Flax Chips and Discount to Ecolissa!

I come to you from the couch in my boyfriend's fifty degree living room to talk about flax chips.

It's COLD in Pennsylvania Country right now, folks!!!

A word to the wise? Always make sure heat is included in the rent. And that it's not oil.

It's nice in here compared outside - ten degrees!!! But I've got a couple layers on, as well as a cup of Traditional Medicinals Female Toner tea by my side.

And I promised you flax chips.

To be honest - my flax chips have been coming out chewy, more like flatbread. I like this better, because chips have always aggravated my IBS. Raw flatbreads make nice wraps too! I've been rolling spinach, raw kraut, beany hummus, and sprouts up inside them and nomming to my heart's content.

So if you want something with crunch, check out Gena's recipe for flax crackers.

If you want raw chewy flax chips, or flax wraps, read on!


Start with 1 cup of flaxmeal. Pour in 1.5 to 2 cups of filtered H20. Stir together. Let sit for 2 hours.

Add in spices and seeds. I always throw in sesame. So far I've made sesame and caraway, garlic sunflower, and honey sesame crackers.



Pour batter into dehydrator.



Set at 105 degrees. Dehydrate for 4-6 hours.



When one side is solid, it's time to flip it. I wish I could've gotten a picture of this step - because it's super fun. But alas, I'm the flax chip maker and the photographer. And I need both hands for both tasks.

What you see above is this: One clear plastic flat-bottomed donut pan inside a mesh screen. So to flip, I take out the plastic pan with the flax dough inside. I place another donut pan on top of it. Then I flip it over. The flax dough peels off the one pan and onto the other, cooked side down.

Post flip? Dehydrate for another six-eight hours. The flax usually takes about 12 hours to harden all the way through.

Great toppings include hummus, cashew cheese, nut butter... you can even make a dehydration sandwich!!!

Raw kale chips stuffing raw flax bread with almond butter!!!

Lastly but not leastly!

The lovely people at Ecolissa are offering FartyGirl readers a 20% discount on their eco friendly vegan clothes and accessories. How kickass is that?! The clothes are super cute - jeggings and tunics - but vegan! Gotta love that!

I realllly want this hoodie...

The 20% discount has NO expiration date. Type in the coupon code: eco20 when you order. Hopefully I'll see you; I'm headed over there now! Ha! ;)

Toots

How do you like your chips?

Salty? Sweet? Nutty?

What flavor flax chips would be your favorite?

Do you shop eco-friendly/vegan clothes?

Why or why not?

Tales from the Dehydrator, Part 1

I got a dehydrator for Christmas!!!

Does it look weird? If so, that's because I got a different dehydrator than most bloggers. Most bloggers have the Excalibur. It's a big black box with shelves.

I got the Nesco!



It's a pretty cylinder with layers!

Buyer reviews claim that the Nesco is just as good as the Excalibur. Although I've never used the Excalibur, I am so happy with how mine works. AND it cost about $130 less!

The first thing I made with Nessie?

Kale chips! Duh!

First I tore the kale into bite sized pieces.



While the kale was soaking, I mixed up the cheesy sauce.



Into the processor went a glug of evvo, 2 big spoonfuls of cashew butter, a mountain of nutritional yeast, a sprinkling of garlic, and lots of unsweetened almond milk.



This picture doesn't do the sauce justice. It was very goopy and thick!!!



Nessie came with lots of trays and two different kinds of screens. One is straight flat plastic. The other is mesh. Fortunately, with kale chips I can use all the trays and screens.

Stack 'em up!!!

Set the dial right. The recipe book told me 135 degrees, but industry standard is 105. I compromised.

Eight hours later - cheesy kale goodness!

I loved how thick the sauce coated the chips. However, not all of them cooked thoroughly. They were cooked, but chewy instead of crispy. Also, these chips were not 100% raw. The almond milk and cashew butter were store bought.

I use what I got, y'know?

The next time I made kale chips, I made a 100% raw, much thinner sauce. It was simple, just evoo, nooch, and salt.

They came out crispy and perfect!

They were so good that I made a breakfast sandwich out of them!!! I took three pieces of raw caraway flaxbread and used almond butter to make everything stick together. The combination of caraway and cheesy nooch was amazing!

For the raw caraway flaxbread recipe - check back next week!

I got the idea that raw foods might be better for my IBS from fellow IBSser Gena. Last winter I switched to 85% raw. Ever since, it's been GREAT. Raw foods definitely feel better on my guts - especially early in the day. I don't know why; they just WORK!!!

As the lovely Bitt says in this post - there's a lovely light feeling that comes after eating raw food. It's seriously changed my life! I can't wait to make more stuff!


My favorite kale chips continue to be the coconut curry kale chips from my local Oasis raw food cafe.


Look at how electric yellow they are! Plus - I love supporting local businesses. The people at Oasis are frighteningly kind and sweet. Everything they make is FANTASTIC!!!

But - you can never have TOO MANY KALE CHIPS!!!!

Toots


What are you cheffin' up this week?



What healthy food can you not get enough of?


Are you a dehydratorer ?


If so - what's your favorite food to dehydrate?

Hope

Everyone's been talking about their intentions for 2011.

I feel the same way about the word "intention" as I do "resolution." The road to hell is paved with good intentions. And despite my love of healthy eating, I keep resolutions like the next guy. I don't. HA!

This year, I have hopes.

My hope for 2011?

Eat more CATERPILLARS!!!!

HAHAHAHA! Just kidding... this little snickerdoodle hid in my field greens, popping out just in time for lunch. Fortunately, I had some broccoli and hummus to snack on. And the caterpillar got to go free. Today, somewhere it's turning into a butterfly!

Seriously...

My first hope is to eat more RAW WHOLE FOODS. Getting a dehydrator for Christmas will certainly help. But even without the dehydrator, I want to eat more salads.

Kimchi, raw cultured beets, and nutritional yeast salad

Sunbaked Salad:

Kale, Tomatoes, Garlic - jarred in the sun for six hours...

Spinach, raw cultured kraut, and raw onion bread...

The Classic FG Whole Foods salad:
Greens, kale, radishes, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, roasted garlic, evoo, nooch, and gomasio




The 3-kinds-of-Hummus-Soaked Salad

Sunny Sprout Salad:

Sunshine burger, chunky KWF hummus, and broccoli sprouts

Warm tomato and broccoli salad!!!

Last salad aside, this is the second winter that I've been aggin' for RAW FOODS! My belly loves them. So does my mouth! Too often lately, I've taken a bite of cooked food and found myself DISAPPOINTED. It's very true that once you get going on the raw foods, it's like anything else - a bit of an addiction!!!

Toots

What are your hopes for 2011?

What's your favorite salad?

What foods are you addicted to right now?