You probably wouldn't get the same quantity of EFA from ground seeds for the quantity you would eat as you would a tablespoon of oil but they are still beneficial. Try sprinkling on your cereal or fruit or add to smoothies because it is good for you to eat too.
You can also sprout flax by soaking 1 tablespoon for 7hrs then growing them as you would sprouts (not suitable for a baby but good for you) 1 tablespoon of flax yeilds approx 1 cup of sprouts. Sprouts are superfoods, packed with enzymes, antioxidents, vit & minerals, protein and fibre etc The healthiest way to eat our food. Also sprouts are predigested making assimilation of its nutirents easy so there is less likelyhood of food allergies (basically any seed or grain can be sprouted, i sprout my own alfalfa, barley, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds every week for my salads).
Flax seed oil is found in the refrigerator section of health for stores or health food sections in some supermarkets. Both are beneficial for health so dont worry, use what you have and try flaxseed oil next time.
