Why does flour have so many calories?

kcdrake

I miss baking! I was looking at the ingredients in one of my favorite cookie recipes and the killer is flour! One cup has over 400 calories! What is it about flour that makes it such a calorie packer? It makes me sad.

And my follow up question: does anybody know of a replacement for all-purpose flour that isn't as calorie heavy? I know there are different types of flour, but I've only used whole-wheat flour (which is still pretty calorie heavy... almost no difference) and I don't know how different flour types might affect the taste of what I make.

knittygirl52

Flour is just concentrated carbs! What you REALLY need to figure is how much flour is in a serving--say one cookie. If you look at the calorie content for sugar, you'll see it's even worse than the flour because its carbs are even MORE concentrated. Carbs aren't necessarily bad--you do need some over the long haul. It's the amount (and whether you can stop with just one serving!).

MsElphaba

Okay, for starters let's think portion control. Just what kind of serving would you have to eat to have a cup of flour? I have been using King Arthur's White Wheat flour in place of all purpose. Honestly, I am not sure about the calorie difference, but at least it's better for you!

Panda86

You won't be eating the whole cup of flour in one serving- if you make a batch of however many cookies or whatever (we'll say 24), that amount is spread over 24 cookies... So if you have one, it won't be too bad.

kcdrake

Okay, I know I won't be eating a whole cup of flour and I know it's more important to figure out the serving size. I'm just shocked at how many calories are in such a small amount. I already knew sugar was a calorie hog, but flour was a surprise to me.

Tracy9377

Look at this web site

http://www.dietbites.com/calories/flour-calories-in-flour.html

Different types of flour have very different caloric and other nutritional content. Apparently, peanut flour has a fraction of the calories of other types of flour at 196 calories per cup ... whole wheat flour has 407 per cup ...White flour has 455 calories per cup.

The problem is, I've never heard of peanut flour ... does anyone know where in the world to find peanut flour?