Crispy Nuts

You have heard that eating Walnuts, Almonds, Cashews, etc are good for you right?  “A handful a day helps keep the doctor away” you might say!  It’s true, they make a great healthy snack!

In an ideal world, we would consume all our food sitting down at the dining room table, but today snacks have become a huge part of today’s diet.  In fact, if you have a high metabolism (like me) or have growing children, it’s almost necessary to have small frequent feedings.

I’ve found that many of the snacks I reach for, have nuts in some form or another.  Either I pick up a handful of plain crispy nuts on the run, or maybe I am grabbing a tablespoon of almond butter.  Yes I am one of those…..I love almond butter right out of the jar.  Straight up.

Sometimes I make yummy Gunflint cookies, or any other healthy cookie, granola, or trail mix, all containing nuts.  The hardest part is stopping after one serving…one cookie, 1/4 cup of nuts, 1/3 cup of granola, 1/3 cup of trail mix.  I must confess, just one of these cookies is just never enough.  They are so good!

So nuts are extremely nutritious if properly prepared.   Did you know that nuts contain numerous enzyme inhibitors that can put a real strain on the digestive mechanism if consumed in excess?  When I read this in Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and realized how easy this was to fix, I have been soaking all type of nuts ever since.

I learned nuts are easier to digest and their nutrients more readily available if they are soaked in salt water overnight.  After soaking, you dry them in your oven or dehydrator for about 24 hours, or more.  Salt in soaking water activates enzymes that neutralize enzyme inhibitors.

You won’t believe the difference in taste!  You must try this!  Sprouted nuts are crispier and much more delicious.  It’s easy too.

However, if time is an issue, and if you’re lucky, you may find these seeds on sale like I did from Azure.

I have never found cashews, almonds, walnuts, or pecans, (or any other nut, except seeds) sprouted and available to purchase but that doesn’t mean they are not out there somewhere.   However, buying them sprouted is probably more expensive, so I make my own crispy nuts.  It’s really not hard and well worth the time it takes to dry them over night while I am sleeping.  Seriously, it can’t get any more convenient than that!

Besides, once nuts are prepared by soaking and dehydrating in your oven, they won’t go rancid as quickly and can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for months.  The only exception is walnuts.  They contain larger amounts of triple unsaturated linolenic acid and are much more susceptible to rancidity.  They should always be stored in the refrigerator.

RECIPE FOR CRISPY NUTS (PEPETIAS, PECANS, WALNUTS, PEANUTS, HAZELNUTS, ALMONDS, PINE NUTS & MACADAMIA NUTS) 

NOTE:  CRISPY CASHEWS NEED LESS SOAKING TIME!

INGREDIENTS:

(makes 4 cups)

• 4 cups nuts of your choice “raw”
• 1 tablespoon of sea salt
• Filtered water

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix nuts with salt and filtered water and leave in warm place for at least 7 hours or overnight.
2. Drain in Colander.
3. Spread on a stainless steel baking pan and place in a warm oven (no more than 150 degrees) for at least 12 hours up to 24 hours or until completely dry and crisp.
4. Store in airtight container.

CRISPY CASHEWS are prepared the same way as above, but soaked for only 6 hours (no longer).  These can also be dried at a bit higher temperature, (200 degrees).