is because the oils within leftover ground flaxseed go rancid pretty quickly once exposed to sunlight, meaning they have a limited shelf life of probably around a week.
One way to extend the lifespan of your ground flaxseed is by locking it in an airtight container and putting it in the fridge away from warm temperatures.
Frequently Asked Questions About Grinding Flaxseed Without a Coffee Grinder
How much does a flax grinder cost?
A basic flaxseed grinder is similar to a coffee grinder and should only cost you around £15-£20.
Can I grind flax seed in a coffee grinder?
Yes, grinding your flaxseed in a coffee grinder is recommended, just make sure to clean all the flax seed out after use.
Last Words
To conclude our article, it is very possible to make your own homemade ground flaxseed without a coffee grinder by using a blender, processor, mortar and pestle or by getting yourself a flax grinder.
We hope you enjoyed our tips and tricks for using your flaxseed too and get all the nutritional benefits from this superfood by grinding it at home.