Before I discovered
Sally Fallon's
Nourishing Traditions, I never knew that it was essential to soak your grains and nuts before you eat them. I've always enjoyed snacking on nuts, but I've found that after such a snack, I feel very heavy and my stomach hurts. It turns out that nuts must be soaked and germinated before you eat them because they contain enzyme inhibitors that hurt digestion. If you soak and dry nuts, they are easier to digest and you absorb the nutrients they provide much better. According to
Sally Fallon, a traditional Aztec practice was to soak pumpkin seeds and sun-dry them and then eat them.
Ever since I've started soaking and dehydrating my nuts and seeds, I've found that I digest them much better. If you don't have the time or opportunity to soak and dehydrate your nuts, I have found that Whole Foods sells a Sprouted Almond in their bulk section. I tasted these nuts over the weekend and found that they flavor is incredible and the nuts taste much less heavy.
One of my favorite blogs,
The Nourishing Gourmet, has a great post about
soaking your nuts. She lists all the soaking and dehydrating times for all nuts and seeds based on Sally Fallon's guidelines in
Nourishing Traditions. I'm also going to summarize her guidelines for you. I made some crispy hazelnuts this week and I've been enjoying snacking on them.
You will notice that all of these recipes call to to dehydrate at no more than 150 degrees. If you do not have a dehydrator, you can use an oven. My oven happens to have a dehydrate feature. While it is not energy efficient, you can use the lowest temperature setting on your oven, usually 180 or 200, and prop open the doors with a kitchen towel on each side.
Crispy Pecans
4 cups raw pecan halves
2 teaspoons sea salt
filtered water
Process:
1. Mix nuts, salt and water and leave in a dry place for 7 hours or overnight.
2. Drain in a collander
3. Spread pecans on a Silpat mat or on a stainless steel baking pan
4. Place in a warm oven (no more than 150 degrees) for 12-24 hours
5. Turn nuts occassionly until dry and crispy
6. Store in a airtight container
Crispy Walnuts
4 cups raw walnuts
2 teaspoons sea salt
filtered water
Process:
1. Mix nuts, salt and water and leave in a dry place for 7 hours or overnight.
2. Drain in a collander
3. Spread pecans on a Silpat mat or on a stainless steel baking pan
4. Place in a warm oven (no more than 150 degrees) for 12-24 hours
5. Turn nuts occassionly until dry and crispy
6. Store in a airtight container in the refridgerator. Walnuts tend to get rancid because they are high in linolenic acid.
Crispy Pepitas
4 cups raw, hulled pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp sea salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
filtered water
Process:
1. Mix seeds, salt and water and leave in a dry place for 7 hours or overnight.
2. Drain in a collander
3. Spread pecans on a Silpat mat or on a stainless steel baking pan
4. Place in a warm oven (no more than 150 degrees) for 12-24 hours
5. Turn nuts occassionly until dry and crispy
6. Store in a airtight container
Crispy Hazelnuts
4 cups raw hazelnuts
1 tbsp sea salt
filtered water
Process:
1. Mix seeds, salt and water and leave in a dry place for 7 hours or overnight.
2. Drain in a collander
3. Spread pecans on a Silpat mat or on a stainless steel baking pan
4. Place in a warm oven (no more than 150 degrees) for 12-24 hours
5. Turn nuts occassionly until dry and crispy
6. Store in a airtight container
If you would like skinless hazelnuts, Sally Fallon suggests baking raw hazelnuts at 300 degrees first until skin turns dark and begins to crack. Place the nuts in a kitchen towel, wrap tightly and rub and squeeze and the skins should come off. I haven't tried this though, so I can't speak to if it will work.
Crispy Almonds
4 cups raw almonds
1 tbsp sea salt
filtered water
Process:
1. Mix seeds, salt and water and leave in a dry place for 7 hours or overnight.
2. Drain in a collander
3. Spread pecans on a Silpat mat or on a stainless steel baking pan
4. Place in a warm oven (no more than 150 degrees) for 12-24 hours
5. Turn nuts occassionly until dry and crispy
6. Store in a airtight container
