Power Seed Crackers

Ever since I decided that I wanted to try making more of our staple food from home (such as bread, granola, almond milk, etc.), crackers have been one of my favorite foods to experiment making from scratch. Since I made Whole Wheat Rosemary Wheat Thins, I've realized that crackers aren't as hard to make as I had thought. I love being able to change the seasonings and it's also a perk that I know exactly what went into each little crunchy morsel. 

Whole Wheat Rosemary Wheat Thins

Lately I've seen a lot of recipes for crackers made only with seeds and water so I decided to try some out. I didn't want my crackers to be made up entirely of larger seeds like sunflower and pumpkin seeds, but wanted the base to be something with a finer texture. Ground flaxseed for the win!

The best thing about these crackers is that you don't have to roll out a stiff dough with a rolling pin, but instead get to use your hands to spread out the seed mixture. There is also no oil or butter in these and they are held together entirely with water!

Power Seed Crackers

(Makes about 50 crackers)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup pepitas 
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, chopped (careful, it "jumps" everywhere!)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl mix together the flax, chia, sunflower and pepita seeds.
3. In a separate bowl whisk together the 1 cup of water and spices.
4. Pour the spiced water mixture into the bowl with the seeds and use a spoon to stir until combined.
5. Dump the seed mixture onto your baking sheet and use your hands to push down the mixture and spread it to be about 1/4-1/8 of an inch thick. My mixture spread all the way to the edges of my baking sheet.
6. Score the dough with a knife into whatever shape you like.
7. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until dry and firm. (It depends on how thick/thin you made them)
8. Break the crackers apart and let cool.

Eat Consciously,

Faith

No-Cook Strawberry Rhubarb Chia Jam. Only 4 Ingredients!

My rhubarb obsession is still going strong, especially with summer right around the corner. One of my favorite desserts has always been strawberry rhubarb pie, but until a couple of weeks ago I had never seen rhubarb before or cooked/baked with it. Then when my sister and I were in Ireland, we stopped at the Milk Market in Limerick which is basically a farmers market where tons of vendors come to sell their produce, fresh bread and food. I saw these bright red stalks of something on one of the stands and asked Ruth, "What the heck is that vegetable?" Turns out it was rhubarb and of course my brain started wandering to all the different types of recipes I wanted to try as soon as I got home.

I decided to go with a Strawberry Rhubarb Tart for my first rhubarb recipe and it turned out great. After making the tart, I still had some extra rhubarb leftover and decided to go for some type of jam with chia seeds. This recipe is so simple and healthy and only calls for four ingredients. I put this jam on toast and even in my oatmeal. There is no refined sugar in this jam either. It's a perfect summer spread!

Strawberry Rhubarb Chia Jam

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped rhubarb
• 1 cup chopped strawberries
• 2 tablespoons agave (or other liquid sweetener)
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds

Directions:

1. Place all four ingredients in a blender and blend until mostly smooth. You'll want to be able to see the chia seeds and specks of strawberry.
2. Pour into a jar and store in the fridge for up to a week.
3. That's it! Enjoy on toast, in your oatmeal or straight from the jar.

Notes: Adapted from here.

Eat Consciously,

Faith

From Oatmeal to Smoothies to "Cheesecake"...A Day of Vegan Eats!

Welp. Here you have it. A day in the life of my belly.

Breakfast:

Plain ol' oatmeal with chia seeds, ground flaxseed and almond butter.

Morning Snack:

An unpictured plum

Lunch:

Homemade Vegetable Vegan Lasagna with salad.

It's my own recipe and it actually turned out really good.

Afternoon Snacks:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Lara Bar

Decaf american with steamed soy from Starbucks

And later a smoothie made with this homemade vegan protein powder from The Daily Garnish.

I'll be posting a review about it soon!

In said smoothie: 

1/2 banana, 1/2 cup blueberries, a couple strawberries, a leaf of kale, 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup water, and 2 tablespoons of protein powder. 

Dinner:

Chickpea and Rice soup with Kale from the Post Punk Kitchen.

Grilled flatbread

Cucumbers and tomato wedges

No pictures sorry! Was at a friends house:)

Dessert:

A slice of the Vanilla Chocolate Chunk Cheesecake with Peanut Butter that I made

from This Rawsome Vegan Life.

We all weren't sure how we felt about it at first, but the longer it sat out and got soft and the more bites we took, we grew to like it more and more.

I can't wait to tweak it and try out my own "cheesecake"!

That's it! Head over to Peas and Crayons to check out other people's eats for recipe inspiration:)

Peanut Butter Overnight Oats

The first thing I wanted to eat for breakfast after getting home from a week in Arkansas was oatmeal that hadn't been zapped in a hotel microwave. Cue overnight oats. The cold, flavorful oats were a nice change from my plain, hot oats from the past week.

If you try to cram a lot into your mornings and need a quick breakfast, overnight oatmeal is a great solution. Just take a few minutes at night to prep them and then you'll be all set to run out the door with a healthy breakfast. 

To be honest, the last time I got sick it was right after having peanut butter. I couldn't eat it for a week or so without having some kind of physical reaction to the thought of it. Thankfully, I got over that food aversion pretty quickly and was excited to enjoy this simple and delicious combination. 

Four ingredients.

Mix and pour into a jar.

Let sit overnight.

Done.

Peanut Butter Overnight Oats

(Serves 1)

 Ingredients:

· 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal

· 1 tablespoon chia seeds

· 1/4 cup peanut flour

· 3/4 cup almond milk

Directions:

1. Pour all of the ingredients into a mason jar or bowl and mix well.

2. Let sit for 4 hours or over night.

3. Stir before eating.

4. Enjoy!

Eat Consciously,

     Faith

Juicy Chia Pudding (Two Ingredients!) and the Coziest Cabin Ever!

I think this past weekend was one of my favorite weekends that Brett and I have spent together since getting married. And with all the traveling we've done, that's saying a lot. (You can scroll to the bottom for this random chia pudding recipe or keep reading about our weekend.)

Even though I just got back from Africa on Sunday, Brett and I had to leave for Arkansas five days later for work. Brett being the thoughtful husband that he is knew that a restful weekend would be just what the doctor ordered after lots of travel and a month a part. So as a surprise Brett rented out a cute little cabin for us to relax in this weekend before we had to start work. It was the cutest, coziest cabin ever and it was the perfect way to spend some quality time together after being a part for a month.

Here are some pics of the cabin. There was a hot tub and fire pit outside and an electric fire place inside. They even had the fire all set up and all you had to do was light a match! S'mores were eaten for sure.

I loved everything about this little cabin!

Brett and I went on a hike together on Saturday and Monday and Brett did a 10-miler by himself on Sunday! My hip has randomly started hurting so I didn't join him on the 10-miler, but he had a blast challenging himself to get up and back before dark.

Here are some pictures of the views we saw from our hikes and also from the drive to our cabin. Even though everything was mostly dead from the cold weather, the sites were still stunning.

At the end of this hike there was a cave that we were able to explore. At the very back of the cave there was a large "room" with a waterfall inside.

The cabin we stayed in had a full kitchen too so we bought some groceries in town before heading out into the boonies for the weekend. At one point I wasn't "feeling" any of the food we had so I got creative and made some chia pudding with chia seeds I brought from home and juice. I'm not usually a big juice fan, but this hit the spot!

The key is 3 tablespoons of chia seeds to 1 cup of liquid. 

Combine the seeds and liquid and stir well. Stir again after a minute...and then again after another minute. Then wait about five minutes and stir again before letting the pudding sit in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. The pudding will thicken and then you can jazz it up with any toppings you want. We had bought some bananas and granola and it made for a good combo.

After a month in Africa with less than ideal nutrition and a bad stomach bug that lasted about a week, I've been adding chia seeds to everything to get my digestive tract back in working order.

You can obviously use any kind of liquid for your chia pudding. I usually use almond milk, so juice was a good change up.

What are some of your favorite ways to use chia seeds?

How to Use Buckwheat Groats (A Breakfast Recipe)

Ever heard of these? I hadn't until a few months ago. As you may know I'm an oatmeal lover and love having a big bowl of oats every morning. Really anything "grain-like" is my ideal breakfast so when I heard of buckwheat groats I figured I should see what they were all about.

I was happy to find that Buckwheat Groats are full of fiber and protein and low in fat and sugar. 1 serving of these bad boys (1/4 cup) has 5 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein. Hello nutrients! You can use Buckwheat Groats to replace rice or other grain dishes or you can even grind it into flour. Me, being the breakfast lover that I am, decided to try them out in overnight oatmeal.

An easy way to use Buckwheat Groats is by soaking them overnight in water so that they soften up, but are still a little crunchy. All you do is place 1/4 cup of Buckwheat Groats in a bowl, cover them with water and place the bowl in your fridge overnight or for 8 hours. 

In the morning, pour the groats into a strainer and rinse them well. This gets rid of the sliminess that forms overnight. I know that isn't the most appealing description for a breakfast food, but once you rinse them you'll be good to go...no more sliminess.

Once you've rinsed them you can add them to cereal, cooked oatmeal or on top of a smoothie. For this post I used Angela's Buckwheat Parfait recipe from Oh She Glows for inspiration. I made a chocolate version by adding 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder to my chia seed mixture. You can use any overnight oatmeal recipe. Then in the morning just stir in your soaked and rinsed Buckwheat Groats and you're good to go. 

Eat your oatmeal/groat mixture as is or spruce it up by making a parfait with fruit or top it off with some granola or nuts. The ski's the limit!

Eat Consciously,

     Faith

A Day of Eats

After being in Tennessee for a week, traveling long hours in a car, eating too many pretzels and not getting enough sleep it was so nice to have a day off of work on Monday to rest, recuperate and exert some energy outside. I slept in until 8:30 (I know, I'm a wild one) and started the morning with an orange and a bowl of oats with chia seeds, ground flax and a dollop of almond butter. It's hard to not have some kind of nut butter with my oatmeal these days.

After digesting I went for a 7 mile run in the beautiful Florida air. It felt so good to run long and slow after being in the car for 19 hours on Sunday. Afterwards, I refueled with some chocolate soy milk from Trader Joe's and stretched.

For lunch I made a curry quiona wrap with hummus and spinach in a whole wheat pita pocket, also from TJ's. 

I love the ingredients in these pita pockets:

I put peas and raisins in my Curry Quinoa and it's delicious. Sometimes I'll just put it on a bed of spinach for a salad.

For an afternoon snack I had an apple with "peanut butter" made from peanut flour and water...

...and an orange. We have a ton of apples and oranges in our house so I felt like I needed to do my part in eating them. Don't mind if I do.

For dinner I cleaned out some of the frozen veggies that have been in our freezer since before Brett and I got married (Yikes!). I made some brown rice and simmered the veggies with this Green Curry Sauce from TJ's.

I also made some breaded baked tofu to go with it and the whole meal was delicious and came together so quickly! 

I was still pretty exhausted from such a long day driving on Sunday so Brett and I just went on a walk around the UCF campus and went to bed early. 

There you have it. Monday's eats!

Check out other people's daily eats over at Peas and Crayons for some creative ideas!