Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Broccoli and Onion Flax Crackers/Bread


Why should you make flax bread instead of eating whole wheat bread? This was a tough issue for me. I really love baking bread. I love the smell, the feel, and of course I love eating warm fresh bread. I suppose you could say I have always had a love affair with things made with flour. However, if you are concerned about cancer and trying to keep your blood glucose levels in check (since cancer is a sugar feeder), things made with flour need to be an occasional treat. Darn it!

The store bought varieties of bread can be much worse than homemade. Check the label of the bread you buy it may well contain high fructose corn syrup and/or carrageenan. We all know about high fructose corn syrup so I am only going to discuss the carrageenan. This is commonly used in baked goods, ice cream and soy milk and has been linked to both the promotion and spread of cancer. You will see this used in raw foods as well, it is also known as Irish moss. Dr. Weil recommended you reduce your consumption of carrageenan as far back as 2005. This is something that we have been avoiding. For these reasons commercial bread has been out at our house for a while. To satisfy our bread cravings I have starting making flax bread.

This is my favorite flax bread. I love that it uses raw broccoli, onions and garlic which keeps more of the nutrition intact. We use this in place of bread, crackers and pizza crust. It is simple and nutritious. I keep these on hand so that we can make a quick slice of raw pizza. They are also great with nut cheese or okara miso pate. Once you have them around you will find they are very versatile. Here is how I make them.

Broccoli and Onion Flax Crackers/Bread
Makes 1 tray in the Excalibur which I cut into 16 pieces

Ingredients:

4 cups broccoli florets
½ yellow onion, peeled
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 2/3 cups flax seeds, ground
1 cup water
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon oregano, dried
Freshly ground black pepper to taste (probably a ¼ teaspoon)
Kosher salt to sprinkle on top

Directions:

Place the broccoli in your food processor and pulse until has been obliterated. You don’t want many obvious pieces of broccoli, add the onion and do the same thing. Place the broccoli and garlic in a large mixing bowl and add the remaining ingredients through black pepper. Stir to thoroughly distribute everything. The mixture should be fairly cohesive.

Using your hands spread this on a teflex sheet. It will cover it corner to corner. I try to make certain the edges are reasonably square but this isn’t necessary. Place the “dough” in your dehydrator and “cook” at 105 degrees for four hours and then check it. If it isn’t too humid you should be able to flip the dough off the sheet (it will still be sticky on the back) and cut it into serving pieces. Return the crackers, sticky side up, to the dehydrator and “cook” until the top is dry (about an hour). I like mine a little undercooked so they are more like bread than crackers. But it you want yours more crisp the only change is to “cook” them longer.

I store mine in a covered container in the refrigerator. They seem to last a very long time, weeks in fact.

Nutritional Information (per 1/16th of the recipe):

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 105.79
Calories From Fat (57%) - 60.24

Total Fat-  6.91g
Saturated Fat - 0.68g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 70.9mg
Potassium - 66.89mg
Total Carbohydrates - 8.16g
Fiber - 5.12g
Sugar - 0.17g
Protein - 3.94g

Comments:

This is something that I try to keep in the refrigerator at all times since we use it like bread or crackers. I like that it contains raw broccoli, onions and garlic. I also like knowing we are getting omega 3 fatty acids from the flax seeds. Inflammation is something that I feel is important to keep in check. If you like this recipe you may want to make two trays at once since this keeps for weeks in the refrigerator. We also eat this with our salad in place of crackers. It really is very versatile.

Unrelated Note:

I am going to run for now. I want to make my hubby some healthy raw cookie dough truffles which I am going to cover in melted dark chocolate. This recipe has been on my to-do list for too long so I want to cross this off. Assuming all goes well I will be back later today with the recipe. After that I need to get back to my research for a few hours this afternoon.

17 comments:

  1. This cracker looks very healthy and yummy. love the broccoli, onion, flax combination.

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  2. I am seriously salivating over here! I love broccoli so much, I would eat it everyday if I could. I once made a broccoli cornbread, have you ever had that? It is too die for!!! This reminds me of that!
    So what are you making for dinner????

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  3. RV,

    Thanks, this is a healthy one. As my hubby says I try to get as many healthy foods into every recipe as possible. ;-)

    Brandi,

    I am so glad you like the sound of this. It really is my favorite.

    Cornbread with broccoli you say. I had not heard of that but it sounds great. Thanks for sharing the idea.

    I don't know what I am making for dinner yet. But it might be some type of veggie loaf. Not sure yet. How about you?

    Alicia

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  4. This looks really good and very simple too, I can't wait to try it.

    I quit buying store bread years ago, when I started reading ingredient lists. Plus I like dense chunky type bread, I always add cracked wheat, flax, steel cut oats, etc. to my homemade bread. My daughter and I both had stomach problems whenever we ate something with carageenan in it, so that was one of the first things we learned to avoid, and it is in lots of processed foods. One more reason to eat as much whole foods as possible.

    Hope your research goes quickly and well!

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  5. These crackers are most definitely being added to my must-try list. YUM

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  6. I just got a dehydrator for my bday on Monday and crackers are the first thing I want to make. If I use preground flax meal would it measure the same? I don't think my dehydrator came with teflex but maybe it did, if not I'll have to get out and look for some.

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  7. Janet,

    I don't buy hardly any commercially prepared food either, but since most people do I wanted to highlight the potential issues with carrageenan. I still miss making bread and other baked goods. But I love my hubby more so it was an easy choice. It only took me a couple of weeks to actually get used to "raw bread". It isn't the same, but it works.

    These crackers are easy and make a wonderful base for raw pizza. We use them for that more than anything.

    Heather,

    I think you will like these. Since you already make nut cheese all you need now is the sun-dried tomato marinara and you can have raw pizza in a minute or two. Can you tell I am obsessed with that at the moment?

    talk to you later,
    Alicia

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  8. Sarah,

    Yay for the new dehydrator and a belated happy birthday to you. Flax crackers and bread are very easy to make. Once you follow one recipe you won't need one any more. I use all sorts of veggies and seeds and add them to the dough depending on my mood. Just add enough water and seeds to make them hold together and it will work. The measurement of preground flax seed is close enough to the same that it will work fine.

    The dehydrator I have came with "non-stick" sheets for each tray. I think the brand is Teflex, but I have also seem them called Paraflex. If yours doesn't have that try using quick release aluminum foil. It is coated with silicone and should work fine.

    Enjoy your new toy! Mine gets used a lot these days. Now you will need to try the raw pizza too. It is my latest obsession.

    talk to you soon,
    Alicia

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  9. This looks great, and I can't wait to make them! Thanks!!

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  10. Megan,

    Thanks for commenting, and I hope you like them as much as we do. :-)

    Alicia

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  11. Ooooohhh, sounds wonderful, Alicia! I think dehydrator might be next on my list after the Vitamix! And thanks for the info on carrageenan--I didn't know that! :)

    LJ

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  12. LJ,

    Sorry I keep spending your money. I do find my dehydrator to be very useful for flax crackers.

    The carrageenan info is not well known and I don't know why. I heard it years ago and just read it again in another book by an MD I am reading. I thought I should mention it while it was fresh in my mind. Be sure you check your non-dairy milk labels apparently it shows up often there.

    Alicia

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  13. LOL, Alicia, that's what tax refunds are for! You know that you're an inspiration to me...I just need to find space in my little kitchen! ;)

    I just checked my soy milk! BOO to the carrageenan! I'll finish it, and then try my hand at making my own.

    LJ

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  14. LJ,

    I am so sorry to hear you found carrageenan in your soy milk. Soy milk is easy to make at least. Almond milk is even quicker if you want to try that instead. I make them both.

    Thank you for your kinds words. They are always appreciated. :-)

    Alicia

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  15. LJ,

    I am so sorry to hear you found carrageenan in your soy milk. Soy milk is easy to make at least. Almond milk is even quicker if you want to try that instead. I make them both.

    Thank you for your kinds words. They are always appreciated. :-)

    Alicia

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  16. I can't wait to try these!!!

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  17. Neca,

    I hope you like them. They are one of my favorites. I try to keep them on hand all the time.

    Alicia

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