Rosemary Almond Crackers

These are great little crackers. Gluten free, grain free and full of goodness. Almonds are alkaline and are very low in cholesterol and sodium. They're also a good source of riboflavin, magnesium and manganese, and a very good source of Vitamin E. These crackers are simple to make with a minimal ingredient list. You can add whatever herbs or spices you might like. I just really love rosemary and it fits well in this cracker. Caraway seeds would be great too. Eat them alone, pair them with some hummus for a nice light healthy snack or along with some grapes or fresh fruit of choice. Almonds are an alkaline food and carry good nutrition for a healthy mind, body and soul. Have a go at these little crackers, I think you will enjoy them...

Rosemary Almond Crackers

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal 
• 4 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup almond flour or almond meal, packed
• 1 tablespoon fresh or dried rosemary or choice of herbs, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, optional
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine flaxseed meal with 4 tablespoons water and olive oil. Place in fridge for at least 10 min, or until the mixture is gooey, this is the binder for the mixture. 

You can buy almond flour or make it close enough at home like I did. In blender/food processor, grind 1 and 1/4 cup almonds into a fine powder or meal type consistency...doesn't have to be perfect but the finer the better.

Place all ingredients in medium size bowl and mix together well. Shape into a ball and place on a flat surface lined with parchment paper. Either roll to flatten or cover with another piece of parchment paper and press down with your hand, then roll with rolling pin flattening to about 1/8 inch or so. The thinner the better (even mine could have been thinner, take up the whole area spreading to the edges, the thinner they are the crispier they'll be). Remove top layer of paper, if using. Using a pizza cutter, or knife, cut squares or diagonals into whatever size you like. Top with a little sea salt.

Carefully slide and transfer prepared crackers along with the paper it lays on to a cookie sheet, bake for 20-25 minutes. After the first 10 minutes of baking, set timer every five minutes so you can keep an eye on them, removing the ones around the edges that are done. They will ever so slightly darken and turn golden, you don't want it too dark or it will have a burnt flavor. When done, let cool. Use your pizza cutter, or knife, and run through your lines once more to separate completely. Let set out for a few hours before storing, if they weren't rolled thin enough they may become more of a biscut style cracker if stored away to quickly...this will allow them to be completely air dried before storing. I keep mine in a large glass ball jar in the pantry or on the counter. 

Enjoy!

Here's a batch I just made using caraway seeds, no sesame seeds in this one. I rolled them a bit thinner this time giving them a bit more of a crunch. The caraway seeds are really great in this...right up there with the rosemary. These crackers pair so well with hummus. And some fresh fruit with this is an added bonus. These are super to make for parties or just to have around the house for a healthy snack for you and your family. Try it with this hummus.

Delicious!

Rustic Baked Potato Chips

Once you go homemade......there is no turning back ! 

Forget the bag, this is so simple and delicious. I used to love potato chips and had no real problem eating them before but now a days I eat a few and feel not so good to my tummy. My clean eating habits have dramatically altered my system. It knows when something is processed and not close to nature as it should be. Funny how we adjust. I prefer my new habits and feel terrific so there is no way back to the old ways for me.

Here is my grand solution. I can finally enjoy potato chips !

These can be made any way you want....simple as salt & pepper, or spice it up with some cayenne or chipolte powder. Other spices you can use are garlic salt, onion powder, any special blends you have....just about any spice or herb you can think of will work ! Maybe salt & rosemary will be my next batch ?!

I started with two potatoes, clean and ready to slice. I don't have a slicer so everything was done by hand with a shape knife. The whole process was simple and took about 10 min or so to prep. Once you get them on the cookie sheet your ready to go ! 

Rustic Baked Potato Chips

(recipe and photos inspired by The Talking Kitchen)

 Ingredients

• 2 medium potatoes, I used gold, organic from Sprout's ($2.99 for a big bag)
• 2 tsp olive oil
• himalayan salt, to taste...go easy as they can get too salty

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Prep a baking sheet with parchment paper, a rack would be great too and you would need less cooking time. That's next on my list !
3. Using a sharp knife, food processor attachment or mandolin, thinly slice the potatoes. 
4. Toss with oil and salt in medium size bowl. Or you can go to step five and lightly coat each side with oil while on the cookie sheet using a silicon brush. One less thing to wash this way, which was my way. 
5. Place in a single layer on the baking sheet. 
6. Bake for 10-17 minutes, turning after 10 min. Remove any that seem ready or about to burn completely. 
7. Once baked, remove from oven and let cool for 2 - 5 min.  Makes two servings.

Enjoy !

Stuffed Avocados

Avocados are so versatile and can be served with so many dishes. I eat them almost every day. Today it was served stuffed and as you can imagine it tasted amazing !

Ingredients

grape tomatoes

cucumber

jalapeno

shallot

garlic

hummus or tahini

himalayan salt & pepper

Dice ingredients, place in small/medium bowl, add just enough hummus to bind. Fill avocados and top with salt & pepper.

Let this just be a starting point for you. You can add/subtract whatever you wish. You can even double stuff yours. Go stuffing nuts and enjoy every minute !

Hope this inspires something wonderful within ! xo

Simple Kale Chips

One of my favorite ways of eating kale. I picked up 5 bunches of organic kale for $5 and decided to play with ingredients. I made two batches, one with 'cayenne pepper & himalayan salt' and the other with a 'garlic sea salt blend'...both were pretty amazing! I've also seen recipes using nutritional yeast, brown sugar, etc...be creative and have fun... 

Start by washing and removing the stems. Shred your kale in whatever size or shape you like. 

In a large mixing bowl, coat leaves with oil, add some spices, place on cookie sheet and bake...so easy and delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of kale (I used curly kale & lacinato kale)
• 1 tbsp olive oil (I usually use a little less)
• Use one or more of the following: Himalayan salt, pepper, spice blend, herb, nutritional yeast or whatever you feel like using. 

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325
• Wash kale thoroughly and let dry.
• Remove leaves from stem and break up into the size chips you would like. Put leaves into a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Massage until coated.
• At this point you can either add your spices in the bowl and mix, or you can lay them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkle what you want to use, which is what I did. 
• I put them in the oven for about 10 min. Since I put both types of kale in the oven at the same time, the lacinato kale was crispy and the curly kale was a little softer (which I really liked). So please note that the different types of kale cook differently and you should watch your oven after 10 min until you have perfected your chip.

Enjoy !