Hemp-Chia-Flax Einkorn Crackers | #EinkornExperiment

It's time for another edition of The Einkorn Experiment! This month I decided that I wanted to try my hand at using einkorn to make crackers. Homemade crackers are usually pretty simple to make, and always leave me feeling a sense of accomplishment as I pull them from the oven.

Since I'm still getting comfortable with einkorn flour and its slight differences from all-purpose in a recipe like this, I chose this recipe by Cathy from Bread Experience via Einkorn.com as a starting point. So, here's the thing about einkorn flour—it absorbs liquid slower than all-purpose flour, so you have to take things a little slow, and take care not to over-mix in an effort to incorporate everything.

Vegan Quinoa-Flax-Hemp Granola Bars w/ Walnuts & Apricots

Sometimes I hate to say a certain food or dish is "the best".  I mean, that is a very serious...a very personal...statement.  Sure, there have been moments after eating a particular dish that I've proclaimed it amazing, and possibly even thrown that two word phrase out there.  But again, my "the best" may not be your "the best".

All that useless blathering aside, I bet you can guess what I'm going to say about these granola bars.  It's true.  I'm gonna go ahead and slap that label smack-dab across this recipe in blinking neon lights:

THESE ARE THE BEST GRANOLA BARS THAT I HAVE EVER EATEN!

Bold statement, right?  But true.  Plus, they contain some really awesome, good-for-you ingredients like quinoa flakes, hemp hearts, flax seed, walnuts, and apricots.  Sweetened with maple syrup and a new favorite of mine, brown rice syrup.  Have you tried brown rice syrup?  It actually tastes like sweetened brown rice, and being a fan of that flavor, I was pleasantly surprised at my first taste.  The taste of brown rice doesn't carry over to the bars, though - that's just if you're tasting it in its original form.

These bars are crunchy at first, but after a couple of days stored in an airtight container, they turn into more of a chewy bar.  I couldn't decide which form I liked best.  These are a new snack/breakfast/dessert (that's right, I'd take them at any of those times) staple in my house.

Quinoa-Flax-Hemp Granola Bars w/ Walnuts & Apricots

by Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Keywords: bake breakfast dessert snack vegan apricots flax Quinoa hemp seeds bars

Ingredients (15 bars)

• 1 1/2 cups quinoa flakes
• 1/4 cups ground flaxseed
• 2 tablespoons hemp hearts
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 cup + 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup + 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• 2 1/2 tablespoons brown rice syrup
• 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a 9x13-inch baking dish (2-inch deep) with parchment paper that overhangs a bit on each edge (for easy removal of the bars later).

Stir all of the ingredients together in a large bowl until everything is combined well and there are no dry spots left. Dump it all into the lined pan and press it down evenly using a rubber spatula.

Slide into preheated oven and bake for ~30 minutes, or until the bars have started to turn golden brown on the top and are fairly firm. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Lift the sheet of parchment from the pan (using those overhanging edges you left) and set on a cutting board. Cut into rectangles (approximately 5 by 3 to get 15 bars - but you can do it however you like). Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

~adapted from It's All Good (Bummer Bars)

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Bestowed ♥ {review + giveaway}

I don't know about you, but I feel like a kid at Christmas when a package shows up at my front door.  I mean, even if I'm expecting it, there's nothing like the anticipation of wrasslin' open that box to see what's inside.

If you're anything like me, you'd enjoy receiving a bright orange box at your doorstep every month that is filled with fun, healthy products.  Some items may be new to you.  Other items may already to favorites.

I'm talking about Bestowed.  If you sign up for Bestowed, every month you'll have a box delivered to  your door that contains at least 5 awesome nutrition and lifestyle products inside.  These products are hand-picked by nutritionist and author Heather Bauer.  Each month is different, so you never know what you'll be getting.

I had the opportunity to receive a free Bestowed box this month.  Guess how I felt about the whole experience?  I loved opening that box to find some fun products to explore.  This month's box contained EBOOST, iTrain, Oloves Hot Chilli Mama Olives, Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts, KIND Healthy Grains Oats & Honey Granola, Gnu Foods Hi-Fiber Minis, and Nektar Honey Crystals.

In a nutshell, I've had a blast exploring the new-to-me products (EBOOST, iTrain, Oloves, Hi-Fiber Minis, and Nektar) and was super stoked to have a couple of products that I already adore (KIND granola and Hemp Hearts).

It was a no-brainer to decide that I wanted to receive a new box at my door every month.  How 'bout you?  Would you like to receive a Bestowed box at your door every month?  Maybe just now and again?  Well, Bestowed has given the opportunity for one of my readers to receive a One-Month Subscription to Bestowed today!  Details on how to enter in just a second.  But if you absolutely cannot wait, you should head over to Bestowed right now and sign up to start receiving monthly shipments (you can subscribe by the month or by the year).  If you'd like to sign up now, you can get $5 off of your subscription by using this code when you checkout: 5OFFBSTOWED01.

GIVEAWAY 

The folks at Bestowed have been kind enough to offer one free 1-month subscription to Bestowed to one of YOU, as well!  If you'd like to have a Bestowed box delivered to your door, here's what you need to do for your chance to win:

required:

• visit Bestowed and check out some of the items they've featured in the past.  Leave a comment on this post letting me know one of those items you'd love to have show up at your front door.

optional (leave a separate comment for each one you do for it to count as a separate entry):

• follow Bestowed on twitter - leave your handle in the comment
• like Bestowed on facebook - leave your username in the comment
• follow me on any social platform (they're all listed in the sidebar with links) - leave your username/handle in the comment
• share this giveaway on any social platform, and leave a link to that share in your comment.

All submissions MUST contain an email address at which I can contact you, if you are the winner.  This giveaway is open to US residents only.  Winners will be chosen by random drawing via all of the qualifying submissions (I will be verifying the option entries).  I will contact the winner via email, and the winner will be given 48 hours to respond, or a new winner will be chosen.  This contest is open from April 25, 2013 at 12:00 am (ET) through April 30, 2013 at 11:59 pm (ET).

update 5/2/13: Congrats to the winner of the giveaway!

I received a free Bestowed Box for the purpose of testing and reviewing. I received no compensation for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.