by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, retreat host, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC
Recently, I had the great opportunity to purchase beautiful fresh organic Hawaiian turmeric root from McClendon Select at the Wednesday morning Uptown Farmers’ Market in Phoenix, Arizona. I love the fresh green taste and aroma of the turmeric, plus, its anti-inflammatory health benefits.
I had quite a bit of turmeric, so I decided to experiment with the turmeric in a raw dehydrated cracker. And, I’m so glad I did. While dehydrating, the aromatherapy of the crackers was warming and refreshing, perfect for a rainy Arizona evening. And, oh my, the crackers are so vibrant tasting, easy to prepare, and I’m excited to make raw crackers more often.
First, I’ll share the step-by-step process to dehydrate raw crackers in my book, “A New View of Healthy Eating” and then the intuitive cracker recipe I created with the fresh turmeric root.
Excerpt from “A New View of Healthy Eating”: Dehydrated Raw Flaxseed Crackers
Flax seeds, chia seeds, and buckwheat groats are perfect for a flatbread batter because they form a natural mucilaginous gel when combined with water. Once dried, it’s a great binder for crackers, flatbread, and raw tortillas or wraps.
5 Ingredients for Dehydrated Flatbread or Crackers
The basic ingredients to create the base for dehydrated flatbread or crisp crackers are very simple. Have fun using your intuition to create your own versions of crackers with this raw dehydrating process.
- Soaked flax seeds, chia seeds, or buckwheat groats
- Fresh vegetables (peppers, tomatoes, beets, carrots) or fruit (apples, pears)
- Nuts or seeds (almonds, cashews, pecans, sunflower seeds)
- Herbs and spices (basil, oregano, ginger, turmeric)
- Dehydrator: to dry for 8-12 hours
Sweet Pepper Almond Flax Crisp
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup golden flax seeds, ground, then soaked in 1 ½ cups water
- ¾ cup raw almonds, soaked in water for 2-3 hours, drained
- 1 ¼ cup yellow bell pepper, minced
- 1 shallot, minced
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked and drained
- 1 ½ tsp chili powder
- 1 ½ tsp onion granules
- 1 tsp sea salt
SIMPLE STEPS
1. Gather mise en place.
2. Blend ingredients.
- Add soaked flax meal (ground flaxseeds and water) and almonds to food processor and blend until smooth.
- Remove and place in mixing bowl.
- Blend yellow pepper, shallot, and sun-dried tomatoes with a touch of water.
- Add chili powder, onion granules, and sea salt to food processor with the pepper, shallot, and sun-dried tomatoes until smooth.
- Add vegetable mixture to the bowl with flax meal and almonds and fold together until thoroughly combined.
3. Dehydrate.
- Set dehydrator at 115 degrees F.
- Spoon mixture onto dehydrator tray. Spread mixture evenly to ¼-inch thickness on non-stick dehydrator sheets with an off-set spatula.
- Dehydrate 1-2 hours. Once partially dried, score batter to desired size and shape.
- Dehydrate an additional 1-3 hours. Flip the crackers off the non-stick dehydrator sheets and onto the dehydrator screens so that the crackers dry properly.
- Dehydrate an additional 1-2 hours or until crackers are crisp.
- Dehydrating time depends on how thick the paste is to begin and how crisp you want the crackers.
4. Options.
- Soft taco shells: Once flipped onto the dehydrator screen, dehydrate for 1-2 hours or until batter is not wet and is pliable.
- If crisps dry too much, sprinkle water to restore pliability.
- Enjoy as a cracker snack, dip in hummus, or top with a pâté.
Intuitive Raw Turmeric Crackers
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
- 3/4 cup raw almonds, soaked 8-10 hours
- ½ cup golden and brown flaxseeds, ground
- 1 orange bell pepper, diced
- ¼ cup dehydrated tomatoes, soaked 30 minutes
- 2-3 tbsp soaking water from dehydrated tomatoes
- 1 shallot, minced
- Pinch sea salt
- 1” fresh turmeric root, minced
SIMPLE STEPS
- Soak almonds 8-10 hours in room temperature water.
- Grind flaxseeds in blender.
- Soak ground flaxseeds with ½ cup room temperature water for 30 minutes.
- Process almonds and flaxseed mixture in food processor until combined. Pour mixture into bowl.
- In food processor, process pepper, shallot, and dehydrated tomatoes, sea salt, and a few tablespoons of the tomato soaking water until smooth.
- Fold in liquid mixture (pepper, shallot, dehydrated tomatoes) to the almond flaxseed mixture.
- Fold in turmeric root.
- Spread batter about ¼” thick with off-set spatula on dehydrator sheet.
- Dehydrate at 115 degrees Fahrenheit for 1-2 hours.
- Score to your desired shape.
- Dehydrate another 1-2 hours. Flip crackers to mesh dehydrator sheet.
- Dehydrate 2-4 additional hours to your desired crispness.
- Enjoy!
As always, I invite you to share your raw cracker creations with us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/NewViewHealthyEating.
And, if you’re interested in learning additional culinary techniques as a foundation for intuitive cooking, I’m happy to mail a copy of my book, “A New View of Healthy Eating” to you.
