I have no idea what it is like to "have a sweet tooth". I have always craved food that is salty, sour, and/or tart. Too much salt is obviously not good for you; however, how much salt is too much, seems to be under discussion. Watch the What I've Learned episode Low Sodium's link to Fat Gain & Insulin Resistance (Salt vs. Sugar).
In addition to salty, I love crunchy and spicy. So, it seems that any crackers might be the perfect fusion for my cravings. The cracker recipe below however, has the added benefit of high fiber and healthy oils and fatty acids. The suggested spices can be changed according to your taste. For example, next time, I may entirely skip the salt and add turmeric and black pepper instead.
It took me less than five minutes to mix all ingredients and another 20-25 minutes to bake the crackers. After that, I had a very crunchy time!
Ingredients
1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained
1 tsp salt, 1 tsp (or less) cayenne pepper, a pinch of paprika
1 1/2 cup oatmeal
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup pumpkin seeds
3 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs ground flax seed (you can alter this amount)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375° F. Mash the chickpeas (with a fork or hand masher), add the salt, cayenne pepper, and paprika (or any other spices of your choice). Add the olive oil and the two cups of seeds. Mix the ground flax seed and oatmeal with 1/3 cup warm water. Combine all ingredients by hand. Press the mixture onto an oiled cookie sheet, spread on the entire surface as thin as you can (wetting your hands to press down may help). Bake for 25 minutes. Cut into squares when still warm.
Do you like this recipe? Here and here are two more cracker recipes.
Today's recipe differs from my two previously published cracker recipes - this one is rather simple.
From all recipes, the vinegar-sunflower seeds recipe is my favorite, but today's version of crackers is simple and could be a healthier substitute for the store-bought crackers with their unsavory and questionable ingredients.
Simple crackers
You need:
1 cup olive oil
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 cups of whole wheat flour
Instructions:
Dissolve the baking soda and salt in the yogurt and then mix with the olive oil and feta cheese. In a large bowl, make a well in the flour and pour the yogurt-cheese mixture inside. Mix with your hands. Knead, separate into two balls and flatten the dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into shapes and bake on cookie sheets prepared with non-stick spray. Bake at 400F for approximately 12 minutes.
It might be possible to make the crackers with 1/2 cup of oil, 1 cup of yogurt and no cheese (but more salt). Next time, I will experiment with these proportions.
Anyway, the result was pretty good, so these crackers will be part of my snack at work this week.
I do snack. I admit it. Despite that I like the idea of eating only once a day, I still snack.
But, in my defense, my lunch is usually less than 300 calories and I snack only within my "eating" hours, between 5 AM and 5 PM (yes, I know, this is 12 hours; therefore, my fasting period is probably not long enough to dip into the fat metabolism).
For my job, I prepare apple slices, baby carrots, and celery sticks. In addition, I have my daily banana and "other" fruit (whatever is in season).
More recently, I added sunflower seeds and whole wheat crackers for the times when I crave salt. I have also experimented with some homemade crackers (these are much better than Triscuit).
To make it easier on me, I wash the carrots and celery on Sunday, distribute them in sandwich bags and keep these in the refrigerator for the weekdays.
Once I stop working, I may not downsize to one meal a day, but I may shorten my eating period to six-eight hours a day, and take advantage of the daily intermittent fasting.
I recently posted a recipe for homemade crackers, but today I tried a new version without the eggs. In the new recipe, I used sunflower seeds instead of walnuts (there is no reason, I just had too many seeds and not enough walnuts). I also added apple cider vinegar. Considering my adherence to healthy ingredients, the result was excellent.
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| The finished product |
You will need:
1 cup oats, 1 cup sunflower
seeds (I used roasted, but raw might be better), 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour, ¼ cup
apple cider vinegar (you can use any vinegar), ¼ cup olive oil, 3 heaping Tbsp yogurt, 1 tsp baking soda,
1 tsp salt, optional spices (e.g., turmeric, caraway seeds, cayenne pepper,
etc.).
Preparation:
Mix together oats, seeds,
flour, salt, baking soda, turmeric, cayenne pepper and caraway seeds. In a
separate bowl, mix yogurt, vinegar and oil. Combine the two mixes by hand, divide into two equal parts, and
transfer to two oiled cookie sheets. Press down the dough as thin as possible. Do not cut the dough. Bake
for approximately 12 minutes at 400F, then turn the sheets of dough upside down
and bake another 1-2 minutes or until golden-brown color. My
crackers were almost ready by the time I turned the dough upside down, so I
turned off the heat at 15 minutes of total baking time (the baking time would depend upon your oven and the thickness of the dough).
After cooling, break the dough into pieces and enjoy!
You will need:
1 cup oatmeal, ½ cup chopped walnuts, 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour, 2 eggs, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 3 Tbsp yogurt, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt, optional spices (e.g., turmeric, caraway seeds, cayenne pepper, etc.).
How to:
Mix the oatmeal, walnuts, and flour together. To the yogurt add baking soda, salt, eggs, oil, and any spices. Combine the yogurt mix with the oatmeal-flour, knead and spread in an oil-sprayed pan. Press down the dough to ¼ of an inch or less in thickness and bake for 10 minutes at 400F, then turn the sheet of dough upside down and bake another 10 minutes to golden-brown color and crisp texture. Break into pieces, enjoy!
Next time I will try the same recipe without the eggs.
