By Molly Patrick
May 25, 2019,
To get something you’ve never had before, you have to do things you’ve never done before.
Have you ever swooped up your life and declared it YOURS and vowed to always be responsible for your health and happiness?
Have you ever lived your life from a place of love instead of fear?
Have you ever declared yourself worthy and deserving of everything you want in your life?
Have you ever loved yourself so much that warm tears drizzled down your cheeks as you verbally apologized for treating yourself unkindly in the past?
Have you ever taken your healthy habits with you everywhere you go?
Have you ever felt like you are an active and fully present participant in your life?
Have you ever felt light and free in mind, body, and soul?
Have you ever felt deep joy from eating?
All of these delicious things are available to you.
That’s not to say that life will always be easy and happy. Life is painful sometimes and we should never miss out on the lessons these times provide just because they hurt.
Buy even when life is painful, all of these delicious things are still available to you. And they will carry you through the difficult moments in your life with ease, grace, and strength.
You have to get up, take a deep breath, dig deep, and peel back the layers that have been protecting you all these years so you can look at yourself honestly and start making repairs.
You must face the things that you usually shy away from and counter-intuitively walk toward your lessons with wide open arms and a big throbbing heart.
Yes, this is scary.
Yes, this can be really fucking uncomfortable.
And yes, this will likely turn your world upside down.
But hear this, my dear.
This work is the most important work you might ever do simply because:
We repeat what we don’t repair.
And I don’t know about you, but I’m done repeating what no longer serves me. But you must make that call for yourself and decide when enough is enough. And when that time comes, you will know.
There will be a small whisper, maybe a loud shout. There will be a gentle tug, or maybe an urgent push. Whatever it is, when you’re finally ready to dig deep and start making repairs, everything you need will be right in front of you as if it had been there all along.
If you’re ready to try something that you’ve never done before in order to get something you’ve never had before, take our hands.
What do you need to repair? Talk to us in the comments below and let’s keep this convo going.
Ingredients
- ½ cup almond flour (50 g)
- ½ cup brown rice flour (70 g)
- ¼ cup water (60 ml)
- 1 teaspoon chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper (about 10 turns)
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F (175 °C).
- Place all of the ingredients into your food processor and process until well combined and a dough forms, about 30 seconds. You may want to stop the food processor and scrape the sides down once or twice.
- Remove the dough from the food processor and form into a ball with your hands. Press into a flattened disk on a piece of parchment paper (cut to the size of your baking sheet) or silicone baking mat on your counter. Place a sheet of wax paper or parchment paper on top of it.
- Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to about 1/8 inch thick or a little less, between the two sheets. Lift and adjust the top piece of paper as needed to keep it smooth and flat as you roll. Roll the dough out thinner than you think you should. If it isn’t super thin, your crackers won’t be crispy.
- When finished rolling, discard the top piece of paper and carefully transfer the bottom piece of parchment paper (or silicone baking mat) onto a baking sheet.
- Using a pizza cutter or butter knife, lightly cut the dough in a grid pattern to make 1 inch square crackers. You should get about 36 Crackers. Wipe off your knife between cuts if you find that the dough starts sticking. (Running your pizza cutter along a ruler on the dough works well. Just don’t press the ruler onto the dough or it will stick. If using a silicone baking mat, be careful not to cut deep enough to cut the baking mat.)
- Take a fork and poke holes in the top of each cracker to allow for ventilation.
- Bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven and allow to cool, then break into individual crackers before storing at room temperature. Tip: If the outer edges are browning faster than the center crackers, remove those then pop the rest back into the oven for another 3 – 5 minutes, until they’re lightly browned and crispy.
Notes
- Note: For a nut-free version, make the recipe exactly as listed, but use oat flour instead of almond flour AND add 1 more tablespoon of water and 1 tablespoon of tahini.
- Check out our Plant Based Charcuterie Board Inspiration post for fun ideas on how to use this recipe
Wishing you a happy week. May it be filled with some much needed repairs.
Xo
Molly
39 Comments
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Thanks so much for the nut free version. One daughter has almond allergy and the other is gluten free. Its hard to find both sometimes. Thanks again!
HI this recipe looks amazing and I love that you included a nut free version with he oat flour. I want to try to make this version, however I don’t have tahini. Could I replace it with more water?
Hi Lyn – the tahini adds a small amount of fat that contributes to the texture. You could try it with just water but we haven’t tested this and cannot speak to how they would turn out. My guess is that they would probably need to cook longer and will be more brittle. If you try it, let us know! Substituting a nut-free alternative to tahini would be a better option. Examples are: sunflower, pumpkin, or hemp seed butter. I hope this helps! Karen
Wow, those look awesome and delicious! I’m definitely going to make them. Thank you for funking up my life!
Molly, I could probably substitute hemp hearts for the chia seeds, couldn’t I? I absolutely loathe the way chia seeds feel in my mouth.
Thanks for all the lovely words, too. They’re a good reminder.
I don’t like the chia seeds either when used whole, but I find they are OK when ground in a coffee or spice grinder. I make all my chia or flax eggs with ground seeds. They come out much smoother. I think the chia is used as a binder, so I think flax seeds ground would work too.
Hi Annette,
Chia seeds are a binder so they are helpful in this recipe.
I’ve made this recipe many times I I can tell you that you don’t know you’re eating chia seeds.
Give it a shot!
xo
Molly
I’m sure ground flax seeds would be fine; they’re often used as a binder in baked goods.
I just found out that I might be prediabetic, my cholesterol might be high, and I might have an autoimmune disease. Although I am not perfect about eating healthfully, I try to eat pretty much that way. I very rarely get fast food nor do I eat much junk food. I am pretty frustrated with this. I also believe in preventative holistic healthcare. I believe things happen for a reason, but I feel like this is a kick in the gut. I am not vegan, but I don’t eat a lot of meat…I just got a copy of Fuhrman’s Eat to Live, The End of Diabetes and I started reading it.
Hi Nicole,
Time for you to join the Dirty word!
We got you!
Sign up for our meal plans or join Lighten Up.
It will change your life, my dear.
xo
Molly
Molly,
Is there anyway that you could send me the breakdown of these crackers? When I listed all the ingredients individually in my lose it app, it told me that the calorie count was 661 calories per serving? Please help
Molly, I’m new at this WFPB lifestyle so maybe calories don’t matter if you’re eating all the right things? Also, can you please let me know how many crackers are in one serving or again doesn’t it matter? Thanks so much!
Hi Lani – here are some resources on our site that will be super helpful to you. If you are new to WFPB eating overall, check out this post. This post and this post cover nutrients to be mindful of when eating a whole food plant based diet.
If you aren’t already in our private Facebook group, you are welcome to join us! If you want to try out a free Sample Meal Plan, head over here, scroll about half-way down the page and look for the blue button that says “Hook me up with a free meal plan”.
If we can help with anything else reach out via email: [email protected]
~Karen
Hi Lani, Thanks for stopping by! As far as nutrition information, we do not calculate or provide it. Molly is keen on keeping the focus of the Meal Plans away from dieting and calorie counting. The plans just aren’t about weight loss. This way of eating is about fueling on nutrient dense foods and learning to recognize true hunger so you can fuel your body as it needs fuel. The Meal Plans are a tool that make planning and executing multiple whole food plant based meals much smoother each week.
Our Lighten Up program is all about getting away from the mindset of counting and tracking and focusing instead on intuitive eating and developing positive habits.
This being said, if you already logged the information into your nutrient calculator (I haven’t done this myself), you’ll want to take the total calories for the recipe and divide it by the number of servings (which is at the top of the recipe – 36 1-inch crackers) to get the calories per cracker.
~Karen
Hi, Nicole.
All those “mights” sound pretty scary. Did they come from your doctor due to lab results?
I’m not a doctor, registered dietician, or nutritionist, so I can only share my own brief experience as a whole good plant based eater.
The reasons I decided to transition to a whole good plant based way of saying are as follows:
1) I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (an autoimmune disease) in late September 2018. It was quite bad and I was in tremendous pain 24/7. I learned, via my own research, that a whole food plant based way of eating could be helpful in reducing the inflammation and, in turn, reducing the associated pain.
2) It’s good for the planet. I would really like it if the planet survived as long as I do (and preferably beyond).
3) It’s good for me. I deserve things that are good for me.
I began transitioning to a whole food plant based way of eating the second or third week of January 2019. I couldn’t afford to give away the food I had on hand that I was going to be letting go of.
So, I simply used up the foods I had in my fridge, freezer, and cupboards and didn’t but more to replace them. Meat–all meat–was the first food I let go of. It was much easier than I expected! I’m fact, I had been meat free for several weeks when, while eating dinner, I suddenly realized how long it had been since I’d eaten meat and that I didn’t miss it!
I really thought cheese would be the last thing I let go of. Surprisingly, it was butter! I also find I’ve had more moments when I missed butter than moments when I missed cheese. Who’da thunk it?!
The big news: the pain and inflammation from my rheumatoid arthritis has been almost entirely eliminated…and it happened within weeks! (I honestly expected it to take months and months.) When I saw my rheumatologist at the end of March she was amazed at the change. She examined the joints in my fingers and my feet (where my rheumatoid arthritis has been worst) while repeating “There’s no inflammation! There’s no inflammation!” I told her about only having had any inflammation/pain once and that was the morning after I’d eaten some sausage pizza. The pain sucked, but it served as proof for me about what had caused the pain and inflammation of my rheumatoid arthritis had pretty much disappeared.
Other perks:
I’m losing weight. No calorie counting, no points, no exchanges, no totalling fat grams. I eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m full (99% of the time).
My blood pressure is going down. In August of 2018 I was on 20 mg per day of my blood pressure medication. A few weeks after letting go of meat, my doctor had to reduce it to 10 mg per day. The third week of April, my doctor had to reduce it to 5 mg per day. That still can cause my blood pressure to go to low so I have to check my blood pressure every day. The reading determines whether or not I take my blood pressure medication. At the moment, I take my medication every other or every third day.
Now, do I manage to eat whole food plant based absolutely perfectly? Nope. For one thing, I’m still learning. I am, however, eating whole food plant based to the best of my human ability.
I hope something in my ramble speaks to you in a way that helps.
Best wishes on your journey.
saying ” prediabetic ” is like saying “prepregnant” you ARE diabetic. Dont let that scare you. but DO make a change to save your life. WFPD will stop diabetes in its tracks.
The diagnosis of “diabetes” doesn’t happen until your hemoglobin A1c test is 6.5 or higher. Normal range is 4 to 5.6. so there’s the middle range of 5.7 to 6.4. To describe this middle range docs may say, “You are at increased risk of developing diabetes.” As a kind of “shorthand” they will say “prediabetic.” I personally think it’s a psychological thing: “increased risk of developing diabetes” doesn’t have quite the same kick as “prediabetic” does, at least not for me (I was 5.8 at my last check up a month ago, down from 6.1 six months earlier)
Repairing so I don’t repeat….
Well in the last 24 months, I left the abusive father of my children and made a safe and happy house with them. I lost 30kg, going WFPB, but also further than that as I follow the Paddison program for rheumatoid arthritis (yeah, that one also happened in the last 24 months, but it was in the making for years…).
I am now working on facing my fears, and a therapist helped me realised this :
– I will never control the things that scare me the most today, neither the ones to come tomorrow
– the control strategies I implemented to manage my fears are useless, stressful, and eating up my energy
– I must develop new strategies that actually feed my “garden” (all the things I love in my life, my values) and make it grow.
That’s the only way I’ll be able to live with my fears and be OK.
And f…., it’s a loooot of work, but it’s worth it.
I’m also learning to not tolerate buying even from family, and implement new kind of relationship with those persons.
Learning to ask for help, to connect more even if I’m scared.
Learning to find the balance between letting go, and caring.
Repairing so I don’t repeat….
I have RA which I put into remission by changing my diet and I’m off all drugs. Had a total knee replacement and left the hospital with it infected. A total of 6 surgeries and finally a different surgeon saved my knee. I struggled to keep my leg and not end up in a wheelchair. Still not walking far because of kidney stone issues and more surgeries. Have lost about 55 lbs in the last 2 years. But now I’m struggling. I’m totally done with my ex-husband ridiculing me at every step. I changed my locks but last year gave him a key. Tired of being nice and generous. Every time I think about getting a scooter because I want more freedom I’m shot down. I’m so tired of all this crap. Thank you for listening….
Sending you lots of love, Laurie.
xo
Molly
Hey, thanks for this recipe! I’ve been wanting to try making crackers instead of buying them (Love Mary’s Crackers but want my own). Wondering if I can add seeds, either in the dough or on top? Will they burn, should I add partway through cooking? Also, will these crackers freeze well? Would like to make a bigger batch and keep for last-minute company.
Hi Jackie, Thanks for stopping by! Adding seeds should work just fine. They should not burn but may pop during cooking. I would add them before cooking to have the best chance of them adhering to the cracker. We haven’t tried freezing them but they should freeze if you freeze them once they are fully cooled. You might want to test a small batch in the freezer first to be sure they do not get soft after thawing. ~Karen
I am editing a gaslighting relationship. I can’t tell you how helpful this blog post was for confirming I am doing the right thing for ME!
May I use another nut flour?
Thanks.
Hi Jennifer, yep, the recipe works when the almond flour is subbed for oat flour so it should work just fine if you choose to sub with a different nut flour as well. Let us know how they turn out! ~Karen
Is the nutritional yeast a binder? I’m allergic to yeast so need to leave it out, but wonder if this will still work.
Hi Jen, these should work just fine without the nutritional yeast. ~Karen
Thanks for the recipe, I added everything but the bagle spice to the dough, they are delicious.
Ooh, great idea for an alternate flavor! Thanks for sharing! ~Karen
Can I make this in a high powered blender (vitamix) if I don’t have a food processor?
So excited to try this!!
Hi Suzan – It should work but you’ll need to spend time fishing out the blended dough. The recipe has very little liquid so it will inevitably get stuck around the base blades just due to the shape of the Vitamix. In fact, depending on whether you have a short / wide pitcher or tall / thin pitcher – you may be better off doubling the recipe. I have a short/wide pitcher and if I try to blend small amounts, it doesn’t work very well. This recipe is only about 1 cup total volume. I hope that helps. ~Karen
Molly, the rating will most likely go up as I become more consistent with my end of this recipe.
Have been WFPB since mid January 2020. At 70 years young I find I have lots more energy and generally good health. As a Lung cancer survivor I will do whatever it takes to sustain survivorship.
Thanks for the recipe to add to my collection of healthy eats.
Rock on, Sara! Eat plants and take no prisoners!
Hi, Sara! So glad to read you are feeling good eating all the plants this year. The first time I made this recipe I didn’t quite get the rolling part (I went too thin) and the cook time right for my oven (which cooks a bit hotter), so I totally understand what you mean about becoming consistent with this recipe. In case it’s of any help to you, we have lots of resources here on the blog that help make it easier to eat all the plants day to day, and our main service is providing our weekly plant based Meal Plans (we offer a free Trial). We wish you continued good health – thank you for stopping by! Reach out if we can help you make the most of our resources, we are glad to help. [email protected] ~Karen on behalf of Molly & Team Dirty
Easiest, Best WFPB crackers EVER. Making more today with “everything but the bagel” topping. Embarrassingly (is that a word?) I gave one to my husband and ate the rest. #GuiltyNotGuilty
I subbed out 1/2c red lentils (blended into flour) for brown rice flour and worked like a charm. Plus crackers are a pretty pink orange! Great recipe and wisdom. Blessings!
Hi, this recipe sounds amazing! I was wondering if you have tried making a sweeter version of this? More of a cinnamon cracker or something?
Hi Samantha,
What a yummy idea! We haven’t tested a sweeter variation of this recipe, but you’re welcome to do some experimenting. 😀
You may try subbing the nutritional yeast with coconut sugar (I would probably increase the amount to 1 tablespoon to start—up to you) adding 1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon and cutting back to 1/4 teaspoon salt. I’d skip the pepper and onion powder. The sugar will probably affect baking time, so keep an eye on them. They will also be darker in color, so keep this in mind when deciding to pull them from the oven.
Let us know how it goes!
Stephanie from Team Dirty
I’ve been making these for 5 years now; my “go-to” cracker recipe! I always bring them with your “cheese” ball for Thanksgiving. Also wonderful crumbled over salads! Thank you!