Fancy a cuppa?

Well go grab one, finish reading my post, and then hop on over to Z’s Cup of Tea and take a look through her blog.

I am quite sure you will like what you find.

Remember my interview with Lauren from Celiac Teen?  She is a 17 year old gluten-free food blogger.  Well Miss Z, whose name is actually Zoe, is also a teenage gluten-free food(ie) blogger who totally amazes me!

Zoe’s blog was born out of her family’s need to follow the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD).  What does SCD mean?  It’s okay, I didn’t know either so I asked Zoe.

The SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet) is a diet that eliminates all grains and starches; meat, fish, and fowl are acceptable to eat, along with most fruit and vegetables, and some forms of dairy (although in the case of autism, no dairy is allowed) as well as nuts, which are a major staple in SCD baking, used in the form of nut butters or ground to a flour-like consistency, and the only sweetener allowed is honey.

Zoe’s recipes are basically gluten-free, casein-free, refined sugar-free and SCD friendly.  Sounds good to me!

The blog started when she was baking and experimenting by cooking for her brother who is recovering from autism.  Friends and family suggested she write a cookbook, so she started a blog (cookbook deal to follow, right Zoe?).

And we’re all lucky for that decision!  I love it when Zoe’s updates pop up in my inbox (I subscribe to her posts via email).  She always has something totally creative and totally healthy.  Like honey-sweetened marshmallows, which Callum and I are dying to try!

Adopt A Gluten-Free Blogger

I decided to adopt Zoe for this month’s Adopt A Gluten-Free Blogger event which is hosted by the one and only Shirley from Gluten Free Easily.

August was slightly crazy for everyone I know.  For me though, it was birthday after birthday.  Two weddings.  And loads of baking in the hot hot heat.  So I found a recipe on Zoe’s blog that was simple and delicious and didn’t require me to turn on my oven.  Phew.

It was hard to pick a single recipe from Zoe’s blog.  I really wanted to try her marshmallows but I just couldn’t fit it in.  Instead I opted for her Mango Banana Popsicles.  A perfect treat for a hot September day (seriously, we’ve had a little heatwave up in these parts).  My little ragamuffins loved them and I loved them even more!  No juice, no added sugar, no dairy.  Just FRUIT.  Yum.

Here are a few more recipes from Z’s Cup of Tea I really want to try:

Honey-Sweetened Marshmallows

Sesame Snaps

Lemon Millet Biscuits

Want to know more about Zoe? Check out her blog.

Want to know more about the Specific Carbohydrate Diet? Zoe says you must read Breaking the Vicious Cycle by Elaine Gottschall, which explains SCD and how it works. Or check out the official website of Breaking the Vicious Cycle and Pecanbread.com, which is a site for kids on the SCD.

And you MUST head over to Shirley’s blog in a couple of days for the full roundup!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Have you seen that commercial?  It drives me nuts.  The kids are miserable and the father is skipping down the aisles of a business supply store with a gigantic smile on his face.  Do our kids really feel that terrible about going back to school?  And do we get that excited about the hectic school year?

Kim prepared a great post with tips on how to fuel your children for school.  Make sure you follow Kim on Twitter where you’ll find her tweeting great tips all day long! I’ve included some links to some of her recipes and some of my own.

Fuel for the Brain

Back to school season is here – yay!!!!  Back to school means routine, regular bed times and the dreaded school lunch.  As you get ready to embark on a new school year I offer up a challenge to you as a parent – take time this year to focus on feeding your child for optimum learning, fuel that brain with the right foods and sit back and watch as your child excels in school.

So just exactly how do you fuel the brain for optimum learning?  Your child’s brain needs exactly what their body needs – a diet high in fruits, vegetables, healthy proteins and whole grains – in other words a well balanced real food diet.

BREAKFAST

Fueling the brain starts with breakfast.  Breakfast means “breaking the fast”; the body has been without fuel all night long, breakfast is the time to refuel, to nourish and to kick start the body.  It is the time to restore energy in the brain that was depleted overnight and an opportunity to fill up your child’s “tank” with the right fuel for a quality day of learning.

Studies show breakfast eaters achieve higher grades, pay better attention and participate more in classroom discussions, all great reasons to make sure your child enjoys a healthy breakfast.

What should you feed your child for breakfast?  Here are a few ideas:

•    Oatmeal with dried fruit topped with grated apple, cinnamon and a touch of maple syrup, and a slice of whole grain bread with nut butter
•    Whole grain toast with egg and a side of fruit salad
•    Smoothies – frozen berries, banana, water, hemp seeds, chia seeds, handful spinach, blend and you have breakfast in a cup, add a homemade muffin and you have a great start to the day
•    Breakfast burritos – scrambled egg plus toppings of your child’s choice – avocado, tomatoes, sliced peppers, cheese, etc.  Wrap in whole grain tortilla and enjoy!
•    Homemade granola with milk of your choice topped with fresh fruit
•    Pancakes – make on the weekend and freeze, in the morning pop them in the toaster, add fresh fruit and maple syrup and serve with a scrambled egg on the side

The brain has chemical messengers, known as neurotransmitters that send messages from one brain cell to another; eggs are a super breakfast food because they provide choline.  Choline is a precursor for acetylcholine an important neurotransmitter involved in muscle control, memory and sustaining attention.  Oatmeal is also a super breakfast food because it delivers a good mix of carbohydrates, protein and fibre.  In one study oatmeal eaters did better on memory related tasks than the cereal eaters and the breakfast skippers.

So before your child heads out the door ensure they have fueled their body and brain for optimum learning with a balanced nutrient dense breakfast.

LUNCH

After sitting in class all morning tackling math problems, reading, and learning about science your child’s brain will be in a state of depletion, it will have used up its stores of glucose (carbohydrates are converted to glucose in the body and stored for energy.  The human brain can only use glucose for energy.) It is necessary to provide a nutrient dense whole foods lunch to refuel the brain for afternoon energy and learning.

Lunch should consist of brain boosting glucose sources including:

•    Fresh fruit
•    Vegetables – raw, cooked, steamed
•    Legumes/beans
•    Whole grains

As well as lean protein sources to slow the release of glucose which means sustained energy.  Ideas include:

•    Lean meats (skip deli meats, they contain nitrates which are known carcinogens – instead cooked extra meat at dinner to make sandwiches, wraps or to stuff in a pita)
•    Nuts and seeds (if allowed)
•    Nut butters (if allowed)
•    Dairy (if tolerable)
•    Quinoa
•    Eggs
•    Bean dips

Make lunches the night before to reduce the morning craziness and allow your child to be involved with lunch preparations.  Giving children a choice makes them feel like they have a little control and will increase the likelihood they will not only eat but enjoy their lunch.

Snacks

Snacks are important too!  Students are usually given a mid morning and mid afternoon break – these breaks are excellent opportunities to provide quality brain foods for your child.

Great snack ideas include:

•    Homemade trail mix – low sugar cereal, nuts (if allowed), seeds, dried fruit, pretzels, etc.  Dried fruit provides iron which is necessary for healthy brain tissue.
•    Homemade muffins
•    Homemade snack bars
•    Fresh fruit
•    Vegetables – cut up into bite size pieces for ease of eating
•    Hummus and pita

No discussion of fueling the brain would be complete without discussing fat.  The brain is 60% fat, it is the primary structural component of brain tissue.  Fat has an influence on brain function and we must get it from our diet.

Omega 3 fatty acids, in particular DHA, are the main fat in the brain, but if levels in the diet are not adequate, the brain will use other fats in its place, unfortunately function can be impaired.  DHA is found in cold water fish, fish oil and algae.  If your child is not much of a fish eater, supplements can be found in liquids and capsules for fish oil and capsules for algae.

We do have the ability to make DHA from another omega 3 fatty acid, ALA found in flax seeds, flax oil, hemp seeds, hemp oil, chia seeds and walnuts.  The conversion from ALA to DHA is not always effective in the body and unfortunately we have no way of knowing it if is or isn’t, so it therefore is best to get some DHA into your children for optimum brain function.

There are some foods that can cause brain drain, these include:

•    Processed foods
•    Foods high in sugar
•    Fruit juices/drinks
•    White bread
•    Foods with additives, food colourings, sweeteners and hydrogenated fats
•    Soft drinks
•    High fructose corn syrup
•    Foods with frostings

Avoid these foods in school lunches, better yet avoid them all together and choose to fuel your children with real food.  Real food will fuel your child’s body for growth, development and health and will fuel the brain for optimum learning.

Good quality nutrition is essential to a good quality day at school.  Feed your child well and watch as they enjoy, excel and achieve at school.

More back to school recipes:

Carrot, Zucchini, Apple Muffins
Morning Glory Muffins
Buckwheat Muffins
Granola Bars
Quinoa Date Squares
Bagels

You can also find this recipe and many more ’slightly indulgent’ recipes at Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free .

Have you read my other friend Kim’s back to school post over at Cook It Allergy Free?  Check it out – it too is a great resource.

Food For Thought: Are you paying as much attention to what you’re eating as you are to what your children are eating?

Congratulations Kerri (Spa Sister)!  Contact me through my contact page and we’ll get you your apron.

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in my giveaway.

And a big thank you to My Girl Thursday for joining me for this giveaway.

Move over Dairy Queen.

Because we don’t need your gluten, your dairy, or your HFCS.

Look at this cake!  Look at the layers of yummy, healthy, tummy-friendly goodness.

I made this delicious gluten-free and dairy-free Cookies and Cream ice cream cake for my Mom for her birthday.

It was divine.

My friend Heather is the ice cream cake queen.  She makes dairy and gluten-loving ice cream cakes on a regular basis.  So when I decided to make my first ice cream cake, I knew I had to consult her.  Heather’s advice totally made my cake a success so I recommend you follow the instructions.

Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Cake

What you’ll need:

1 spring-form pan (line the bottom with parchment)

1 batch of soft dairy-free vanilla ice cream

1 batch of crumbled double chocolate cookies

1 batch of chocolate avocado pudding

1 batch of Oh She Glow’s Homemade Raw Chocolate Chips

First Layer:

1 1/2 cups cookie crumbs

1/3 cup melted coconut oil

Combine chocolate cookie crumbs with coconut oil and press into prepared pan.

Place in the freezer to harden for at least 20 minutes.

Second Layer:

Remove the first layer from the freezer and spread half of the vanilla ice cream on top of the crumb base.

Sprinkle with 1/2 to 2/3 cups of the cookie crumbs and gently press into ice cream.

Return to freezer to harden for at least 20 minutes.

Third Layer:

Remove cake from the freezer and spread with chocolate avocado pudding.

Sprinkle with one cup (or more) of Homemade Raw Chocolate Chips (or just plain old regular!)

Return to freezer to harden for at least 20 minutes.

Fourth Layer:

Remove the cake from the freezer and spread with the remaining vanilla ice cream.

Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs.  You may want to reserve some of the crumbs to use as plate decoration.

Return finished cake to the freezer until ready to serve.

Remove cake from the freezer 30 minutes prior to serving – the ice cream does get quite hard so it needs some time to soften so you can cut it.  Cut with a knife dipped in warm water.

There you have it my friends. The best cake I’ve ever made.  It may seem like a production, but aren’t our Moms worth it?  Mine is!  Besides, you can prep the ingredients the day before and build the cake the next day.

I have another variation in my head that will soon make it out of my head and into my mouth.  Stay tuned!

You can also find this recipe and many more ’slightly indulgent’ recipes at Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free .

Got a hankering for chocolate?

These cookies are a delightful treat when you need a chocolate fix.  Or in my case, when you need a chocolate crumb.

I don’t have a picture of just the cookie for you – they don’t last long because I use them to make a crumb base for pies, squares, and cakes.  Oh, and a totally amazing and delicious dairy-free and gluten-free Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Cake.  Don’t worry, you’ll get that recipe next week.

Patience my friends.

But as a cookie they are delicious.  The melted chocolate-coconut oil combination gives the cookies a shine when they’re finished.

I used sorghum flour and almond flour to make these cookies.  I really like sorghum in cookies, it makes for a yummy cookie dough and an even yummier baked cookie.  But I think you could easily substitute any gluten-free flour for the sorghum.  Some of my favourites are quinoa flour, brown rice flour, and buckwheat flour.

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, and Egg-Free Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Inspired by Martha Stewart.

1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips

4 tbsp coconut oil

2/3 cup sorghum flour

1/2 to 3/4 cup almond flour

1/3 cup potato starch

1/2 tsp guar gum

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp baking powder

5 tbsp ground flax combined with 6 tbsp warm water

3/4 cup sucanat

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (or even better, chocolate chunks)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Heat the chocolate chips with the coconut oil in a double boiler (or place the chocolate chips in a small pot and sit it on top of a larger pot filled 1/3 of the way with water).  Heat until almost melted.  Stir constantly.  You could also do this in a microwave.

In a small bowl, combine sorghum flour, 1/2 cup of almond flour, sea salt and baking powder.

In a large bowl, combine flax and water, sucanat, and vanilla.  Mix well and stir in the melted chocolate.  Mix in the flour mixture until just combined.  Add extra almond flour if necessary (check the consistency of your cookie dough, you don’t want it to be too runny).  Stir in chocolate chips or chunks.

Drop heaping tablespoons of the cookie dough onto baking sheets – leave lots of room in between as they will spread out a little as they bake.

Bake for 10- 12 minutes.  Cool on sheet for 10 minutes and then move to cooling racks to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container.  Or test one or two and crumble the rest!

It’s birthday month here.  Last week I made a chocolate layer cake for my sister’s birthday.  Sunday I made an ice cream cake for my mom (recipe to come).  And this week I am making cupcakes for Callum.  I’m going cake crazy! But I love it.

You can also find this recipe and many more ’slightly indulgent’ recipes at Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free .

Are you a chocolate chips or a chocolate chunks kind of person?

As a baker I have every right to be obsessed with aprons.

I need to look good while whipping up a batch of gluten-free bread.  If I look good, the bread will look good when it comes out of the oven.

Makes sense, doesn’t it?

Enter My Girl Thursday.

Chantilly is the talented blogger and crafty maven behind this adorable blog. I stumbled upon My Girl Thursday a few months ago via the almighty Twitter.

She recently opened up her etsy shop featuring some really cute aprons.  I knew I needed one.

I haven’t bought an apron since I’ve started blogging.  I usually wear my Grandfather’s old apron, simply because it brings me luck! But I like to have pockets in my aprons and his doesn’t.  My BFF gave me a cute apron for Christmas with my logo on it (I know, her presents are good like that).  It has pockets but how could I ever risk getting it dirty!

Lucky me, Chantilly has great pockets in her aprons!  And they’re so colourful that stains could never stand a chance!

So I ordered one.  And I loved it, so I ordered another one.

This time though I asked if she could do a custom one for me – using fabrics that were the colours of my blog.

As you can see, she said yes!  I’m afraid to use this one though.  Lest it get coconut oil stains all over it! I think I will reserve this one for photo opportunities and media events. Hee.

Do you love them or what?

The Giveaway

What’s really cool about all of this apron hullabaloo is Chantilly has agreed to a giveaway!  We’re joining forces to give one of you lovely bakers an apron – the winner gets to pick from the designs on her etsy shop.

Here’s how to enter:

1.  Visit Chantilly’s blog and leave a lovely comment for her, then come back here to leave a comment and let me know you’ve done it.

2.  Share the giveaway love on twitter or facebook, then come back here to leave a comment and let me know you’ve done it.

That’s it!  Good luck!

This giveaway is now closed.  Thank you to all who participated!

Chantilly and I will draw the winner from a gluten-free mixing bowl.

Take a look around her blog and make sure you check out her etsy listings. You will fall in love.

She currently has a giveaway going on – check it out on her blog. You can win more of Chantilly’s handmade goodies. Runs until the 16th of August.

Ice cream for breakfast?

Well, you could if you wanted to.

In fact, I don’t know why you wouldn’t.

Especially once you check out this recipe for ice cream.

I would consider serving this to my babes for breakfast; with their pancake breakfast perhaps.

As you know, I ‘ve recently ventured into the world of making my own ice cream.  It is much easier than you think.

All you do is prepare the mixture and put it in your ice cream maker. And by preparing the mixture I mean pouring 3 or 4 or 5 ingredients into the food processor.  You could even use an immersion blender.

This recipe gets just a little bit more complex because I’ve soaked and added raw cashews (a healthy fat).  If you have a high-powered blender (like a Vitamix or a Blendtec) you don’t have to soak your cashews. Lucky ducks.

What I like about this recipe is the healthy fats.  Coconut milk and cashews. This is why I would serve it to my kiddies for breakfast.  And as a vegetarian, I could even justify serving it to my lovely little self for breakfast.

And check out the chocolate chips I used!  You could totally justify a bowl of chocolate chips for breakfast – they’re homemade!

Vanilla Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

1 cup soaked cashews (I soak 1 cup of raw cashews overnight in 1 cup of water)

2 cups full fat coconut milk (2 cans)

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup chocolate chips (I used Oh She Glows recipe except I used maple syrup instead of agave)

Add all of the ingredients (except the chocolate chips) to your blender or food processor and mix until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips.  You could chill this mixture if time permits (I didn’t have time but my coconut milk and maple syrup were in the fridge beforehand).  Pour into your ice cream maker and follow your ice cream maker’s instructions.

Here’s the ice cream maker I use and it is so very easy.

Makes approximately 4 cups of delicious homemade ice cream.

Not sure if you want to invest the time to make ice cream?

Check the label of your favourite brand.  I bet homemade ice cream has less ingredients!

You can also find this recipe and many more ’slightly indulgent’ recipes at Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free .

Liv and I baked side by side for the first time this weekend.

Prior to this, I’ve mixed flour at the counter and she’s mixed flour and water at her little red table.  We’ve both been completely happy this way.

But Saturday I asked her if she wanted to bake with me – she was thrilled.  Livvie will be 2 at the end of October.  She’s more than ready! And she did a great job. There were only a few accidents along the way.

It was so much fun and so cute!  It took me back to Callum’s first days of baking – he was about the same age when he started standing on a chair beside me, helping me dump cinnamon and flour into the bowl, stirring ingredients “very gently”, and painting the muffin pan (with oil, not paint).

These are the moments I’ll never forget.

The first time I made these muffins I was pleasantly surprised.  They were sweet and moist.  However, it was also the first time I had baked with grapeseed oil and that quantity of almond flour so I had to play around with the ratios a few times until I got it right.

Well, I got it right. A perfect healthy whole food breakfast, snack, or even dessert.

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free and Egg-Free Morning Glory Muffins

1 cup almond flour

1/2 cup quinoa flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

1  1/2 cup grated carrot or zucchini (I use my cheese grater to shred)

5 tbsp ground flax mixed with 9 tbsp warm water

1 mashed banana

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup grapeseed oil (or your preferred oil, I successfully tried olive oil too)

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners or grease with oil.  As an aside, we used to buy an oil spray, because that’s what you do.  Right?  WRONG!  You don’t need to and there are a couple of ingredients in those sprays that we just don’t need.  I keep oil for greasing in a small mason jar and I have a silicone brush.

Easy.  Cheaper.  Better.  The End.

In a large bowl, combine almond flour, quinoa flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt.  Add grated carrot and/or zucchini to the dry ingredients and combine.

In a medium-sized bowl combine ground flax-water mixture, mashed banana, vanilla, and oil.   Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix just until combined.  Stir in raisins and nuts if desired.

Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.  Remove from oven and let cool to the touch.

If you’re using a mini-muffin pan bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees.  I always bake two trays of mini muffins (24) and 6 regular sized muffins.

Callum insists that we put sprinkles on the mini muffins.

These muffins are just as moist and delicious the next day, and the next day (if there are any left).

More Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free and Egg-Free Muffin Recipes:

Quinoa Banana Muffins

Buckwheat Muffins

Oatmeal Muffins

You can also find this recipe and many more ’slightly indulgent’ recipes at Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free

Certainly you’ve heard of Elana by now?

She’s the talent behind Elana’s Pantry – one of my favourite gluten-free and refined sugar-free blogs.

I love everything about Elana – her blog is so well designed, she’s a published cookbook author, she virtually eliminates starches, she uses only almond flour and/or coconut flour, and she has quite a few vegan recipes.

What’s not to love?

Until this month, though, I had never made one of Elana’s recipes.  There was just a lot of drooling and admiration going on.  For instance, Elana had an entire month of gluten-free cupcakes.  Total eye candy and oh-so creative.

Also, she is extremely professional and I really respect the way she handles her blog’s popularity.  She recently wrote a great post about agave in response to all of the criticism against using it to replace refined sugar.  And she created forums on her blog so you can seek advice or help other readers.

Can you tell that I really admire Elana?

Adopt A Gluten-Free Blogger

When I saw that Tia from Glugle Gluten- Free was hosting this month’s Adopt A Gluten-Free-Blogger, I knew I had to adopt Elana so I could try some of her recipes.

The first recipe I tried was Elana’s Beet Hummus which was inspired by Elise from simplyrecipes.com .  I love beets and I love hummus so I knew this was a win-win.  We had some leftover barbecue roasted beets that I used.

As you can see from the picture, the hummus was HOT PINK!  It was gorgeous.  Pete finally had to tell me to settle down, I was so excited about the colour and the taste of this hummus that I was driving him nuts.  I envisioned a pink-themed party with hot pink beet hummus as the show stopper!

Next I tried Elana’s dairy-free and egg-free chocolate chip cookies.

Oh.  My.  Goodness.

I am a lover of all things chocolate chip cookie. One can never have enough chocolate chip cookie recipes.   And this is a major winner.  I served it to friends and family who were over for lunch.  Wheat-eating, dairy-eating, and egg-eating friends.  They LOVED the cookies too.  My sister-in-law went home and immediately made her own batch.

Currently my ice cream maker is chilling in the fridge so I can try her cashew based Vanilla Ice Cream.  I’ll update the post once we’ve done the taste test.

Promise!

So head over to Elana’s Pantry and spend some time exploring her blog. Her recipes are super healthy, tasty treats that anyone will enjoy.

You won’t leave her blog disappointed, and you might even leave with her cookbook!

P.S. I also want Elana’s kitchen and all of her yellow accessories!

P.P.S.  You can check out the rest of the Adopted bloggers by going to Tia’s blog sometime after August 3rd.

I really wanted to call this post Maggie’s Gone Crackers.

I recently had the chance to go shopping at Whole Foods (food bloggers dream about this) and I bought some really yummy crackers.  They inspired me to make my own.  Look out Mary!

These aren’t your every day, “Mommy can I have some peanut butter and crackers?” crackers, although I think they taste super yummy with almond butter.  They’re a little fancy – whip up a batch next time you’re having your friends over for dinner.  Trust me, they will love them and you will totally impress them, “Yep, I made these.”  And if you bake like me, you’ll always have these ingredients on hand.

No one will notice that they’re naturally gluten, dairy, and egg-free crackers.  Heck, I think these even qualify as grain-free.

Rosemary Onion Crackers

1 cup ground flax seed

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 and 1/2 tsp rosemary leaves

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 cup maple syrup (or honey/agave)

1 tbsp flax seed (not ground)

1/4 tsp coarse sea salt for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8×8 pan with parchment or aluminum foil.  I have also oiled the pan but the crackers were a little harder to remove once baked.

Add the ground flax seed, sea salt, onion powder, and garlic powder to the bowl of your food processor.  Pulse just until combined.  Pour in maple syrup and pulse until combined.  Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in flax seed.  Press into prepared pan using wet fingers or a wet spatula.  Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and lightly press into the cracker dough.

Bake at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes,  Check for doneness by pressing cracker – you want them to be crispy (mine took 20 minutes but I started checking at 18).

I can’t even tell you how easy these were to make.  Callum could easily make them for me while I’m next to him chopping veggies for supper.  It’s all about the food processor people – though I definitely think you could try them without.

These crackers taste even better the next day because the flavours have a chance to get all comfy with each other!  So go ahead and make them up a day ahead if you’re serving them for guests.

There are so many uses for these delicious crackers:  croutons, decoration on a warm bowl of homemade soup, or slathered in almond butter for breakfast.  You could even use them as crunchy bread crumbs.

I grind my own flax seed using a coffee grinder.  So easy.

There’s also so much potential for these crackers flavour wise.  Callum wasn’t keen on the rosemary flavour.  I could easily leave it out and I know he’d like them.

You can also find this recipe and many more ’slightly indulgent’ recipes at Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free .

The possibilities are endless when you make your own food!  Wouldn’t you agree?