Beat the fat – healthy crackers to make in minutes

Laden in salt, saturated fats, sugar and other refined carbs, most crackers are best left on the shelf, especially if you’re cutting back on calories or watching your blood pressure. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the crisp crunchiness of crackers with your favourite toppings. All you have to do is arm yourself with a flatbed sandwich toaster (the kind without ridges on the hot plates) and make them yourself. It takes just a few minutes.

Seedy oatmeal crackers

These crackers are crispiest when eaten freshly made.

Ingredients

• 1 c oatmeal
• ½ c ground linseed
• ½ c rye flour
• ¼ c olive oil
• ½ c water

Method

Mix all ingredients together until thoroughly combined. Roll out to 3 mm thick on a lightly floured board. Use a cookie cutter to cut cracker shapes. Lift the shapes onto the flatbed toaster with a spatula, and cook until golden brown. Cool on a cake cooler. Makes about 2 dozen crackers.

Crispy Agria crackers

These ultra-healthy, super-easy to make crackers are best made just before serving.

Ingredients

Medium-sized Agria potatoes

Method

Scrub (don’t peel) the potatoes to remove all traces of soil – or buy ready-washed potatoes if you’re in a hurry. Cut the potatoes into 5mm thick slices. Set the smaller slices aside to use in another dish. Dry the slices with a paper towel and arrange similarly sized slices on the flatbed toaster (there is no need to oil the hot plates). Cook until golden brown. Cool on a cake cooler. Just before serving, top the crispy potato crackers with your favourite spreads and nibbles.

Tip – use kumara instead of potato for a low-GI alternative.

Thousand-layer tofu crackers

Tofu has been on everyone’s radar since Asian cooking took off. Made from coagulated soy milk, it’s a creamy protein alternative for vegetarians as well as meat-eaters who feel like a change. What very few people know about is ‘thousand-layer tofu’ – and the fact that this interesting product makes healthy, crispy, crackers.

To make your ‘thousand-layer’ tofu, source fresh tofu from Asian food supplies (not the homogenised sort which comes in Tetra Paks and which can be found in the supermarket). Freeze the tofu for one week. Defrost it, and squeeze out all the water from it (don’t be afraid to wrap the defrosted tofu in a towel and press down on it hard). The drier the tofu the better.

Ingredients

Thousand-layer tofu

Method

These crackers are best made just prior to serving. Slice the thousand-layer tofu into 3-4 mm slices. Lay the slices on the flatbed toaster (there is no need to oil the hot plates) and cook until crisp and golden brown. Cool on a cake cooler before adding your favourite toppings.

Ramp it up

All three cracker recipes can be used to make ‘sandwich bread’. To create slices instead of crackers, roll the seedy oatmeal dough into sandwich-sized pieces before cooking. Overlap the Agria slices to create one large potato slice. Overlap the thousand-layer tofu to create the same effect.

Creating healthy snacks and sandwiches has never been so easy. Enjoy!