"A Tale of a Healthy Cracker"

I grew up in a typical family, eating the Standard American Diet (SAD), I have always had a natural aversion to meat. When it was dinnertime at our house the question would go forth, ” What’s for dinner?” My parents response…”chicken, hamburgers, pot roast, etc.”

In my mind I would try to figure out how to make the meat look like I had eaten some of it without getting my dad frustrated with me. For example, I was always picking the hamburger out of my spaghetti sauce. My Dad worked hard to bring home good food and I believe he felt that I was not always appreciative of his efforts, which was not the case. I was too immature at the time to understand his feelings. Now I understand that food is a personal thing and is very connected to the heart.

As I got older and my taste for meat did not change, I started to learn how to fix food for myself. “Hippy food” as my Dad would call it. At that time I introduced my Mom to tofu and my Dad was NOT a happy camper. My Mom liked the tofu and was willing to try something new, although it is not always easy trying new things or changing the way you eat.

As people in my life found out that I was eating healthy, but eating different foods, they became interested. I devoured any book I could find relating to eating a healthy vegetarian diet. As I became more educated, I found myself in the role of teacher. So many of my friends wanted to feel healthier and lose weight. They were always commenting on what beautiful skin I have. But they would say, “What in the world do you eat if you don’t eat meat?” So the teaching began…..

One challenge I have found over the years was finding a healthy snack food that would give me energy and contribute to an over all healthy body. Now, I was continuing to learn more about raw foods and their benefits to my health and well being. Since I happen to be one of those unfortunate people who cannot tolorate very much wheat in their diet, I found I could make raw crackers and use those instead of bread for open faced sandwhiches or just to snack on. I was thrilled!

We were living in Las Vegas at the time and I could just put the batter on cookie sheets and cover them with cheesecloth and set them outside to dry. They were great! After moving to Utah I was no longer able to dry the crackers outside so I bought a dehydrator.

There were times I would get busy and would buy some raw crackers from the store, but I was always disappointed. I was used to a raw cracker that had a lot of freshness and flavor. The ones I bought in the store had an old taste. Some of my friends said other brands tasted like sawdust.

I finally gave up trying the different brands of raw crackers and went back to making my own. In the meantime, my husband and I had opened a vegetarian resturant. We featured our crackers in the resturant to go with soups and also to make raw open-faced sandwiches. They were a huge hit.

Some of the ladies who worked in the health food store would come in and have the raw cracker sandwiches and just loved them. As a treat, I would take my homemade raw crackers to the store when I went shopping and leave some there for them to snack on. One day some customers saw what they were eating. “What is that? I want to try some of THOSE raw crackers.” they said.

Finally the ladies gave in and shared a little of their treat. The customers loved them! “We want to buy those raw crackers, we like that brand. Where can we find them on the shelf?” When word got back to me how much other people liked and wanted my raw crackers, my husband and I decided to market them.

I think people have forgotten how at one time in their life they had energy and bounce in their step! Think about how you felt when you were little and had tons of energy! You can feel like that again! Raw crackers have so many benefits to the body including: healthy hair and skin, increased energy, heart function, brain function, etc.

I feel so good when I am getting all of the essentials nutrients that I need and want everyone else to feel the same way. Sometimes it’s the simple things in life that bring about the biggest change. Let’s all commit to Happy, Healthy and Energetic Living!