How much almonds are too much?

[TangentLine]

I got two pounds of whole raw unsalted almonds today, put half of them in a nice 16 oz. container, but 1/3 of the container is gone now. Is eating 1/3 to 1/2 a pound of almonds a day too much? The only other stuff I've had today were 4 eggs for breakfast/lunch (I'm out of eggs, so I'm going to start being 100% raw tomorrow), 3-4 glasses of water, 20-30 baby carrots, and a delicious fruit smoothie (1 banana, 4 strawberries, about 6 raspberries, 15-20 blueberries, and some soy milk).

The problem is that I keep the almonds container on my desk, and I've been snacking on them throughout the day. How much is a good daily limit? I can probably eat fewer almonds if I put a bunch of the baby carrots on my desk instead.

[sport]

http://cronometer.com/
This is a link to cronometer. I think that it is a great tool to help you to learn about foods. I have put in the amount of almonds that you ate (I estimate 75 grms) and it had a good mineral profile but is 73% fat.
The main problem is that all of that fat is omega 6. To properly balance your fats today you need to take in 53 grams of flax seeds to balance it. That is a lot of fat.

[MysticTree]

What I do with almonds take about 15-20 and put them in water to soak over night. I change the water in the morning and put to soak again. Then I eat them later that day. If you want more than 15-20 almond a day (i'm not saying that 15-20 is the right amount; it's my right amount) then just give yourself two batches and/or stagger the soak starting times.

Generally, unsoaked almonds are much more difficult to digest and the soaked ones taste nicer I think - sweeter.

[Revvell]

Eat what you want as much as you want as long as it's raw. Your body will tell you when you've eaten too much and reject it. Soaking almonds and most nuts is a good idea as MT suggested.

[DebB]

I was eating too many nuts & seeds almost daily and gained weight. I was snacking on nuts, I was making granola, crackers, etc. So, now I keep them very limited and finally have been able to maintain my weight. For me, I have to keep my fat intake to a minimum. *Ü*

[TangentLine]

I'm going to try to limit myself to 30 a day. I checked Wolfram Alpha and 30 almonds are only 20 g of fat (30% daily value). I read a little about soaking them, how they're difficult to digest without soaking because of an enzyme inhibiting substance in the brown coating. Never would have guessed that. How long does it take for the soaking to work? I put 30 in a small container of water 5 minutes ago. Should I wait 5, 6, 8 hours?

cronometer.com looks really cool. One question about that: is 1 kcal the same as one calorie?

[MysticTree]

How long does it take for the soaking to work? I put 30 in a small container of water 5 minutes ago. Should I wait 5, 6, 8 hours?

I wait until they have plumped right up - about double their size - I change the soak water twice at least and I guess I leave them at least 8 hours and 12 is probably closer to the mark. When they are soaked I dry them off and they store happily in a container in the fridge for a day.

[streetsurfer]

I agree mystictree. Isn't it great how the soaked nuts smell and taste so much more like almond extract poured into cookie dough.....yummers! All the dulling bitterness gone. Another thing you can pay attention to is the color of the skin and the rinse/drain water.......when the soak water is nearly colorless after a rinse or two (depending on the volume of water used) and the skins are more translucent and a much lighter shade of rust, I call it good. I'll also give the jar a swirl now and then thru the day to rearrange how they rest against each other, exposing the contact points.

[MysticTree]

I agree mystictree. Isn't it great how the soaked nuts smell and taste

Reminds me of childhood autumns spent climbing nut trees and eating the still-fresh nuts - not almond as it happens but hazels. Such amazing flavour and texture.