How to find raw almonds?

[blueberries]

Ok, as you can probably tell I am a total newbie to all things raw. Yes, I'm just thinking about going raw at this point. Having just watched the "Greens Can Save Your Life" dvd, I was inspired to try my first green smoothie the other day (eeek! that is another story tho!)

I kept seeing recipes using almond milk and hearing about almond milk and I was curious so tried Blue Diamond Almond Breeze? or something like that for the first time the other day. It is pretty good but I really dont care for the sweetness of it. Looking at how to make my own almond milk it doesnt appear that it would be that sweet. Anyway... I can't figure out where to buy raw almonds. I have looked in our local stores to no avail or am I looking in the wrong place? Online prices I've found are crazy tho. How in the world does anyone afford raw almonds? :eek: I see they are used in alot of recipes when eating raw.

Any tips would be appreciated! I live in Michigan so dont know that I could grow my own, unlike sprouts and greens indoors, which I plan on trying soon.

Thanks everyone

[Veganforlife]

Try this link:

http://rawfromthefarm.com/default.aspx

Or, I get my nuts at:

www.nutsonline.com


And welcome!!!

[Beckla]

I get mine at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. Have also seen them at Shaw's.

[queenfluff]

They have already started pasteurizing raw almonds.

Trader Joes are probably the worst (sorry but it is true) - They apparently get their nuts from Blue Diamond. They aren't really raw.

After Sept 1 (when the raw almonds pasteurization rule goes into effect), they will be almost impossible to get. Your best bet is to buy non-US grown organic raw almonds that were grown overseas and they will cost you an arm and a leg.

But if you are not all that concerned about total "rawness" or whether your nuts are organic or pasteurized - there is Trader Joes nuts or Whole Foods I guess.

Otherwise, you might try some good raw food dealers online. Question them about their almonds. They will be expensive though.

[Beckla]

That's odd. Mine sprouted.

Hrm.

[kristi7mark]

Thanks for the websites VFL!

Wonderful coops are at work in my area, but sometimes items are still hard to find.... those sites are awesome!

I am learning so much here.... I feel like I might explode! In a good way, of course!

[blueberries]

Thanks everyone. I see that they arent cheap! LOL And from all I've read on this forum about some silly almond "pasteurization" law that will be going into effect, the price may even get higher! yikes!

kristi7mark, I feel just like you! Learning so much stuff I am not sure where to start!

This is kind of another question in the same area... I found a recipe that calls for ground sesame seeds (I have learned from the forum it is called Tahini and I did see that in the store the other day!) but someone else posted that it is expensive. Soooo, if I were to make my own (I just got a vita mix so I assume it would make short work of it) what kind of sesame seeds am I looking for? Obviously raw again but are those sold in the regular stores or not? Most are roasted, like the nuts arent they? As you can tell, I dont have anything like Trader Joes or Whole Foods anywhere near me! Guess I could always order them online when I ordered the almonds :)

Thanks again

[Beckla]

You want to look for seasame seeds that are labeled "Raw." They sell them at those stores for sure! Raw Tahini is expensive - shouldn't be too tough to make, though, and it's a staple of mine.

FYI - always look for things labeled "Raw" - if it doesn't say it is raw, it's not!!

[Starbuck]

Costco has 3 pounds of raw almonds for $13.99- that's less than $5.00 per pound.

When September rolls around, I'll be buying several bags and sticking them in the freezer.

[blueberries]

Costco?! That is about an hour away from me but I do have a membership and get there about every other month. I will write that on my list to check out there. Thanks for letting me know.

[RawVegan4Health]

I'm not even bothering to look for any. Full out boycott. Any purchases of almonds in my opinion are support of the almond industry, which no matter how you look at it makes a sale of almonds. I don't think they are going to see large crowds of people going into California to purchase truly raw almonds, so whatever "numbers" they can report of raw vs pasteurized will be insufficient. Full boycott.

Besides, I like cashews better.

[Mishka]

I have found a few almond growers here in the Central Valley (in Calif.) who are willing to sell me almonds BEFORE they send them off to be pasteurized. They seem willing to work with people on a one on one basis. I appreciate that they are willing to...the guys I talked with seemed like it was just a "compliance" thing they were doing, not like they even wanted to do it.

Mishka

[Pierre]

<hijack>Welcome back Mishka!</hijack>

What about the Carolinas? They grow peaches here, do they grow almonds?

[lavendarJ]

I've just felt "stuck" on this issue since it first came out...My current views are similiar to yours RawVegan. I just keep thinking what more can be done, petitions seem to be worthless. mmmm? Almond's are not a favorite nut of mine, but it could happen to my beloved brazils or cashews. I just feel stuck and don't know who to trust.

[Bethanie]

It's called Meijer's and i payed $6.99 for the bag. They had blanced almonds as well but i made certain that i picked up the bag that said raw:)
At our local health food store the same amount would have cost around $15.00 or more which is too much for me.
Prices are going up on everything.
B.

[blueberries]

It's called Meijer's and i payed $6.99 for the bag. They had blanced almonds as well but i made certain that i picked up the bag that said raw:)
At our local health food store the same amount would have cost around $15.00 or more which is too much for me.
Prices are going up on everything.
B.

Bethanie,
Meijers? that is where I shop! (unfortunately we are very limited in these neck of the woods LOL) I have looked there but havent seen raw. Where exactly did you find them?? I shop at the "original" Meijers, where the first store was opened. Anyhow, I have seen a section in Meijers that has lots of zip lock type bags with nuts in them. Is that the place you found them? Guess I better look closer.

After reading others comments here, I might not worry whether I find them or not. I guess in most recipes we could substitute another nut that isnt require to be "pasturized".

Thanks everyone.

[queenfluff]

I have found a few almond growers here in the Central Valley (in Calif.) who are willing to sell me almonds BEFORE they send them off to be pasteurized. They seem willing to work with people on a one on one basis. I appreciate that they are willing to...the guys I talked with seemed like it was just a "compliance" thing they were doing, not like they even wanted to do it.

Mishka

Mishka that is great! that will be the only way to get the raw unpasteurized almonds in the future. You are lucky to be in California.

You are correct. Many farmers DON'T want to be doing this - they are just "complying" to the new rule. Eveyone can blame the California Almond Board - it was their idea.

RawVegan4Health and LavenderJ - I don't think boycotting all almonds will help us get an exception to the law. Yes, it does seem that doing the petitions and stuff doesn't seem to be getting us anywhere. But it is - it just takes a long time. There are several people (me being one) who were/are spending lots of their time talking to the USDA and getting together with small organic almond farmers to try to get an exception to the rule.

So, if in the future, you are able to more easily get raw unpasteurized almonds and the labeling is better - you have these people to thank. The results don't happen over night - it is a long process. But if no one says anything they will think we don't care if our food is pasteurized and they may think this is an OK thing to do and will start on the other nuts (and believe me they are probably not all that far in the future!) So, I think we should start our objections now - this way once they start in on our other nuts, we will already have something to go off of.

What I would do is to not buy any raw almonds that you are sure are pasteurized (this will be any from California) unless you do hand-to-hand like Miska is doing. Buy them from Europe if you have to. If you don't eat almonds normally - obviously don't go and buy them just to protest but if you do don't buy the raw ones from California.

Just keep your eyes out for new opportunities to voice your opposition to this law - taking a few minutes to sign a petition does help. Tell your friends about it. The more people that know the better (you'd be surprised at how many that don't know - which in way is not a surprise because they purposely kept this quiet because they didnt want people to get a chance to object to it -which is wrong! - lots of the farmers found out after the fact too! )

I keep in close contact with a woman who is working with the USDA so I will be happy to post things on here as I here about them to keep you guys informed.

There are other side issues at stake besides just raw almonds - some of the small organic farmers who grow these can not afford the expensive pasteurization equipment they need to buy to "comply" with this law and may be forced out of their business. So there are a few other issues to consider too!


Pierre - I don't think almonds are grown in Carolina. The only other place I have heard of that grows almonds is Florida and they don't normally grow them because California has been growing them all.

Bethanie - It is very possible that those raw almonds you bought are already pasteurized. They won't have to label them as pasteurized and that is the one of the major baddies about this whole thing. The packaging and labeling will not change after Sept 1 - they will still say raw - you won't see a thing about them being pasteurized.

You can talk to the person in charge of the bulk section or manager of the store to find out their suppliers and whether or not they are pasteurized.
So if you are concerned about your almonds being pasteurized, just make sure you do a little bit of research before you buy. (if the people at the store don't know - just find out where they are grown - if they are from California - think twice about buying them)

[Mishka]

Hi right back at ya Pierre! Been crazy busy with my kids...but still 100% on the raw path :)

Queenfluff....
You are right...(unfortunately)...a bunch of the almond growers I know have been in compliance with the pasteurization since this last April. Even though it's not "official" till the fall. :( I guess the best way to tell is by soaking and sprouting them. (Or if you know from the source) I rarely eat almonds that I don't sprout anyways. But good to keep your heads up about it all too.

Mishka

[RawVegan4Health]

Queenfluff, you are right. I have already signed petitions. I don't normally want imported anything when possible, but perhaps for almonds I will be able to make an exception once in a while.