Nuts are high in protein, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals and the all important omega 3’s. They make the perfect snack on the go however, many people are unaware of the fact that raw nuts contain “anti-nutrients” or enzyme inhibitors, that can cause major digestive discomfort and prevent our bodies from absorbing all that goodness they have to offer. To combat this problem, I recommend activated nuts. Here we break down the simple DIY task…
Activated Nuts
Prep Time: 12 Hr Cook Time: 24 Hr
Ingredients:
- 2 cups raw organic nuts* (not roasted or salted)
- Enough water to cover the almonds in a dish
- 1 leveled tsp of celtic sea salt
Instructions:
- Soak the almonds, walnuts and/or brazil nuts in the salt and water for 12 hrs. If you choose to soak hazelnuts, these do best soaking for around 7 hours.
- Rinse the nuts under running water and place on a baking tray.
- Now, we want to ‘roast’ the almonds, without damaging all those nutrients we’ve activated. So we have to dry out the nuts on low heat – either in a dehydrator or on the lowest temperature your oven will do (mine is 60C).
- This will take anywhere from 6-24 hrs, depending on the temperature you’re using. The nuts will be done when they feel (and taste) dry.
- Use your activated-dried almonds as you normally would use roasted almonds. They last really well in an airtight container. And they can be ground into almond meal, too!
Notes:
You can use almonds, walnuts and/or brazil nuts … avoid soaking any cashews and macadamias for longer than 6 hours (and start to dry them immediately) as they tend to become quite mushy during soaking.
For those of you that don’t want to leave your oven for 24 hours (trust me, I was the same). I went searching for a dehydrator that didn’t cost me a fortune and found one for under $60. It takes care of all the drying and you keep your oven free for every day use. You can read all about it here: My Dehydrator that didn’t cost me a fortune.
COST SAVING
I can make organic activated almonds for about $16 per kilo. If you have the time, this is a much cheaper way to go. Although delicious, activated nuts can be expensive when you are feeding the family as they retail anywhere between $40-$50 per kg.
If you wanted to add flavours to your activated nuts i.e. Celtic Sea salt or tamari or even a splash of apple cider vinegar, this can be added at step 2.
