Low Sodium Oat and Millet Cakes

 

Recently, I was advised to go on a restricted sodium diet because of a health related issue. This is not an easy thing to do for someone who loves food as much as I do. It required a complete revamping of my diet and cooking techniques, not to mention reading everything on nutritional information labels about food. Once I began to do that, it was amazing to see how much sodium is in everything that we eat. Who knew that in a piece of commercially prepared Naan bread or a "healthy" wrap, there was almost 400mgs sodium in some of the brands. The restricted diet requires me to try and stay below 2000mgs/day, with 3000mgs/day being the uppermost limit. 

These oatcakes work for me since one is satisfying as a snack, and two with morning coffee is an adequate breakfast. They are very dense, solid cakes that are reminiscent of the type called San Francisco Oatcakes! The sodium content varies with the number of servings but when I do this recipe and get 20 oatcakes, using an online nutritional calculator https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076, the sodium content comes to 16mgs per piece. If you opt to add the molasses, it raises the sodium content by 1mg per piece. Confirm all of these values with your Dietitian. If you alter the recipe, play around with the calculator to determine nutritional information that result from any changes.

I'll publish my recipe for low sodium flatbread next, which only has 9mgs sodium! 

3 cups Rolled oats

1 cup puffed millet
1 cup all purpose flour

¼ cup brown rice flour

¼ cup arrowroot flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

½ teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon Baking soda

½ teaspoon cream of tartar
½ cup Dark Brown Sugar
¼ cup Maple Syrup

2 Tablespoons oil

1 Tablespoon molasses (optional but results in a darker oatcake)
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 Egg

¼ cup sour cream
1 cup Dried fruit

Thoroughly grind 2 cups of the rolled oats and the dried fruit in food processor or blender. Leave 1 cup unground. Mix all with flours, spices, baking soda, cream of tartar.
In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, molasses (if using), maple syrup, oil, egg , sour cream, and vanilla. Whisk and then add dry ingredients. The dough gets pretty stiff and is hard to mix. I use a stand mixer which makes it easier. Let the dough stand for 15 minutes then turn out onto a lightly floured surface (this is an important step as the oats absorbs any excess moisture and firms up the dough).
Shape dough to make a roll about 12-14 inches long. Using a serrated bread knife and a sawing motion, slice off 3/4 inch slices and place them on a non stick (or greased) cookie sheet. (Yield 20 pieces)
Bake at 325 degrees F for 15 minutes. Turn off oven and then leave them in the oven for another 10 minutes. Remove and cool on a rack.
Cool completely and store in refrigerator. These keep well and may be frozen.