I was recently watching a video called Depression Recovery Through Nutrition where Neil Nedley, MD, discusses various depression triggers, and ways to alleviate symptoms by eating foods rich in the good stuff, and trying to avoid foods containing negative components. During the video, he discusses his Flax-Nut Sprinkle recipe which contains a decent amount of plant-based Omega-3 fatty acids (the good stuff without the mercury and other poisons found in fish oil). The cool thing about getting your Omega-3s in this way is that it actually tastes pretty good, and keeps well in the refrigerator if you want to double or triple the recipe.
Flax-Nut Sprinkle in a Vitamix…yum!
Flax-Nut Sprinkle
- 1/4 cup walnuts
- 1/4 cup flax meal
- 1 Tbsp date sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
If you have a smaller coffee grinder or blender, and you prefer to use whole flax seed, make sure you process the flax seed into flax meal first. Half the total amount of flax needed when using seeds (1/8 cup flax seed = 1/4 cup flax meal after processing), then add the remaining ingredients to process into a smooth mixture.
When using a Vitamix, I double the recipe and process the 1/4 cup of flax seed first, which keeps things moving against the blades. Scrape the flax meal away from the sides of the blender as needed, then add the rest of the ingredients.
As the finished product contains a lot of oils which could go rancid quickly at room temperature, and substances which become very sticky when exposed to moisture, make sure you seal this up in an airtight container (I love my Lock & Lock containers) and place in the refrigerator.
Other things to note: flax meal is a great binder, meaning, when you add water this stuff will lock up into a viscous but tasty mess. Keep it dry until you’re ready to use it, and stir this into liquid items like yogurt quickly, to avoid clumping. I use a rounded teaspoon in my yogurt and it tastes fantastic, and because the flax meal acts as a binder, it can be helpful to firm up softer yogurt.
Enjoy!