Mesquite tree in beautiful, southwestern USA
What's mesquite powder?
Mesquite powder, also known as mesquite flour or mesquite meal, is simply the entire mesquite pod (including the protein rich seed) milled to a fine powder. The powder is highly nutritious and very flavorful.
What's mesquite's nutritional value?
The meal ground from the pod contains 11 to 17 percent protein. Its high lysine content makes it the perfect addition to other grains that are low in this amino acid.
The sweet pods are a good source of calcium, manganese, iron, and zinc. The seeds within are 40 percent protein. Mesquite flour made from grinding the whole pods produces soluble fibers, which are slowly absorbed, without a rapid rise in blood sugar.
Mesquite for diabetics (& non-diabetics!)
Diabetes epidemics among Native American populations were almost unheard of until the middle of the 20th century when desert tribes in particular suffered spiraling rates of diabetes and obesity. Some researchers believe that the health epidemics began when modern-day Native Americans started getting their food from the supermarket instead of the desert. For generations, sweet and juicy mesquite beans were a staple of desert tribes of the Southwest.
Medical studies of mesquite and other desert foods show that despite its sweetness, mesquite powder "is extremely effective in controlling blood sugar levels" in people with diabetes. Soluble fibers, such as galactomannin gum, in the seeds and pods slow absorption of nutrients, resulting in a flattened blood sugar curve, unlike the peaks that follow consumption of wheat flour, corn meal and other common staples. The gel-forming fiber allows foods to be slowly digested and absorbed over a four- to six-hour period, rather than in one or two hours.
Mesquite for weight management
Because of mesquite's soluble fiber benefits for reducing blood sugar highs and lows, that also means longer sustained energy and fewer energy "swings". You'll feel full and satiated longer, with more energy to boot!
Mesquite Pancakes Recipe
These delicious pancakes are great for the whole family. Make a double batch for extras come Monday morning.
Ingredients
3/4 cup mesquite powder
1 cup flour (enriched, bleached, buckwheat)
1t sp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 - 2 cups milk (nut, almond or soy milk; or dairy milk)
Directions
Mix dry ingredients first. Add vanilla and eggs. Mix. Add milk until desired thickness is acquired. (The thinner the mix, the thinner the pancakes, the thicker the mix, the thicker the pancakes.) Spoon onto a hot griddle and flip when just beginning to bubble. Serve with butter and honey or better yet, prickly pear syrup. Makes 12 - 18 pancakes.
Recipe courtesy of DesertUSA.com, created by Martha Darancou Aguirre of Rancho la Inmaculada, and found here.
