Flax Seed Crackers

Two weeks ago was my first attempt at making flax crackers using my dehydrator.  I love crackers, anything crunchy, like celery or even radishes.  Using the dehydrator allowed me to experience great results.  Grinding the flax seeds allows us to take advantage of more nutrients but for my first time I just soaked the flax seeds. I am in the process of gathering information on flax which I hope to post soon.  If you are wanting to learn more on flax, please click here to read on the amazing benefits of how adding flax can be of benefit to your food choices.  My dear friend Moira from Look Who's Cookin! has done a wonderful job researching and sharing her findings.  And be sure to visit us in the middle of the week as she'll be guest posting with Pebble Crossing!

Ingredients

2 cups flax seeds

2 stalks of  celery chopped

2 tomatoes chopped

juice from one lemon

3 garlic cloves chopped

Cayenne

Directions

• I soaked the flax seeds in 4 cups of water for a little over one hour.  Once the flax seeds get wet, mucilage forms from the outer shell.  I wanted to take advantage of the mucilage to help the cracker stick together.

• In the food processor, I added the celery, tomatoes and garlic and then I processed until everything was finally chopped .

• I added the soaked flax seeds and ran the food processor to mix everything together.

• Cayenne Pepper was the last ingredient I added, just enough to give flavor.

As you can see this is an easy recipe.  It was adapted from a recipe from Karen Knowler a raw food coach online.  If you have a smaller sized food processor, you may need to half the recipe when mixing the ingredients together as it will go over board and drip on the outside of the food processor as I experienced.

• I prepared my dehydrator trays and spread enough of the cracker mixture (about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick) to spread onto the tray.  I learned that spreading the mixture slowly allowed me to spread it more evenly.  I was able to prepare four trays.  Since I owned only one Paraflexx sheet, I used parchment paper.  And that worked fine.  Actually the crackers on the parchment paper dried quicker than the Paraflexx sheet.  You can choose to score the crackers ahead of time.  I did not, I just broke them in pieces once they were dried.

• When dehydrating the cracker trays, set the temperature around 115°F - 125°F.  Dehydrate overnight.  Once the sheets of crackers were dried on one side, I flipped them over to dry on the other side.  This took at over 12 hours to completion.

• Et Voila!  Store the crackers in an airtight container. They tasted great topped with hummus and sprouts!

 Yields 4 to 5 trays The next crackers I’ll try will be with ground up flax seeds.

This recipe was shared with:
Monday Mania at The Healthy Home Economist
Tuesday Twister at GNOWFLINS 
Hearth and Soul at A Moderate Life 
Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop 
The Pennywise Platter at The Nourishing Gourmet
Fight Back Friday at The Food Renegade 

If you’ve tried making flax seed crackers in the oven, please leave a comment below.  Not everyone owns a dehydrator and would like to share this information with others.
Note added:  After doing some research I found out that this flax seed cracker recipe can be made in a normal oven at about 150 degrees Fahrenheit (65 degrees Celsius), with a wooden spoon between the door of the oven and the oven for circulation. I have a simple kitchen thermometer in the oven to monitor the temperature. This works great. (Information found at Raw Food Success Blog)

blessings

Carmen

Haricots Verts en Salade/Green Bean Salad with Red Pepper and Flax Seeds

I felt like preparing something refreshing this evening for supper.  I love green beans, and preparing this salad is always quick and easy.  As a young girl, I recall picking green beans from the garden and helping my mom with canning.  I had much success growing them in Canada.  Ten years ago when we arrived in Texas, I had big plans for my vegetable garden.  I soon learned that not all vegetables do well in clay, I think they call it gumbo here.   Green beans are not in my garden this year but that doesn't stop me from eating them.

Ingredients

4 cups fresh or frozen green beans (I use organic frozen from Costco)
1 red pepper diced
1 cup black beans, cooked (soaked night before and cooked in the morning*)
2-3 Tbsp flaxseeds
4-5 garlic cloves, chopped small
pure virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar to your liking (about 2 Tbsp each)
salt and pepper to taste
Sheep Feta Cheese (optional)

*I usually cook enough beans to use in other meals for the rest of the week.

Preparation
Steam green beans for 4 minutes. Beans need to be bright green and should still be somewhat crunchy.  Remove from steamer and place in another bowl and let cool.  Once they are cooled, add diced red pepper, chopped garlic, black beans.  Mix ingredients together.  Add oil and vinegar, salt and pepper.  Adding black beans makes the salad more nutritious with its protein and fiber.   Try adding slivered almonds or pine nuts. Want something sweet, maybe some dried cranberries or even sliced strawberries.

This salad can be prepared and served immediately or prepared and chilled in the refrigerator before serving.

Bon Appétit

If you've prepared something similar, please share, we love to try new recipes!

This post is linked to:
The Nourishing Gourmet
Grocery Cart Challenge