Soaking Your Nuts

I know a sure fire way to boost my blog views is to have an attention grabbing title like...Soaking Your Nuts!  Now not to mislead you,  what I'm actually talking about  happens to be...walnuts, almonds, cashews...you know, those kind of nuts.  :D

 

As I have learned in all of my reading, soaking your nuts is a good thing my friends. 

But if you want to quickly grab someone's attention, (I dare you) just start talking about soaking nuts.  I will always remember when I was hosting an older group of gals at my home for a club meeting.  My plan was to prepare healthier desserts for them to enjoy at the end of the meeting.  One of those items was a bowl of almonds that I had soaked and then toasted in a slow oven for several hours.

I was explaining to someone sitting beside me how (and why) I had soaked the nuts, when another gal said, "Whaaat?  Who's nuts did you soak?"  hahaha.....It is a fantastic way to open a door for discussion. 

Soooo....why in the world would we even want to soak nuts??  Well friends, it all boils down to digestion.  To be honest; for me in this whole nutrition journey, the biggest piece that I took away from all of my studies is this...Good health starts in your gut.  If  your tummy's unhappy and not working properly; everything else suffers.  It's sort of like that saying..If momma ain't happy, no one is happy!

Nuts are a great snack; one of my all time favs.  They contain healthy fats and are a great source of protein.  But here's the deal...nuts have a phytic acid layer.  This is nature's special coating, which protects the nuts from sprouting.  Phytic acid is also found in grains and legumes.  Just as with grains and legumes, soaking nuts is essential for proper digestion.  

When eating nuts that haven’t been soaked, the phytic acid binds to minerals in the gastrointestinal tract and can not be absorbed in the intestine.  Too many 'bound' minerals can lead to mineral deficiencies.  By soaking, you are breaking down the phytic acid layer so it can be absorbed properly.  Nuts also have high amounts of enzyme inhibitors...also contributing to the difficulties of digestion.  Soaking nuts will neutralize the enzymes allowing for proper digestion. 

So does this all sound like just another hassle in our busy lives?  Relax...soaking and drying nuts couldn't be easier.  It just takes a few minutes of hands on work (careful there...we are still talking about walnuts, almonds and pecans) to accomplish this task.  Time is all you need to allow the nuts to soak and dry properly.

So the basic method of soaking nuts is pretty much the same with all nut varieties.  Basically you soak the nuts in salt water (salt is necessary to help neutralize the enzymes) and then you dry them.  Be sure to fully dry your nuts or they could become moldy.  

 

You shouldn't dry your nuts any higher than 150°F. You can use a dehydrator or an oven to dehydrate your nuts.

 

One last thing I want to note.  Soaking the nuts not only helps with digestion but it enhances the flavor tremendously!  They are crispy, have a nice texture and taste amazing!  For me, that is reason enough to soak my nuts!

Here's the scoop on soaking your nuts:

 

Place organic nuts in a bowl (3 cups) and cover with nice filtered water.  Sprinkle with approx. 2 tsp. Himalayan sea salt. 

 

(We need to talk about your salt selections....let's plan on that for a blog post in the very near future.)

 

Look at the remarkable difference.  Immediately, the water becomes cloudy and there are little particles of 'debris' floating around.  Want that in your tummy??

 

 

I set a plate on top of the bowl and let the nuts soak overnight.  It's that easy.  I usually do this before I go to bed and in the morning they are ready to be rinsed and tossed in the dehydrator.

 

Good morning 

   Now for some happy time in my brand new dehydrator...8 to 10 hours or until crisp.

 

You may think I'm nutty, but I bet my stomach is feeling a whole lot better than yours these days!