Who doesn't like a crunchy cracker, with a dip or cheese? It's the perfect snack when that in-between hunger strikes. However, store-bought crackers often come packed with ultra-processed ingredients and few nutrients. If you want to increase your plant-based "good" fatty acids, important minerals and fibre, try out our easy to make, delicious crackers!
Overview
- Serves: 30
- Prep time: 10 mins
- Cooking time: 3 hours
- Utensils: mixing bowl & two baking trays with parchment paper
- Storage: keeps in airtight container for a few weeks
- Suitability: vegan, gluten free
Ingredients
- 2 cups ground flax seeds or Linwoods Milled Flaxseed, Almonds, Brazil Nuts & Walnuts*
- 1 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup sesame seeds
- 1/2 cup chia seeds
- Pinch of salt*
- 2 1/2 cups water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 90-95C.
- Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Stir well for a minute until it gels together.
- Spread half the mixture each on the parchment papers, as thin as the space allows.
- Use a knife to score the mixture into evenly sized pieces (make the pieces smaller for crackers or larger to use as crispbread).
- Place one parchment sheet on each baking tray and bake for around 3 hours or until fully dehydrated. Flip the crackers after about 90 minutes so the bottom side can dehydrate too. The dryer they are, the crunchier they'll come out and the longer they will last.
- Allow to cool completely, then break apart and store in an airtight container, away from direct sunlight.
- Serve with dips such as hummus, olive tapenade or just a nice slice of cheese
* Using Linwoods mix will make them crispier. Alternatively, you can just grind up a handful of nuts yourself and mix them with the flax seed.
* Add some herbs or spices of your choice for extra flavour!
Benefits
Nuts in general contain moderate amounts of protein (9–20%) and, with the exception of chestnuts, also contain large quantities of fat (49–74% total fat). This fat is mostly monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fat. 30g of nuts a day has been shown to lower heart disease risk by 30-50%, reduce risk of type 2 diabetes by around 25% and assist in managing weight. A daily 30g handful has also been found to improve longevity.
Walnuts are one of the few plant sources of omega 3, containing 6280mg alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) per 100g. Research has shown that ALA from a 37g handful of walnuts each day can reduce inflammation. Walnuts can also lower both total and ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol levels without effecting ‘good’ HDL cholesterol.
Chia seeds are high in fibre and also add an impressive dose of omega-3 (ALA) to any recipe.
Flaxseeds are the richest source of the plant omega-3 fat alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) which are converted to the long chain omega-3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA). Long chain omega-3s have the best therapeutic benefits for people with inflammatory types of arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis, reactive arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.
