If I make something like stew or Beef Stroganoff, is there a better thickener to use than flour, for diabetic eaters?
Thanks! Cinder
Peanut or almond flour. Peanut flour can have a strong peanut flavor. You want the lower fat content versions (usually 12%) for a more neutral flavor. Byrd Mill has it and there is also always Amazon.
Almond flour is way easier to find - they have both at my local Winco (aka Cub Foods) but the peanut flour is labeled "Peanut Butter Powder" and it has added sugar.
The problem with nut flours is high calorie content. A cup of almond flour is something like 530 calories - granted you'll only use a couple T most likely but that's still 65 or 70 extra calories in the recipe. Not sure of the calorie count for peanut flour.
Oat flour is about half the carbs of AP flour - AP flour runs 90 to 100 g of carbs per cup, oat flour comes in at about 48g per cup. You can always beat flaked oatmeal (like Quaker) to death in a blender to make small amounts of your own if you can't find it in bulk bins at a local grocers.
Other possibilities include wheat or oat bran, wheat or oat germ, spelt, potato starch/flour (again you can make your own by whizzing up instant potato flakes), tapioca starch/flour (not the same as the tapioca you make pudding from), sago, and sweet potato starch/flour.
Arrowroot is stable in acidic foods (such as lemon pudding) but gives an odd shiny appearance when used in savory sauces. Cornstarch is not acid stable. Sago is heat stable but requires a long cook time. I've never had potato starch break, I usually use it for soups. I read in the link I'm about to post that it shouldn't be boiled but I can't remember ever having a problem with it - my potato soup always thickens up just fine. Possibly I don't actually boil it, I guess I never paid much attention (though potato soup is OFF THE TABLE for me now that I'm diabetic).
Here's a link talking about different thickeners:
Starches & Thickeners
You can get most of these in any Asian grocery. Corn starch is often labeled "flour" in such places, but you probably don't need to go there for that one, LOL!
I didn't look up the carb counts, too many! Check them out if you're interested.