We love eating nuts and seeds around here. We snack on crispy nuts plain and in homemade trail mixes. We occasionally make homemade almond butter, which makes a divine dessert with some frozen berries on top!
We enjoy almonds, hazelnuts and sunflower seeds the most. (I’ve had allergic reactions to peanuts, pecans and walnuts, so that limits our nut choices.)
Nuts and seeds are delicious and nutritious, but they can be very difficult to digest. Soaking and sprouting them helps immensely in digesting them. Even with that, we still eat them in small amounts.
Why soak nuts?
“Nuts are an extremely nutritious food if properly prepared. Once again, the habits of traditional peoples should serve as a guide. They understood instinctively that nuts are best soaked or partially sprouted before eaten. This is because nuts contain numerous enzyme inhibitors that can put a real strain on the digestive mechanism if consumed in excess. Nuts are easier to digest, and their nutrients more readily available, if they are first soaked overnight, then dried in a warm oven. This method imitates the Aztec practice of soaking pumpkin or squash seeds in brine and then letting them dry in the sun before eating them whole or grinding them into meal. Salt in soaking water activates enzymes that neutralize enzyme inhibitors.”
-Sally Fallon
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I’ve noticed that sprouted nuts have become very popular in grocery stores these days and I gasped when I saw how expensive they were. Sprouting your own is so easy and you’ll save lots of money too!
Here’s what I do:
**Soaking and Sprouting**
First I take raw nuts (almonds, hazelnuts) or raw seeds (sunflower, winter squash, pumpkin) and cover them in warm water. I add some salt and stir it in to dissolve it. (Ratio about 1 tablespoon salt to 4 cups nuts.) Then I leave them in a warm place overnight. Sometimes I soak the nuts longer. I know they’re done when they’ve sprouted (shown on the inside of an almond in the picture above, see it starting to sprout on the top?) [Edited to add: not all seeds will sprout. Here is a good time guide in this post.] Then I dry them on a low temperature in the dehydrator, so they will remain raw.
Easy!
Homemade trail mixes make such handy snacks on the go. This one had almonds, sunflower seeds, and dried fruit- blueberries, peaches, figs and plums. We’ve also used dried apples, pears and raisins, which were really good.
These were some treats Jeff made. He took sprouted almonds and ground them up with homemade applesauce, shredded coconut and dried blueberries. (The darker ones in back had other fruit mixed in.) Then he dried them in the dehydrator and we had incredibly delicious, ready-to-go snacks.
Here were winter squash seeds soaking last week. (We were steaming vegetables on the stove so the kitchen window was all covered in condensation.) We didn’t even dry them in the dehydrator, Jeff sauteed them in home-rendered lard and ate them right away.
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Which nuts and seeds do you enjoy eating?
Do you soak them first?
Esther says
Hello, I’m wondering if you know if floating nuts are actually bad for eating. I have read that nuts that float are not good quality and to discard them. Other sites claim this method is for growing trees and not necessarily for food. Do you happen to know? I have been sprouting nuts and a lot have been floating. Do I need to find a different source?
tarynkae says
Hi Esther,
Thanks for writing! When I read your question, I was curious. I took some almonds we had that are fresh and delicious, and put them in water. They all floated. So I don’t think it means they are not good quality if they float. Just my experience and observation.
🙂
Taryn
Darlene Marcucci-Miller says
can you use the nut water left over for soaking for anything?
tarynkae says
That’s a good question. I wouldn’t recommend it because it would probably have some anti-nutrients in the water.
Taryn Kae Wilson says
Becky- How wonderful you have hazelnuts from your own front yard and pecans from friends! 🙂
Trish- That’s wonderful your dad does that. I LOVE walnuts too, wish I could eat them! 🙂 They give me bumps on my tongue.
Annabanana- We use a dehydrator from our local grocery store. I think it’s Nesco brand. It’s plastic, which isn’t ideal, but it works for now. We dream of getting a stainless steel food dehydrator someday! But ours works for now.
Jennifer- Your homemade almond milk sounds incredibly delicious! Thanks for sharing!
mb- I’m glad you’ve been enjoying the crispy nuts. We love them so.
Kelly- Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it. And yes, it’s amazing how big Bracken is getting!!
Thanks for your comments all!
kelly @kellynaturally says
Thanks for this post, Taryn. It reminds me to go down to the basement & bring up our dehydrator! Will be sharing on Pinterest. Great ideas for health through the Winter!
PS: Just looking through your latest posts – OMG Bracken looks like a LITTLE BOY now!!!!
mb says
yes! i started making your crispy nuts, inspired by that post… they are awesome! i was hip to the reasoning behind soaking and sprouting other grains and beans and whatnot, but hadn’t applied it to nuts yet, so i was eager to do it. loving all the snack ideas here! we do the same with trail mix, and like the idea of making those treats with the coconut- mmm!
Jennifer says
I make almond milk by soaking the nuts overnight, popping them out of their skins, and blending them (1 cup almonds with 4 cups water) with a smidgen of sea salt and a dash of maple syrup. Super yum!
annabanana says
I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind sharing which brand of dehydrator you use? Do you like it? I want to buy one sometimes soon… I also want to make some crispy nuts! Thanks for the great post!
Trish says
So interesting Taryn. My dad always soaks nuts overnight and eats them for breakfast.
I really enjoy walnuts, but I don’t soak them. Perhaps I should start! I do sprout seeds and I love them.
Much love
becky3086 says
We seldom eat any and when we do it is usually hazelnuts (grown in the front yard) and pecans(if someone has given us some). I have never sprouted them.