Soaking Nuts and Seeds and New Documentaries

Many of you have been wanting to know more about the benefits and details of soaking nuts and seeds.  Here are some of the essentials from the "Transitioning to Living Cuisine" book:  
Our goal in soaking nuts and seeds is to release the enzyme inhibitor for easier digestion and better assimilation of the nutrients.  Another benefit is that the nutritional value increases dramatically as the seed starts to sprout.                
                                                                                      

I thought this was too labor intensive when I first started, but after developing a routine of soaking, sprouting and then dehydrating them for later use, I found food preparation time to be much faster and more enjoyable. Also, the higher nutrient content and better digestibility make it time well spent. 

Following is a chart you can use to remind you of the soaking time for each nut or seed.  Since the volume of nuts and seeds increase with soaking, I also provide the volume conversions on this chart.  For example, if a recipe calls for 1 cup almonds and you wanted to use your soaked almonds from the refrigerator, this table would remind you to use 1 3/4 cups of the soaked almonds, thus allowing for expansion.

Be sure to also note the difference in soak-times for every seed or nut.  They vary from 15 seconds for flax seed all the way up to 8 hours for several of the other nuts.  ​

​Nuts need to be in their original shells to sprout.  That is why I wrote N/A in the "Volume After Sprouting" column for this chart.    

The cashew, macadamia nuts and pine nuts can be used without soaking, since the enzyme inhibitor is on the outside of the shell and not on the nut itself.  However you can soak them for 30 minutes to soften them prior to blending for a creamier result, if you choose.

Beware, most cashews are not truly raw and they are very high fat and hard for many people to digest.  

​Also, unless you live in California where you can purchase truly raw almonds directly from a grower, they are now hard to come by.  Since 2007 it has been illegal to distribute raw almonds in the US.  Therefore only almonds imported from Spain or Italy are truly raw. However, you can find many sources of raw imported almonds online and some health food stores now carry them.  Just because it says "raw" on the container or label does not mean it is.  There are no regulations on the term "raw" at this time.  

The video below shows how to create a staple stash of nuts and seeds by soaking, sprouting and dehydrating them ahead of time.  It makes creating recipes much easier and less time spent preparing meals.

https://youtu.be/FSCv-39TWvE

I am currently working on a new eBook that will give all the details of:

• soaking
• sprouting
• dehydrating
• jar sprouting
• growing wheatgrass and sunflower greens
• growing microgreens
• what equipment is needed
• growing in small spaces
• seed quality & where to get the best nuts & seeds
• the right medium for growing in soil
• recipes and ways to use sprouts everyday

Let me know if you have any more material you'd like me to cover in the book. I would love your input!

 
I also wanted you to know that I have added several new documentaries to my video page that you may enjoy.  Click here to check it out or go to the video link at the top of this page.  Here are some of them:

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Keep creating healthy recipes for a happier you and remember never give up anything until you've found something better! ​