Lupin flour, packed with plant protein

Does the name Lupin ring a bell? Some people will undoubtedly automatically think of the first French series on Netflix inspired by the adventures of Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief, that turned out to be a smash hit. But I’m not here to talk about the character Assane Diop (played by Omar Sy), even though I must admit I really enjoyed the series.

No, what I actually want to discuss is lupin flour. (Hahaha!) Actually, I’ve been wanting to talk about it for some time now… but I always seem to have a thousand other things I want to explore. I’ve known for a while that this type of flour is amazing and, more importantly, high in protein. It’s also naturally gluten-free, because lupin isn’t a cereal, it’s a legume. The pretty little bag sitting on the shelf in the organic section at my local grocery store was giving me the evil eye because I wasn’t purchasing it. To be honest, I think when I finally made my mind up to buy it, it was because I’d just watched the series and the word “lupin” jumped out at me… and what a great discovery it was!

Would you believe me if I said that I had hundreds of bags of different varieties of flour in my kitchen, which I call my Labriski-lab? It’s as if I’m afraid to open a bag and then not use it all up. Too grainy, too bitter… what was this flour, that I’d heard so many good things about, going to be like? I had this fear of the unknown. Yes, it even happens to Madame Labriski sometimes. Hahaha!

I opened the bag and held it up to my nose so I could really smell it properly. Hmm, it was off to a good start. I liked its relatively neutral smell. I could detect a slight hint of hazelnut and liked its wheat field yellow colour. As always, I listened to my gut feeling and set about cooking with it.

I felt like making healthy cookies instead of my usual soft, tender cookies (yes, you read that right). I’d been for a 20-km run that morning and I had an urge to come up with a new recipe for something high in protein that I could eat to kick start the day, as an excellent appetite suppressant snack or to speed recovery after exercising.

On front of the bag I bought, it says:

–        Excellent source of vitamin E

–        High in fibre

–        6 g of protein per 2 tbsp.

–        Perfect for smoothies, food and baking.

To be honest, it was that quality that appealed to me the most. If there are 12 g of protein in ¼ cup (30 g), that means there are 48 g of protein in 1 cup (120 g). That’s hard to beat, because typically whole wheat and oat flour only provide 16 g of protein per cup (120 g).

Considering I was indeed facing the unknown and I wanted to make sure that my recipe would be a success, I started off using only ¼ cup (30 g) in order to add 12 grams of protein to the recipe.

The result? I was more than happy with it, so allow me to introduce my Miss Cranberry cookie recipe.

(If you don’t have any lupin flour but you want to try this recipe, you can substitute the lupin flour with the same quantity of oat flour, oatmeal or your favourite protein powder).

Because I’m not a nutritionist but a woman with a passion who wants to make a difference in the world of food, I won’t go into all the details of this delicious discovery. If you feel like trying it, remember that it’s Madame Labriski-approved.

In short, lupin flour is:

–        High in plant protein (6 g per 2 tbsp.)

–        Very high source of fibre (5g per 2 tbsp.)

–        Excellent source de vitamin E

–        Naturally gluten free

–        Low in carbohydrates

–        Low glycemic index

I’m so pleased with the result that I’ll be coming up with a few other recipes for healthy cookies sweetened with date puree (and other types of recipes) to maximize the use of this flour. For Madame, the weekend athlete and mother, it was a wonderful find.

More details:

The lupin flour I bought that I was really happy with

Brand: Écoideas

400 g

$6.49 (on sale for $5.49)

Where can you find it?

In the organic section at your local grocery store or at a health food store

Are you tempted to add this type of plant protein (which is cheap compared to protein powders) and even more fibre to your recipes? (Personally, I’ve fallen in love with all the possibilities this high-protein flour has to offer).

Mériane aka Madame

Xxx