Did you know that we have snacks at our Wisdom Workshops? Because I love snacks. And snack breaks feed Wisdom.
Here’s my recipe for the nuts that everyone keeps asking for:
Ingredients:
- 4 Cups Organic Raw Walnuts, Pecans, or Almonds (almonds have to be sourced from outside of CA, more details below)
- 2 Tablespoons Sea Salt
- Filtered Water
Soak & Dehydrate:
- Soak nuts in water with salt for 7-12 hours
- Drain nuts in a colander
- Dry the nuts thoroughly in the oven or a dehydrator
Oven Method:
- Set the oven to the lowest setting. 150 degrees is preferred, but 170 degrees is commonly the lowest setting which is ok. (More details below if you want to learn more about the nutrients in your nuts).
- Spread the nuts evenly on a cookie sheet so they are not overlapping much.
- Dry the nuts in the oven for 12hours.
Dehydrator Method:
- Spread nuts evenly on the dehydrator trays so they are not overlapping much.
- Dry the nuts in the dehydrator at about 105-150 degrees for 12-24 hours.
Storage:
- Taste the nuts to make sure they are fully dry because wet nuts will not store well
- Store nuts in an airtight container in a cool dark place or in the fridge
Why go to all this trouble to sprout and dry your nuts? They taste great and are better for you. Nuts have an anti-nutrient called Phytate in them that stops them from sprouting when the nuts are dry. Phytates are irritating to some people’s digestion—that’s a big reason why some people can’t tolerate nuts. Phytates also act as an anti-nutrient and bind to micronutrients you are eating and don’t let you absorb them. When nuts are soaked in water, sprouting enzymes are activated that convert the Phytates and get rid of them. So if you’re eating lots of unsprouted nuts you might be irritating your digestion and preventing yourself from getting all the nutrients from the foods you are eating.
What if my oven only goes as low at 170 degrees? Will it ruin my nuts? Sprouting and then dehydrating your nuts at temperatures above 150 degrees will most likely overheat and destroy some of the beneficial micronutrients in your nuts. But it’s still better than not sprouting your nuts at all, because the sprouting part will get rid of the anti-nutrient Phytates that would block the absorption of other nutrients from your food. So you’re getting some of the benefits of the sprouting process but not all of the benefits of eating nutrient rich nuts. And they will taste yummy.
Do the nuts have to be raw and organic? Why do I need to get Almonds from outside California? Where do I get them? You want to use raw organic nuts because they are the only kinds of nuts that will sprout when you put them in water. Non-organic nuts often have been treated so that they won’t sprout. California almonds have all been pasteurized. The pasteurizing process kills the enzymes that that allow nuts to start sprouting and for the Phytates to be converted. Pasteurization also kills other beneficial micronutrients so it’s a double bummer. You can buy non-pastuerized raw organic almonds on Amazon. You can buy raw (which means unpasteurized) organic walnut and pecans at Oliver’s, Whole Foods, or Trader Joes.
