walnut substitute

[twinee1]

I want to make the Choc Chip Cookie in Alissa's Book...it calls for Cashews and Walnuts. I do not eat walnuts (causes blisters in mouth) so I will need a substitute..any suggestion ? I was thinking just using all cashews, but this my be to boring of a taste...or replace walnuts with almonds ?

[rawcanadagirl]

I often replace walnuts for pecans because of the price - so maybe pecans?
They are softer than almonds and closer to walnuts in texture.
Otherwise, I am sure almonds would work too!

[twinee1]

duh. :rolleyes: ..why did I not think of that ? Pecans will work perfect...Thanks rcg....... :D

[RawTruth]

Pecans have such a delicious taste, I'm sure they'll be a superior substitute. Just be sure not to soak them.

[twinee1]

rawtruth...I read you can soak the pecans up to 6-8 hour before they turn to much. In NOT soaking them do you have the same issues that you have with the raw unsoaked almonds ?

Since I am on the subject I have read posts that say they do not digest nuts well....I seem to feel same either way. So what is a sigh your are not saaimilating nuts ? gas bloat weight gain ????

[RawTruth]

Soaking pecans takes away the distinctive, delicious flavor. I believe that they don't need to be soaked anyway because they have a hard(er) shell and, thus, little to no enzyme inhibitors.

Almonds are soaked to release the enzyme inhibitor -- which "awakens" the enzymes and, thus, we can digest them without using our body's enzymes. It's a good thing not to deplete our own enzymes. That's the whole point of eating living foods.

Eating too many nuts makes my tummy feel heavy, and I feel loggy and lethargic. I do best with simple, unprepared foods eaten by themselves - mono-eating - or, at most, salads of a few ingredients with avocado for dressing. That's where my body is on my own raw path. It's taken a while to get here, and my diet is still evolving as my body heals from the years of toxins and unhealthy stress. (This isn't to say that I don't have gourmet raw meals -- I do on occasion and, sometimes, I do for several days in a row. However, this isn't optimal for me at this stage whereas, at the beginning, it wasn't as much of an issue.)

It sometimes takes a while to get in touch with your body -- for some of us, it may take years. And, then, it changes. We have so much culture-induced energy built up around food and eating. Even those of us without EDs have used food to stuff our emotions at one time or another. And, we don't even really know the difference between being truly hungry and just being used to having a full, stretched-out stomach. So, there's lots of retraining our body must go through in order to get back to the way it was designed to operate. If you can't tell any difference between when you eat nuts and when you don't, just relax and go with it. Know that, as long as you're eating all raw and living foods, eventually you will seek and know what balance works for you. I think the key is to not emphasize food as much as we're trained to do. After all, it's really just fuel for our bodies in order to keep our vehicle (body) moving. What we do with that body/spirit is what's really important.

Whoa!! Where did that come from? Oh well ... hope your question about nuts, at least, was answered. :o

[twinee1]

tee hee rawtruth..good response to a simple question. I loved it. I am still a "newbie" but already finding what you say to be so true. In just 3 months my diet has evolved to a different level. My body is whispering to me, eventually it will be shouting !!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks !! I am going to try the cookies. I am thinking ahead to Xmas. I, like you, eat simple and rarely uncook. The biggest project for me in soaking, sprouting and dehydrating my almonds and making salad sprouts as I prefer NOT to buy them !!

[msmia]

I'm curious if you know what in the walnuts causes the mouth problems that you have... Do any other nuts or other foods do the same or similar thing? Has this always been a problem? Is it a food allergy or something else?
Thanks,
Maria

[Shona]

I was going to suggest pecans, as well. Mmmmm ....

One of the things I love most about this time of year is the big [cheap] bags of mixed nuts in shell at the grocery stores - walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pecans, and brazils. Yum, yum. I can't even remember how many bags the kids and I went through last year!

Shona :)

[twinee1]

I'm curious if you know what in the walnuts causes the mouth problems that you have... Do any other nuts or other foods do the same or similar thing? Has this always been a problem? Is it a food allergy or something else?
Thanks,
Maria

Actually it is not an allergy but a response to the scid in the nut. Then add the rough texture of the nut to it and I get the raw roof of my mouth. (When I was a child I found Captin Crunch cereal did the same and would not eat it)
I never eat Pecans so I tried them and they do the same but not as bad as Walnuts. So I guess I will use a smooth nut !

Tomatoes also cause me problems. I can eat a small amount of a beefsteak tomato but the Small Grapes are too acidic.

[twinee1]

I'm curious if you know what in the walnuts causes the mouth problems that you have... Do any other nuts or other foods do the same or similar thing? Has this always been a problem? Is it a food allergy or something else?
Thanks,
Maria

Actually it is not an allergy but a response to the acid in the nut and then add the rough texture of the nut to it and I get the raw roof of my mouth. (When I was a child I found Captin Crunch cereal did the same and would not eat it)
I never eat Pecans, that was probably way...forgot they did it too, so I tried them and they do the same but not as bad as Walnuts. So I guess I will use almonds.

Tomatoes also cause me problems. I can eat a small amount of a beefsteak tomato but the Small Grapes are too acidic.