Oatcakes. A delicious vegan, gluten-free recipe with no added sugar.

Eating whole foods is the number one nutritional principle I teach my patients. That is, eating food as close to natural with as little processing and additives as possible. This ensures the best quality of food and helps us to avoid ingredients that diminish our health. Making our own food from scratch, while more time consuming, is a great way to know exactly what goes into what we eat. While many people are on board with whole foods cooking and eating, I’ve observed that bread and crackers and other “platform foods” as I call them (foods we put other foods on) are an area that people may not consider to be processed.

Here is my take on a traditional Scottish recipe. I designed these oatcakes for my oldest son who loves oat-based products, I added hemp hearts for a little protein and extra good fat. They are nut-free so I often send them to school with him in his lunch or snack. They also make a quick, healthy breakfast.

As there is no added sweetener, you can use these oatcakes with sweet or savoury foods. For example, top them with almond butter and banana or hummus and cucumber. I also like to eat them plain with a cup of tea, they are plain but for me I find them to have a comfort food kind of quality (cookie-like).

Once cool, I keep the oatcakes in the fridge. If they are still some left after a few days I freeze them and find they still taste great when given a couple of hours to defrost. This also saves me time!

Ingredients:

3 1/4 cups whole oats (2 cups ground, plus 1 1/4 cups whole)
1/3 cup hemp hearts
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
150ml warm water
1/2 cup melted coconut oil

Supplies:

Parchment paper
2 baking sheets
Mixing bowl
Rolling pin

Instructions:

Blend 2 cups of oats in your food processor or high-speed blender such as a Vitamix. You want to blend to a rough flour.

Put oats in a mixing bowl along with the remainder of the whole oats, hemp hearts, baking soda, and salt and mix.

Add the melted coconut oil and water, and mix well. Then let sit for 5 or 10 minutes this will help the dough firm up and will be easier to roll out.

Take a large ball of the dough and roll it to about 1/4 inch thickness between two pieces of parchment paper. Cut the dough into shapes – I usually just use the circle from a jar or a measuring cup (my son and I got creative the other day and used cookie cutters to make fun shapes such as hearts and stars). Place the oatcakes on parchment on a baking sheet.

Bake at 350 Fahrenheit for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool before removing from the tray.

Enjoy!!

 

Dr. Alexis Blanks is a naturopathic doctor and co-owner of Flourish Naturopathic at Moss Healthcare. She would be happy to see you in her office to help you better understand your health and take it to the next level.