Confused about nuts in "Living on Live Food"

[anniez]

I am relatively new to raw foods and am trying to learn as much as I can. I have read that raw nuts and seeds should always be soaked before using. However, Alissa says on pg. 287 that "you should only soak the nuts in these recipes if directed to do so, otherwise the recipes may not come out as expected. Since I have only been at this for 3 weeks, I am not sure my digestive system is ready to work effectively on unsoaked nuts. I'm wondering if I should wait for awhile before trying the recipes with unsoaked nuts. I'd appreciate some direction on this. Thanks so much.

Annie

[Rawkinlocs]

Hi Annie,

Some have stated that unsoaked nuts, when blended (as in a recipe) are a bit easier on the digestive system. This may not be true for everyone, but it is for some.

There is one other alternative...soak and then dehydrate the nuts to dry them. I know this "seems" redundant, but trust me when I tell you...my tummy can MUCH better handle soaked and then dehydrated nuts than unsoaked nuts!

So, if you don't want to use unsoaked in certain recipes (because sometimes soaked, undried nuts can make a recipe undesirable due to mushiness) then soak them first and then dehydrate them (do a BUNCH of them at once and keep some on hand rather than small amounts per recipe - you can store them in the fridge so they don't get rancid) and that way, they have the texture (somewhat) of unsoaked nuts to produce more favorable results in your recipe(s) but they're much easier on digestion.

[Ilse W.]

Annie,
I found the following site regarding the reason for soaking nuts very helpful and easy to read and understand.

http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2008/07/soaking-nuts.html

I love almonds, but I know from personal experience that when I eat them without soaking, I can still feel them sitting in my stomach many hours after consuming them. When I soak them first, they digest very easily. I'm sure my body gets many more nutrients out of the soaked nuts, and absorbability of nutrients is also enhanced by soaking nuts first.:)

[anniez]

Thank you both for the very helpful information. I will dehydrate the almonds I have soaking before using them. I appreciate that you both took the time to reply.

annie

[TaupeRawMan]

I like to soak almonds and then put them in a strainer for a few hours in the refrigerator. This does a nice job of drying them out without having to use the dehydrator.