SLC23-W6 | Flours

Hi Dear Friends, How are you? I hope you all are fine and doing great work. Meet me first, I'm Abdul Sameer. Today I'm going to take participate in this learning challenge SLC-S23-W6 | Flours. I would like say thanks @nahela and @franyeligonzalez who organized this wonderful learning challenge.

^{Design Through Canva}

Share one or more photos of the flours you commonly use in cooking. Describe the type of flour (refined or healthy)

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Whole Wheat Flour – A Healthy Choice in My Home Kitchen

This is a picture of the flour we usually use for cooking at home. For this challenge in particular, I have made whole wheat grains into flour.

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I always prefer using whole wheat flour instead of refined white flour that is call Maida. Whole wheat flour is always made by grinding of the entire wheat kernel, which includes the Bran, Germ, and Endosperm.

^{Whole Wheat Grains Into Whole Wheat Flour}

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This makes it a healthy option compared to refined flour or processed flour, which loses most of its nutrients during processing like bran.

Type of Flour:

Whole Wheat Flour is always considered a healthy flour because it is unrefined and not ultra processed and whole wheat flour have its all natural fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

Whole wheat flour is a healthy flour because it's is Unrefined flour. It is made by grinding the entire wheat kernel including the bran, germ, and endosperm. Which keeps all the natural fiber, vitamins, and minerals intact.

Nutritional Value (per 100g approx.):

Nutrient	Amount per 100g
Calories	340 kcal
Carbohydrates	72 g
Protein	13 g
Fiber	10 g
Iron	3.6 mg
Magnesium	130 mg
B Vitamins	Present

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So to clarify:

• Whole wheat flour = Healthy / Unrefined

• White flour (Maida) = Refined / Less healthy

Why I Use It:

I choose whole wheat flour not only for its nutritional benefits but also for the slightly nutty flavor it adds to breads, chapatis, and other dishes. It keeps me full for longer and helps in better digestion due to its high fiber content

Make 1 sweet or savory pancake (HEALTHY) using a healthy flour. SHOW: INGREDIENTS, STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS, AND FINAL RESULTS.

Healthy Chocolate Banana Pancake

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Ingredients

• 2 Ripe bananas (mashed)

• 5-6 fresh strawberries (chopped + whole for topping)

• 2 Cup Whole Wheat flour

• 2 -3 Tbsp cocoa powder (Unsweetened)

• 1 Tbsp baking powder

• 1 Tbsp pinch salt

• 1 Tbsp powdered sugar (or as per taste)

• 2 egg (beaten)

• 3/4 Cup milk(Fresh)

• 1 Tbsp vanilla essence

• 2 Tbsp tbsp chocolate chips

• HazelNutella chocolate (for drizzle or batter)

• Oil or butter for greasing pan

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Category	Ingredients
Dry	1 Cup whole wheat flour 2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder 1 Tbsp sugar 1 Tbsp baking powder 1 Tbsp pinch salt
Wet	2 Ripe banana (mashed) 1/5 Cup milk (Fresh) 2 Eggs 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Add-ins	1/4 Cup mini dark chocolate chips Fresh strawberries (chopped) HazelNutella chocolate (for drizzle or batter) Butter or oil (for greasing pan)

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Instructions

1. Mix Dry Ingredients:

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In a bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, sugar, Fresh Milk and a pinch of salt.

Why Baking Powder:

• It helps the pancake batter rise and become fluffy (Leavening Agent )
• Creates Air Bubbles
• Improves Texture

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2. Mix Wet Ingredients:

Take another bowl, mash the 2 bananas, then mix in the beaten egg, milk, and add vanilla Essence.

Slowly combine the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix gently. Don’t over mix just enough to combine.

3. Cook the Pancakes:

Heat a non-stick pan that we used for cooking, over medium heat and lightly grease it with butter. Place about 1 cup batter(Raw ingredients) for pancake. Cook 2–3 minutes per side until bubbles form and the edges look baked

4. Add Drizzling:

Slightly warm the HazelNutella with 1/2 cup milk for drizzling and for a smooth sauce that enhance our pancake flavor.

5. Serve:

Stack the pancakes on a plate, drizzle with HazelNutella, top with whole strawberries and a few chocolate chips as you can see in upper given pictures.

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FINAL LOOK

^{Cooked By @sameer07}

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Health Benefits of Unsweetened Cocoa Powder in Pancakes

• Rich in Antioxidants: As we know whole wheat flour fully antioxidant that helps fight free radicals and reduces inflammation.
• Heart Health: Improves blood flow in our body and may decrease lower blood pressure disease.
• Mood Booster: Coca Powder release and promotes of serotonin and endorphins.
• Minerals: Minerals like magnesium, iron, potassium, and calcium also gain from coco powder Unsweetened.

What are the characteristics, benefits, and uses of the flour you used to make your pancake?

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Flour Name: Whole Wheat Flour

Characteristics:

Whole wheat flour is made by grinding the Entire wheat grains, including the bran, germ, and endosperm that in whole wheat kernels. It has a slightly thick texture than refined flour, brown in color, and a rich nutty flavor. If we compared it with refined flour, it is denser and absorbs more liquid.

Benefits:

• High dietary fiber that helps digestion and keeps them completely.

• Rich in essential nutrients such as iron, magnesium, and vitamin B.

• Low blood glucose index controls blood glucose levels

• Good for heart health and overall wellness

Uses of Whole Wheat Flour:

1. Pancakes & Waffles: If you want a healthy breakfast with more fiber and nutrition diet pancakes of whole wheat flour.

2. Bread & Buns: Used in manufacturing whole wheat or multi grain breads. In upper given pictures you can see that bread that is made from whole wheat flour

3. Chapati, Roti & Paratha: A common food from whole wheat flour in many South Asian meals.

4. Pizza Dough: Gives a rustic, hearty taste to your homemade pizza bases.

5. Thickening Agent: Whole Wheat flour Can be used in gravies, soups, or sauces.

Uses in Pancakes:
Whole wheat flour gives pancakes a warm and healthy taste. It makes them more complete and nutritious. It works great with ingredients such as bananas, cocoa powder, and fruits that we add in our recipe. This is perfect for a healthy breakfast option without affecting the taste or any side effect.

What time of day do you think is best to eat this type of food? Explain your answer.

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The best time to eat whole grain pancakes is breakfast in the morning. As we know that Whole wheat flour is rich in fiber and complex carbohydrates that ensuring long lasting energy and helping you fill for many hours. In lunch we have no need to eat enough diets. Because this is combined with healthy ingredients such as bananas, cocoa powder, and fresh fruits strawberry, it creates a nutritious, balanced diet that supports digestion and promotes mood. I mostly prepare and eat this pancake in the morning.

After eat early in morning, you have time to burn your carbohydrates efficiently. This makes it a good option for a healthy start. It's also a great option if you're active before or the morning after workout

Why is the morning the best?

1. Energy Boost: Whole wheat is rich in complex carbohydrates that will give our body a constant energy test, as it fuels the day from the start.

2. It keeps full: Fiber content helps us feel full before lunch and prevent unhealthy snack.

3. Proper Digestion: our metabolism is more active in the early morning, so our body can digest this type of pancake and use nutrients more efficiently whole day.

Of the 6 classes worked on in this course, which was your favorite?

Of the all classes My favorite class was about Nutritional Labels, below a clear explanation, for why it My favorite.

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Why Nutritional Labels Was My Favorite Class:

I found the class on Nutritional Labels the most useful because it taught users how to make smarter and healthier food choices. Many of us, people's didn’t pay much attention on labels, to what was in the food what was eating.
After this class many of us people's understand how to read serving sizes, calories, fat, sugar, and ingredient lists properly.

This class was practical, people's can now check if a product is high in sugar or unhealthy fats just by reading the label they reject the product and and find healthy snack. This class also helpful for managing allergies or avoiding harmful additives by reading and Learning.

What topics would you like us to cover in upcoming healthy cooking classes?

I would love to see future classes cover topics these my favorite topics like:

1. Smart Cooking Swaps

In this class or topic we can discuss about how
Replacing unhealthy ingredients with better options (e.g., oil alternatives, sugar substitutes).

• In this topic we can discuss use whole wheat flour instead of refined flour.
• Choose baking or steaming over deep frying.
• Replace Sugar with Honey and jaggery
• Use Natural Herbs replace instead of artificial spices.

1. Portion Control

Portion control means eating the right amount of food, in this topic we can discuss about how much calories and quantity we need to eat not too much, not too little. It helps with weight management, better digestion, and balanced nutrition.

2. Awareness of Food Safety

In this we can discuss about Food safety, by this class we can aware people's keeping your food clean, fresh, and free from harmful bacteria or chemicals. In this topic we can discuss about these points.

• Wash Hands before Handling Of Food
• Avoid Cross contamination During Cooking
• Store Food properly while cooking
• Check Expire Date before cooking

Now this is end of my post hope you really like my effort for this challenge. At end of the of my post I would like to invite @suboohi, @faran-nabeel, @sualeha, @drhira, @chant @munazamalik to participate in this learning challenge as soon as possible.

Best Regards,
Abdul Sameer