Summer Veggie Raw Crackers

These crackers are packed with protein and flavor. They are great with avocado and tomatoes on top or just by themselves. Great for backpacking too!

Making your own crackers is not difficult and you can make a difference not buying crackers packaged in plastic. You’ll also know exactly what is in your crackers and can have a creative time making new flavors and textures.

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Soak the following ingredients in water overnight, drain and set aside in a large bowl.

• 1 cup raw sunflower seeds

• 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds

Place the following ingredients into a blender and blend until it is a fine powder, set aside.

• 2 cups rolled oats

• 1/2 cup chia seeds

• 1/2 cup flax seeds

Remaining ingredients:

• 1 small yellow onion, cut in half and sliced very thinly.

• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (optional)

• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half or quarters if larger

• 6 large kale Dino kale leaves, stripped off stem and cut into thin slices

• 1 bunch of fresh basil, take leaves of stem and stack, cut into thin slices

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 1 1/2 Tbsp. pink salt

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• Lemon Pepper or Spicy Blend for sprinkling on top

• 4 cups water with 1/2 lemon fresh squeezed

• 1/2 cup hemp seeds

• 1 medium yellow or green summer squash, cut into thin circles

Instructions:

• Add onions, garlic, all veggies (except squash) , hemp seeds, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper to the bowl with soaked seeds and stir. 

• Add the powdered mixture from the blender and stir well. 

• Next add lemon water and blend it all together. Let the mixture sit for 20 minutes, allowing the seed powder to absorb the water.You will have a nice thick dough. 

• If you have a 4 tray dehydrator, lay out all trays with drying sheets on the counter, divide dough into 4 equal balls; I just reach in with clean hands and put one on each tray. Again with my hand I spread the dough out evenly in a square, you can use a butter knife to straighten the edges. With that same knife gently score the dough into 3 down and 4 across squares. 

• Press the squash circles into each square and sprinkle with Lemon Pepper.

• Place the tray into your dehydrator and turn the temperature to 115 if you want to keep them raw and maintain the digestive enzymes. It will take up to 26 hours to fully dry like this. Otherwise you can turn to 140 and take some time off the process. 

• After 12 hours take them out and turn your crackers over on the tray, take off the dryer sheet and place it back into the dehydrator. Check in another 6 hours to see if they are dry, but they will not be as dry as a cooked cracker in comparison. Do make sure that they are dehydrated well. You can break them apart at the scored area you did with our knife or gently cut them on a cutting board. Make sure they are completely cooled before storing.

STORAGE AND DEHYDRATOR INFO:

I store my crackers in a Tupperware container or now there are compostable ziplock bags that you can reuse many times if you are careful to not get them wet.

These crackers are made in a dehydrator, with this tool you can make granolas, breads, cookies, crackers, fruit roll ups and even backpacking foods. You can purchase a dehydrator here, this link shows the smaller, less expensive option. It does not have a timer but works really well. You will also need to order the 4 dryer sheets. (Make sure you order the correct dimension of dryer sheets for your unit. It is worth the investment!!!)