I love juicing vegetables. I am fully addicted to it and love how I feel when I start my morning with a big glass of veggie juice. Whenever I juice though, I’m left with all the fibrous pulp from the vegetables and I hate throwing it out. My friend Jody Bergsma taught me how to make “Raw Crackers.” There are a lot of different types of recipes on the internet to make raw crackers. The reason I like this one is because it gives me something to do with the veggie pulp.
I use Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Flax Seeds and Chia Seeds but you can use any seeds so long as you have either Chia Seeds or Flax Seeds. Both of these seeds help to form a gelatinous goop that holds the crackers together nicely.
- 8 ounces (by volume) veggie pulp from juicing
- 1 oz. flax seeds and/or chia seeds
- 2 oz. other assorted nuts
- 6 oz. water
- Salt, spices, soy sauce
ONE: Add the 3 ounces of nuts to a container and pour 6 ounces of water over the nuts
TWO: Let this mixture sit for a minimum of 4 hours (or overnight in the fridge). You’re doing two things here – you’re sprouting the seeds and nuts and you’re allowing the flax and chia seed to take on a huge amount of that water and turn into a faux egg white mixture to hold your cracker mixture together.
I made a short video to show you the consistency of the Nuts after 4 hours of sitting. Do you see how gelatinous they are?
THREE: Blend the water and the nuts together. I use a Vitamix and it does the trick!
FOUR: Add the veggie pulp and blend some more. If it’s too thick, add some more water. This is where the spices come in! I did 1 Tablespoon Braggs Amino Acids (which are basically a soy sauce) and 1/2 tsp Salt and 1/4 tsp Black Pepper. But, spices and herbs are great in here too. If the blend doesn’t taste good “raw”, it won’t taste good as a cracker so keep tasting until you get to where you want to be. I have noticed that the dehydration process makes the spices and salt be less spicy and salty so if you got a teensy bit overboard in the raw mixture, that’s okay.
FIVE: Pour your cracker mixture into a dehydrator. I have special cracker sheets but parchment paper works if you don’t have any. Note: Amber cooks her Crackers in the oven on low (200F for about 2 hours) on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
This is what my crackers looked like after 6 hours on 105 degree heat in the dehydrator.
SIX: When the crackers are firm enough, release them from the flat sheet they are on to ensure that both sides dry evenly.
If fully dried out, these crackers will keep for 5 days on your counter or longer if they are in the refrigerator. If they are in the slightest bit wet, they are prone to molding (speaking from experience).
Jamisen LOVES raw crackers. This is what he says when gets them – every single time. “Ah yah yah yah” which, in baby speak means, “Man, these taste too good to be healthy!”
