Flax Fun - Bread & Crackers

Flax is super good for you!  Full of omega 3's, antioxidants, & fiber.  Plus, it has a yummy, nutty flavor :)  Toss some into your oatmeal, sprinkle it on your salads, or use it in crackers & bread like the recipes below!  I won't make you wait any longer, here are my adventures with ..... flax bread & flax crackers!!!

Flax bread with hummus, avocado, tomato, spinach, onions

Lunch at your desk never looked so good :D

Flax bread with hummus, shredded cabbage & carrots, spinach, tomato, and pepper jack almond cheese! 

Drying my very first raw vegan flat bread!!!

2 smallish zucchini

1 small onion

1 large red bell pepper

1 C ground flax

Pink himalayan salt, onion powder, garlic powder

Blend all the ingredients in a blender or food processor.  Pour & smooth into lined dehydrator trays.  Dry on 105 for 6-8 hours then flip over & remove liner, continue drying until flat bread consistancy is achieved.  No dehydrator?  No problem!  Turn your oven on its lowest setting and crack the door open, keep an eye on it as this method drastically reduces drying time.  (Also put up babygate to kitchen if you have kids or dogs!) Use for raw sandwiches, wraps, pizzas....You can still make all of the goodies in the photos above if you don't want to make your own raw flat bread, just use your favoite wrap, Flat Out makes a great multi-grain one.

Flax, chia, sunflower seed, sesame seed crackers. These are fabulous and totally scrumptious with guacamole, your favorite dip, or on their own. Measurements are approximate again because I threw them together a while back for fun and ended up loving them so much I had to take a pic for my blog. I promise to make them again and measure like crazy!

1 C sunflower seeds

1/2 C golden or brown flax seeds, I used some of each

1/4 C chia seeds

1/4 C sesame seeds

1 1/2 C water

Dash of pink himalayan salt (or sea salt)

Dash of onion & garlic powders

Dash of cumin (optional, its already pretty earthy)

Place all the seeds in a bowl and add water. Allow to sit for a few hours , covered, at room temp. This will produce a really cool seed-gel! Add seasonings to taste, yes, you can taste the gel to see if you like the seasonings you have put in it.  Just be aware that the texture is a little funny in its pre-cracker form.   Remember that dehydrating it will make all the flavors stronger so go easy on the spices, this is something I need to remember to do better also. Smooth into a lined dehydtrator tray and leave 6-8 hours (overnight) at 105 degrees, then flip over and dehyrate until dry. Then break into crackers. For a more uniform cracker you can dry until firm, score, and finish drying but I like the rustic look of these. If you do not have a dehydrator, you can do this in your oven on your lowest setting with the door cracked open.  Next time I make these, I am going to grind half of the ingredients first so it has an even better texture....just a thought.

Simply Raw

I was a self proclaimed "lazy vegetarian" for years before discovering a whole new world of cuisine.  I sat for a raw foods demonstration at an unassuming little table in a park on a windy Florida day expecting nothing more than to watch "eccentric" people show what they eat while hugging trees.  What I discovered was a vibrant blend of textures, colors, and flavors!  Raw food does not have to be complicated or time consuming.  The ingredients are so fresh and delicious that they don't need a lot of work to become something wonderful.  Save the complicated recipes for the weekend!  Here are some simple things I've put together recently.

Carrot Grapefruit Juice

Made from 2 fresh ingredients and a juicer!  A zippy start to any day!

Sprout, Avocado, Tomato Salad

I tossed beautiful cherry tomatoes (fresh from a farm stand), sprouts, and diced avocado into a bowl and sprinkled with fresh squeezed lemon juice, salt, & pepper.  Much more satisfying than you might think.

My local farm stand had the most fantastic tomatoes in a variety of colors.  I cut them into wedges, broke up some asparagus, minced some fresh basil, and drizzled with balsamic & olive oil.  Sprinkled with a touch of salt.

Think being a raw foodist means nothing but salads everyday?  Wrong!  Check out this fabulous wrap.  I wilted a kale leaf in the dehydrator (to make it more flexible), filled with my favorite matchstick'ed veggies, and used a dipping sauce I had handy.  This time it was a combination of raw almond butter, water, dates, ginger, and cayenne.  I combined 2 dip recipes from a fellow raw friend to make that one.

More wraps please!   I'm a wrap obsessed girl, so here's another one.  All raw except the rice paper wrapper.  You can substitute any leafy green if you like to keep it strictly raw.  This one has kelp noodles (full of trace minerals), carrots, avocado, carrots, sprouts, basil, cilantro, and my favorite part..........wait for it......mango.  It's just not the same without it.  This wrap is so good it doesn't even need a sauce.  I make this every week or so, I never get tired of it!  Switch up the veggies to use whatever looks good where you shop that week.  *Kelp noodles are available at asian markets, if you can't locate them substitute with the rice noodles you soak for 10 minutes and can even get from the asian section at Walmart.  Rice paper wrappers are available at lots of stores in the asian section also.

Chia rice pudding!  I eat this one for breakfast quite a bit and try to bring enough to go around because the girls at work love it!  For this one I mix 1C almond milk, 3.5T chia seeds, a small handful of dried cranberries (you can use raisins but I substitute tart goodies wherever I can), and a few dashes of pumpkin pie spice.  Mix well to avoid clumps.  Cover, place in fridge, and allow the chia time to absorb the milk, at least an hour.  Give it a taste and see if you like a little agave to sweeten or not.  Makes a great dessert!