Dr. McDougall's Online Discussion Board

I've accumulated a number of veggie/vegan cookbooks, and at the moment I'm trying to figure out how to make some of my favorite recipes MWL-friendly. I have an absolutely scrumptious chickpea gravy recipe (Vegan With a Vengeance, anyone?) that I like to have over potatoes or rice...but, of course, it calls for flour mixed with water as a thickener.

Since flour products aren't allowed on MWL...any ideas as to what I could use instead? I've been able to work out the other substitutions needed, but I'm a little stumped on this one. I've never tried a flourless diet before. O_o

The MWL book has a recipe for Broccoli Mushroom sauce that uses cornstarch as a thickener. Will cornstarch work?
Letha

I love that chick pea gravy from VWAV. I like to use chick pea flour instead of the wheat flour and it works perfectly!

That's the second time I've heard about Chick Pea Flour in one week. I love the idea!

I'm sure cornstarch would work. I'm a little surprised that cornstarch is allowed but flour isn't...it seems like cornstarch would be forbidden on MWL for pretty much the same reasons flour is - it's ground up into a powder, which would probably have all the same effects on metabolism and insulin levels that flour does. Does anyone know the rationale for this?

(Yeah, I'm a geek. I read all the "science behind this diet" chapters several times. LOL)

I don't know what agar is, but I'll be sure to find out. As for "blended potatoes"...I've never heard that phrase, but I'm assuming you mean potatoes pureed in a blender? Or something?

All good ideas. I like having options. But I am puzzled about the cornstarch thing.

Hey singingbird! I made that punk rock chickpea gravy too [still enjoying it!], and I didn't use the flour either, but used a tablespoon of arrowroot mixed with water, and that did the trick. I don't see much mention of arrowroot here, but I use it as a "healthier" option to cornstarch.

I read somehere [so long ago can't remember the specifics I'm afraid] that cornstarch may increase blood sugar, so it's best avoided. However, we can sprinkle sugar on oatmeal, so perhaps by the same reasoning cornstarch is accepted here?

mairead11 wrote:I read somehere [so long ago can't remember the specifics I'm afraid] that cornstarch may increase blood sugar, so it's best avoided. However, we can sprinkle sugar on oatmeal, so perhaps by the same reasoning cornstarch is accepted here?

That makes sense. 1/4 cup of cornstarch to thicken an entire batch of gravy is different from, say, eating a bagel for breakfast, a subway sandwich for lunch, and then pasta for dinner - all which I had been doing regularly. The whole "no flour" thing is without a doubt the biggest adjustment I'm going to have to deal with. Replacing my bagels with oatmeal and my pasta with rice and potatoes is making me a little sad. Not TOO sad, because I like those things too, but I have to admit I love my pasta.

I went to the food co-op I shop at and, believe it or not, couldn't find cornstarch! I ended up buying "potato starch," which I assume is exactly the same thing except derived from potatoes. But if I end up making this regularly, I'll try the arrowroot next. Is it really healthier? I don't know anything about it.

I have tried cornstarch and it works. Once I emailed Dr. McDougall about whether it was okay to use for MWL (I think I was adapting a recipe for someone) and he said it was fine.

I found the recipe here, at recipezaar:
http://www.recipezaar.com/Punkrock-Chic ... avy-304633

A couple questions--does it still thicken without using any oil? Is it good w/o the nutritional yeast?

It looks like you could make it as a meal if you don't mash the beans for a gravy. Sounds good--thanks for mentioning it!

It does thicken without the oil. The recipe only calls for a small amount of oil to saute the onions and garlic in. The main thickening agent was the flour.

So, to make it MWL-friendly, I saute the onions/garlic in soy sauce instead of oil, leave out the mustard seeds (I may shake some mustard powder in to get the taste)...and since I can replace the flour with cornstarch (or potato starch, LOL) - voila! MWL-legal punkrock chickpea gravy.

This makes me very happy.

Jan Tz, thanks for posting about getting the arrowroot approval! That's nice to know it's acceptable.

momof4, I totally agree with you in having this be a meal! It would be delicious on it's own with brown rice...or potatoes...or as a soup...it's SO good! Also, I did taste it before adding the nutritional yeast, and it was incredible! So if you don't like/can't find nutritional yeast, it's still fantastic. I like having the chickpeas mashed slightly, I think the mashed ones add to the texture of the sauce, and leaving some whole/partially whole gives something to chew on. This recipe is so good, I think I have to put it on my "guest dinner recipes" rotation.

singingbird, are mustard seeds not MWL friendly? I used them assuming they'd be okay, but will leave out in future if they're not approved. Also, if your food co-op is anything like mine, they won't stock cornstarch, but you will find it at any chain grocery store. At your co-op you will be able to find arrowroot, probably in the bulk section of dried herbs/spices.

I still think you should try the chick pea flour. It really adds a nice flavour, ups the nutritional content and work perfectly to thicken the gravy. I don't like the taste of the mustard seeds so I leave them out. I think they are fine for MWL though. The gravy tastes great without the nutritional yeast as well.

RRC—do you use the same quantity of chickpea flour in place of reg flour? I want to try this next! As arrowroot only thickens, and doesn't add any nutritional value or flavour [at least I don't think it has any nutritional value].

Mairead11: the approval was for cornstarch. I never asked Dr. McDougall about arrowroot. Is it the same thing? I've never used arrowroot.

Yes, same amount chick pea flour as regular flour.