top 8 allergen free & corn free
Trying to squeeze in a new food trial for Holly before Fall Allergy Season kicks into high gear. And before she starts preschool this week. Having easy-to-travel snacks for her has been super challenging with her menu. Most of the time it’s a non-issue, but she’ll need an easy to pack snack to take with her.
One that doesn’t need refrigeration would make things easier for me & her teacher. We’ve been trying to wean her from her morning snack milk for this reason and she’s not real happy about it.
I know the teacher will also appreciate snacks that aren’t messy (at least as much as is possible for 2 year olds)! Knowing that she’ll be missing out on crucial calories & nutrients with the dropped milk serving, I want to ensure that her snacks are nutrient dense and yummy.
These crackers are the ticket with blackstrap molasses, honey, sea salt, chia seeds and quinoa. The unsulfured blackstrap molasses is a great source for iron, potassium & calcium and adds a nice depth of flavor.
The honey provides a balance with the molasses and is a great natural immune booster.
Sea salt has many beneficial trace minerals.
Chia seeds (yes like the Chia Pet… & yes they are edible) are packed with; omega 3 fatty acids, fiber, antioxidants, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium and manganese.
Quinoa is a great replacement for meat with its high protein content & an excellent source for; essential amino acids like lysine and good quantities of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and iron making it a complete protein. It has ten times as much absorbable iron as corn or wheat and is high in B vitamins as well as zinc.
When I took the crackers out to flip over, Holly was grabbing at them so I gave her a half-baked piece. She came back trying to snag more until I called in reinforcements so I could get them back in the oven! Now, the most critical part – hoping that her body tolerates the quinoa. If not, Ivan & Hubs are perfectly fine finishing these off.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/3 cup chia seeds
- 1 cup cooked & cooled quinoa
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 TBS blackstrap molasses
- 1 tsp honey
Yield: 2 dozen
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 325˚F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, mix the water and chia seeds together. Let stand 5 minutes until thickened. Mix in the quinoa, salt, molasses and honey. Let stand 2 minutes longer.
- Evenly spread quinoa mixture onto prepared baking sheet with spatula until it is between ⅛-inch to ¼-inch thick
- Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Lift parchment onto cutting board and cut into cracker-size shapes. Put new parchment on sheet and turn over crackers with a spatula onto newly lined sheet.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes longer until golden at edges and set at center. Transfer sheet to wire rack and cool completely on the sheet. Store in an airtight container.
Co-post: SCRATCH
[suffusion-the-author]
[suffusion-the-author display='description']