How Fattening Is Nut Milk

[smsaler]

Does anyone know the fat content of homemade raw nut milk, as opposed to eating raw nuts?

[Veganforlife]

For me personally? It doesn't matter. I don't consider eating raw foods as "fattening".

[rawstrength]

The real question is, how slimming is nut milk?

[smsaler]

Thank you vegan4life and rawstrength. I'm happy you feel that way and don't have to worry about it. However, some people such as myself face a health risk due to obesity. I am trying to reduce my nut/fat intake to promote weight loss. Once my weight has stabilized I won't have to worry so much about this issue and can celebrate all raw food. Until then- my interest stands in knowing how I could figure out fat content.
To this end, does anyone have a suggestion?

[Eva]

smsaler, Are you already eating 100% raw? I think what Zoe and Lucy are trying to share with you is the freedom that comes from that. Most people do not gain weight (and in fact lose a good amount of weight eventually) by eating raw food, even if they are eating a fair amount of nuts and avocados and items that have a fat.

Fat is not just fat. I remember in the 80s or 90s how the Susan Powter lady was all about "Fat makes you fat" and not eating fat, in order to lose weight. And you'll hear things like that in the world of diets. But it's just not as simple as that. And this isn't just another diet. Obesity is not caused by including raw, health-giving fats in a person's lifestyle.

So, that's probably not what you were looking to hear, but I hope that you will be open to that perspective. There is a lot of freedom in eating what your body is physically craving rather than trying to follow a diet plan or anything of the like.

If you must know the fat content, I imagine that it is very similar to just one cup of raw almonds for about 4 cups of the almond milk. If I knew that, I would share it with you... but I hope it's helpful info for you.

[raweater]

Thank you vegan4life and rawstrength. I'm happy you feel that way and don't have to worry about it. However, some people such as myself face a health risk due to obesity. I am trying to reduce my nut/fat intake to promote weight loss. Once my weight has stabilized I won't have to worry so much about this issue and can celebrate all raw food. Until then- my interest stands in knowing how I could figure out fat content.
To this end, does anyone have a suggestion?

It's a myth that fat content (or calories or carbs) have anything to do with gaining weight. I get about 60-70% of my calories from fat and am not fat at all.

What causes weight gain is empty calories, that means food that has calories but no nutrition (which most cooked food is as the calories remain there but most of the nutrition is destroyed). The reason is that empty calorie foods provide you calories without satisfying your hunger, so you eat again. With raw food, the same amount of calories will satisfy your hunger and you won't eat more, resulting in a smaller total amount of calories eaten per day, even if the food items you eat have more calories. That's why on raw food you will loose weight no matter what you eat, as long as it's truely raw and unprocessed.

[smsaler]

Thank you for the additional responses. I'm sorry if I seem defensive. Its just that I'm here to get information on food. Philosophical responses, however well-intended, are a bit off-putting.

Anyway-I have been 100% raw for some months now. I'm not concerned with gaining weight. My main concern is losing the access weight I packed on long before the switch to raw. Its not coming off. I have read about this issue, and even contacted Alissa's staff. Everyone says the same thing- lay off the nuts for a while. I eat fat -avos, seeds, coconut etc-I haven't denied myself anything. But I am now trying to drop the nuts as suggested. Maybe its the type of fat in nuts as opposed to say, avocados or sunflower seeds? I have no idea. I guess I'll try drop the nut milk and see if it makes a difference.

I was reading about seed milks today. If anyone has had experience with them-good or bad-please let me know...

[lsadeseyens]

I read somewhere on this site, that a person could make milk out of oats. I know that Alissa sells raw oats. I also read somewhere, that a person could make milk out of sesame seeds ( maybe not as fattening?) I don't know. So maybe these two alternatives are a possibility.

[RaisingAlex]

I make a wide variety of milks.

Chia milk
Sesame milk
Sunflower milk
Canteloupe milk (simply save the melon seeds)
Hemp milk
Almond milk
Brazil nut milk

[smsaler]

Thanks! I have the book but missed that. I didn't know that rolled oats were considered "raw" I bet its yummy though-will give it a try!

[smsaler]

Raising Alex- do you just use the same system for the seeds as with nuts- add water, blend, strain? Or do you leave the pulp in?
thanks for the help :)

[RaisingAlex]

The only milk that I do not strain is Hemp milk. All the others are strained.

Good Luck.

[lsadeseyens]

The only milk that I do not strain is Hemp milk. All the others are strained.

Good Luck.

When you make hemp milk, how much hemp to how much water. I have some hemp on hand and have never thought of making milk duh....:D

[RaisingAlex]

1 cup of hemp seeds
a blender full of pure water

Sometimes I add a dash of hemp oil and cinnamon to the mix. Or you could add 2-3 dates for a special treat.

Tasty..

[RawSar]

Hey, I went through a similar thing, switching to raw foods after years of super unhealthy eating and drinking (I had put on the pounds in that time). All I wanted to do was lose the weight and be healthy.
After about 4 months I still had only lost about 5 pounds! I was eating some gourmet raw foods and lots of nuts and seed to help fill me up (since thats was what I was use to doing in my SAD days) as well as regular salads..
I found out about Dr Doug Grahms way of raw vegan diet: 80/10/10
http://foodnsport.com/shop/books/the-80-10-10-diet.html

I don't totally agree with EVERYTHING he says BUT I did the diet 100% for a few months as well as working out atleast twice a week. 20 Pounds gone! I found this a great way to cleanse (cleanse while still eating) and help lose that extra weight. I kept track of everything I ate and drank to make sure I was keeping my days at 80/10/10 at:
http://www.nutridiary.com/
I now eat whatever I want (raw vegan of course :) ) and haven't gained any of that unwanted weight back, its been 1.5 years of 100% raw vegan lifestyle with about 6 months of 100% 80/10/10.

Hope this helps..
Raw Sar :)

[anniez]

I read somewhere that soaking almonds removes some of the fat, and that the longer you soak them the more fat is removed. You can soak them up to 48 hours. I'm sorry I don't remember where that was, and I don't know if it's even accurate. But, here it is for what it's worth...........

Annie

[Veganforlife]

I read somewhere that soaking almonds removes some of the fat, and that the longer you soak them the more fat is removed. You can soak them up to 48 hours. I'm sorry I don't remember where that was, and I don't know if it's even accurate. But, here it is for what it's worth...........

Annie

The thing that has stuck w/me about soaking nuts is that it removes the enzyme prohibitors, making the nuts more digestable. Your body doesn't have to use ITS enzymes to digest foods. It can use ITS supply to heal and have energy and such. I don't know how soaking could remove fat. PLUS - it's a GOOD fat people! We need the good fats. Yes, when one is eating a SAD/CRAP diet and eats nuts and avos they are going to gain weight because they are eating a SAD/CRAP diet and piling on GOOD fat foods. Common sense. When one consumes fruits/veggies/nuts/seeds/sprouts one is getting a whole, complete, balanced food. GOOD FAT rules...

All this is explained in Alissa's book...

[raweater]

1 cup of hemp seeds
a blender full of pure water

Sometimes I add a dash of hemp oil and cinnamon to the mix. Or you could add 2-3 dates for a special treat.

Tasty..

All blenders are different capacities, some are 3 cups, some are 5 cups...

[klomasius]

Anniez, I've not heard of this before but it does make sense.

The nut is a powerhouse of nutrients meant for the nascent shoot inside it. Once we soak the nuts we begin the chemical cascade of reactions that break down the nutrients and start to form the growing shoot. Fats are a great source of energy and would be broken down to provide the nutrients required.

That being said I'm not worried at all about fats. It doesn't matter what I eat on raw the weight just come off.

But perhaps going easy on the nuts might be a good idea for someone not experiencing weight loss on raw after several months. Or possibly a green smoothie fast.

[rawstrength]

I really need go get back into the habit of soaking my nuts and seeds before eating them. I eat nuts so infrequently now that when I want them, I never have them pre-soaked and I don't want to wait for my nuts to soak to eat them.
I also really love the crunch of unsoaked nuts, and I don't have a dehydrator. I guess I'll just rely on celery for crunch from now on :) .

[klomasius]

I like the taste of soaked nuts, especially almonds better than unsoaked nuts. And they are kinda crunchy still straight after soaking. I usually soak then dehydrate and store them so if I want to munch I have them all ready.

Rawstrength, do you know someone who could loan the use of a dehydrator to you? Many nuts are lots healthier soaked.

[spicyfull]

Nothing RAW is fattening. It can be if you OVER-indulge.

[saxmaam]

nutritiondata.com is a great resource. You can enter your recipe (eg, for almond milk) and figure calories for the entire thing or for different serving sizes.

I haven't seen any extra pounds fall off since going raw. People are different from each other. What works for one won't work for everybody. I have a hard time relating when I read the occasional complaints about being unable to GAIN weight. Then I just imagine that they said LOSE and I can at least identify with the feelings.

I started raw for weight loss. Even though that hasn't happened, the diet feels very much right to me. So I'm sticking with it and working on the next step, which is a DAILY exercise habit. I do weights on M/W/F and some kind of cardo exercise on other days. Building muscle is a great long-term solution for raising metabolism ... muscles burn calories even when you aren't using them.

Best of luck to you!

Susan

[anniez]

Anyway-I have been 100% raw for some months now. I'm not concerned with gaining weight. My main concern is losing the access weight I packed on long before the switch to raw. Its not coming off. I have read about this issue, and even contacted Alissa's staff. Everyone says the same thing- lay off the nuts for a while. I eat fat -avos, seeds, coconut etc-I haven't denied myself anything. But I am now trying to drop the nuts as suggested. Maybe its the type of fat in nuts as opposed to say, avocados or sunflower seeds? I have no idea. I guess I'll try drop the nut milk and see if it makes a difference.

I have been reflecting on your lack of success in losing weight. Is anything positive happening in your body? I have been raw since early in July and have only lost 18 pounds. I know some people have lost that in a week or two! I still have 35 pounds to go, so I could be losing much faster. However, though I have not lost a lot of weight, I have gone from a size 20 to a size 14. That tells me that I am losing fat, not muscle. Also, I have reversed my diabetes and hypertension and am now off all prescription meds. I completely understand your desire to lose the excess weight and frustration with it not coming off. The scale is such an enemy to those of us with weight problems. Could you maybe stay off the scale for a week or two and focus on what else is happening in your body? Are you eating enough fruit? I think you have the same problem that I seem to have: my body is very toxic from all the years of the SAD diet and prescription meds. Fruit is very cleansing and every day it tastes better and better to me. I start the day with a couple of grapefruit and then have a green smoothie.

In order to keep this post legal in this forum, I give you a recipe for one of my favorite green smoothies:


1 cup water
1 mango
1 leaf kale
5 cups mixed baby greens
1/4 tsp Stevia plus
1 banana

Blend water and mango. Add kale and blend well. Add greens gradually and blend well after each addition. Add banana and blend well.

I wish you well. I really do understand your frustration. I know you are getting healthier, and I truly believe the weight will come off.

Annie

[lsadeseyens]

Thanks! I have the book but missed that. I didn't know that rolled oats were considered "raw" I bet its yummy though-will give it a try!

Not all oats are raw~~you need to find a source for them (Alissa sells them)..

Am looking forward to trying the hemp milk~thanks:D

[Eva]

I spent a day training with Chad Sarno today. I'm here in the UK (London) and was at his restaurant (SAF -- to "die" for -- just opened in April of this year). This topic came up, and I learned a lot about it.

When nuts are not soaked, the fat content is quite high. It is still high when they are soaked (for at least long enough that they look like they have veins in them), BUT the FAT turns into ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS that can be used by your body immediately as a top-notch source of protein and nutrition. My notes: Plus, any time you blend something, the nutrients are easier for your body to assimilate.

SO, the fat content number does not really change, although the fiber is separated in the pulp (which is great for so many pastries like cookies, scones, and the like)... the fat DOES become totally different for your body by thoroughly soaking them.

I can attest to this in terms of the way I feel if I do or don't soak nuts.

As well -- in basically all recipes from my experience today, even things like stuffing, he soaks all nuts to activate the enzymes (except pine nuts). Good stuff to be aware of in terms of the health capacity of the things we are eating.

I hope that's helpful in some way to you... Regardless, always listening to your body and eating ONLY when you receive clear hunger signals may help you to lose the weight you are looking to lose. :) Great, by the way, that you are striving to eat raw and not slipping in this and that (like bits of coffee and dairy here and there)... Sorry we jumped on the "but are you 100%?" right away. And really, all I meant by 100% isn't even 100%!!! It's really just consciously avoiding cooked food.