Flaxseed crackers

Crunchy.  Salty.  Dippable.  I totally miss chips when I'm paleo.  Actually, what I miss is dipping chips into things.  Salsa, guacamole, french onion dip . . . And it seems like where theres a holiday party, there are dips.  Some are totally paleo friendly, like baba ganoush, and go great with crudités (aka carrots and celery).  But salsa on carrots is lame.  You NEED something thin and salty to transport that cilantro-y goodness to your mouth.  That's where Flaxseed Crackers come in.

I first had flaxseed crackers at a dessert spot in San Diego called Extraordinary Desserts.  The Little Italy location has a savory menu as well and a well rounded Gluten Free and Dairy free menu.  Usually if an item is both gluten free AND dairy free, it's pretty close to being paleo.  I ordered the flaxseed crackers and the basil-walnut pesto.  They were mind blowing good.  I came home determined to recreate them.  Luckily I had purchased the Caveman Feast Cooking e-book, by George of Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations fame.  The walnut-basil pesto recipe in that book is IDENTICAL to the one at the restaurant.  I'd give you that recipe, but honestly, I think you should also purchase that cookbook.  The NY Marinade in it is COMPLETELY worth the cost of the book, as well as all the other wonderful recipes in it.

I know, that's totally mean of me to rave about the pesto and not share the recipe.  But I WILL share the flaxseed cracker recipe with you.  And then you can go purchase the cookbook OR ask Santa to bring it to you.


Raw Savory Flaxseed Crackers 

Don't mind the Target Receipt.  Hey,
It's the holidays, I shop a lot now

from Cooking with Trader Joe's

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups whole raw flaxseed (not a TJ's item)
• 3 cups water
• 3 Roma tomatoes (or 1 cup of heirloom tomatoes if it’s summertime and your TJ's carries them!)
• ¼ cup fresh basil or 2 tsp dried basil
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. Soak the flaxseed in the water for 30 minutes (at which point it will have become completely gelatinous.).
• 2. While the flaxseed is soaking, place the tomatoes, basil, garlic and salt in a blender and puree. When the flaxseed is ready, add the contents of the bowl and the olive oil to the blender and give a few short bursts to combine everything.
• 3. Take 2 cookie sheets and cover with foil. Spray or rub olive oil on the cookie sheets—do not skip this step or your crackers will permanently adhere to the foil.
• (note: I use the Reynolds NON-STICK wrap and NO oil is needed.  That stuff is AMAZING!)
• 4. Drop half the mixture onto the foil on each cookie sheets. Wet your hand and then spread the mixture as flat and thin as you can, rewetting your hand as needed to make spreading the sticky mixture easier.
• 5. Place the cookie sheets in the oven at 170 degrees. In about 2 hours, the top of the cracker will have dried out. You should be able to loosen the edges of the flax crackers and flip the entire sheet and replace on the cookie sheet backside up. (If you can't peel the crackers off the foil, don't sweat it. Just leave it as is, or try again in another hour.) Turn the oven down to 150 degrees and leave it for about 8 hours. 
• (Note:  My oven is OLD.  It doesn't go lower than 200 degrees.  Upon experimentation I found that 200 degrees for 2 hours was enough to completely dehydrate the flaxseed.  I check it around the 1 hour mark and flip it.  If its still too wet, I leave it in for an extra half hour before flipping it)
• By then, the crackers should be completely dehydrated and stiff. Cool completely, remove from foil, break into smaller pieces, and store in a plastic bag. It should be fine for a couple of weeks. Serve with dips, tapenades, cheeses, or just by itself.

Paleo To Go

Sometimes you don't have time to cook.  I'm a busy mom of 2 tweens.  That means school events, karate lessons, Girl Scout meetings.  Add to that medical appointments, my running addiction and the need to "gather" every few days and sometimes I find myself without the time to cook a meal for myself.  To the rescue are a few health conscious food manufacturers that I rely on to help me stay paleo.  My favorite Paleo to go items include:

LaraBars -  Key Lime Pie, Coconut Creme Pie and Lemon Bar flavors.  Made with dates, cashews, coconut, limes and lemons, they are completely paleo friendly AND yummy!

Planter's Harvest Blend Nuts - No added oils make these nuts a safe choice for snacking.  The high protein and fat ratio in nuts is a must to keep my macros in line.  A 1/4 cup of almonds is usually my first snack of the day to make sure I'm taking in fat and protein before I reach for paleo friendly carbs.

Naked Juice - Stick with the "juices" and stay away from the smoothies if you're strictly paleo.  This is my favorite super market treat when I'm shopping hungry.  The Green Machine variety has both veggies and fruits and it's totally paleo.  I also make icepops out of it at home for when the family is eating ice cream and I want a sweet treat too.

Cheribundi Juice - My new favorite post-race drink.  It's got paleo friendly carbs for refueling, and studies are showing that tart cherry juice contains anti-inflammatory and pain reducing properties.

Rhythm Superfoods Kale Chips - I wrote about these in a previous post.  I stalk my local whole foods store for the Nacho Cheese flavor, which is usually sold out.  They are so good that its really hard to believe that its NOT actual cheese on the kale chips.

As I find more paleo friendly pre-made foods, I will definitely share them with you.

This post was inspired by my friend Michelle's blog: Hospitalmom.  For her, altering the way her family eats has been a necessity after her youngest was born.  Her little one has Short Bowel Syndrome, a condition in which nutrients are not properly absorbed (malabsorption) because a large part of the small intestine is missing or has been surgically removed.  I am amazed and delighted by her little one's voracious appetite.  And I'm honored that some of my posted recipes have made it onto their menus.