The following story warms my heart and makes me smile. I got a call last week from a reader who had gotten a recipe from a health fair booth that I was working at many years ago. The recipe was for flax seed bread that was made in a bread machine. She related that it was one of her favorite recipes and she still had the recipe card that we were passing out that evening. She wondered if I could help her figure out the nutritional content of it.

I’ve participated in many health fairs and food show events over my years of being a dietitian. You always hope that the message you get to share in that brief encounter with someone at your booth will be something meaningful for them to use.

I do remember that recipe and booth idea that we used for that event. It was about 15 years ago (or more) and I had gotten a bread machine as a gift that year. It’s always fun to get a new kitchen gadget and I had two kids at home, one who was a teenage boy who was always hungry. So, I experimented with all sorts of bread machine recipes and was particularly fond of that flax seed bread at the time. It had a nice nutty and sweet flavor and it smelled so good when it was baking. It was that aroma that we were using to lure people to our booth. We had pieces of flax seed bread ready to sample, but I also had my bread machine making a fresh loaf as the event went on. You could not miss the aroma of fresh bread wafting from our booth!

Now my kids are away from home and I don’t use my bread machine as much as I did then. I’m more inclined now to pick up a fresh piece or two at the local bagel shop if I get a yearning for some tasty whole grain bread. But now that I’ve located the recipe again and thinking about the upcoming cold days ahead of us, it might be time to bring my bread machine back out on the counter and make a loaf or two — especially with the holidays and kids coming home.

Flax seed provides omega 3 fats to our diet, which are the healthy fats. Besides the nutritional benefits, ground flax adds moisture, flavor and texture to baked goods. Following is the recipe for Flax Seed Bread made from the bread machine that we exhibited at the food show all those years ago. Thank you PC for your question and for still using the recipe we passed out that day. You made my day!

Flax Seed Bread

(Recipe for 11/2 lb/3 cup or 2 lb/4 cup bread machine)

1 1/3 cups water

2 Tbsp butter or margarine

3 Tbsp honey

1 1/2 cups white bread flour

1 1/3 cups whole wheat bread flour

1/2 cup flax seeds (ground)

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp bread machine yeast

Preparation: Select loaf size. Add ingredients to machine according to manufacturer’s directions. Select basic white cycle.

Makes 12 slices (1 slice- 175 calories, 29 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams fat)

Cheryl Rude is a registered dietitian at Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center.